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OTTAWA — sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½'s corporate ethics czar says it has launched a fact-finding investigation into allegations that Zara sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Inc. is working with companies that use forced labour in China.

The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise says its investigation into the apparel company stems from allegations made by 28 civil society organizations.

The organizations alleged in June that Zara sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ has supply relationships with three Chinese companies identified as using or benefitting from the use of Uyghur forced labour.

The ombudsperson says Zara sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ has denied the allegations and said the complaint is inadmissible because the alleged human rights abuses do not arise from its operations. 

The ombudsperson added Zara sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ declined mediation, saying it does not have a commercial relationship with any factory in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Zara is the eighth company the ombudsperson has investigated for using Uyghur forced labour in its supply chain. Other companies it has looked into include Ralph Lauren sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ LP, Walmart sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, Hugo Boss sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Inc., Diesel sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Inc. and mining company Gobi Man and says more assessments will be made public in the coming weeks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2023.

The Canadian Press