Low-price retailer Kmart is being hauled into Federal Court over allegations around the use of Uyghur forced labour by some of its clothing suppliers in China.
Uyghurs are Turkic-speaking people of inner Asia living mostly in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in northwestern China, where systematic state-sponsored forced labour and other human rights abuses have occurred against them, according to many media and government body reports globally.
The Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women’s Association (AUTWA) has filed an application in the Federal Court to compel Kmart to produce documents demonstrating what it knows about two suppliers listed on its 2024 and 2025 factory lists with links to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
AUTWA is seeking the documents to determine whether Kmart has adequately implemented its ethical sourcing procedures regarding these suppliers, and whether Kmart’s public statements about this have been misleading or deceptive.
If the documents show that Kmart has not rigorously monitored the risk of the use of forced labour in its supply chain, AUTWA noted this may pave the way for a legal claim that Kmart has breached Australian Consumer Law by engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct.
AUTWA is represented by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and the Human Rights Law Centre.
“This is a significant day for the Uyghur Australian community,” the association's president Ramila Chanisheff said. “We’re demanding answers from Kmart so we know whether its actions live up to its words about addressing forced labour risks in its supply chain.
“Kmart, and all companies, must ensure they are not profiting from forced labour in China. China’s mass imprisonment, repression and forced labour of Uyghur people is well-documented. Our community has lost family members, friends and loved ones because of China’s brutal treatment of Uyghurs.
“Kmart is a go-to store for so many people in Australia. If the company has profited in any way from this sort of systematic repression, I am sure Australians would be horrified.”
Kmart swiftly released a statement, with a spokesperson saying the retailer is committed to respecting human rights in its operations and supply chains.
“As a large Australian retailer, we recognise that through our size and scale we have an important role to play in combating modern slavery, which is a serious and complex problem facing global supply chains.
“We are disappointed that the AUTWA has taken this course of action. As part of Kmart’s transparent approach to our Ethical Sourcing Program, we invited the AUTWA to meet with us several times to help us understand their concerns.
“Kmart has been in correspondence with the applicant’s lawyers for over 12 months and has provided extensive details of our Ethical Sourcing Program.”
The spokesperson added that Kmart has had an Ethical Sourcing Program in place for over 15 years to help identify and mitigate modern slavery risks, including the risk of forced labour, in its operations and supply chains.
They added this program has a comprehensive and mandatory compliance framework that sets the standards Kmart expects of our suppliers, as outlined in its Ethical Sourcing Code which adopts the standards established by the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“Kmart publicly discloses its Factory List on its website and was the first Australian retailer to do so,” the spokesperson continued. “Transparency is a key principle of our Ethical Sourcing Program.
“We take all reports of modern slavery risk within our supply chains very seriously. Where we learn of an alleged non compliance with our Code through an audit, site visit or complaint, or by a worker in a supplier’s factory, we take action to investigate and remediate the issue, working collaboratively with the Supplier. When remediation isn’t possible due to the supplier’s refusal to do so or repeated failures to make meaningful changes, we will exit the relationship.”
Kmart has also been listed high in ethical fashion listicles, including being in the top 20 per cent most-improved list in a special report by Baptist World Aid.
Kmart is housed under the Kmart Group alongside Target, with that entity under Wesfarmers – a multi-faceted business in the retail and resources space.
Principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, Jennifer Kanis, said this is the first of its kind event in seeking to bring real accountability home to Australian retailers in relation to the risk of Uyghur forced labour in their supply chains.
“Kmart tells customers that it supports ethical sourcing and the protection of human rights – but we know there are credible links between two of its factories/suppliers and the use of Uyghur forced labour in Xinjiang,” Kanis said.
“Documents will be sought from Kmart to determine whether Kmart engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct about the use of Uyghur forced labour. Kmart must be transparent about its potential links with Uyghur forced labour, and the Court will be asked to compel Kmart to hand over information about what due diligence it has conducted on suppliers with links to Xinjiang.
“This Federal Court action is an important step in making Kmart back up its words with actions when it comes to its ethical sourcing claims.”
Meanwhile, Human Rights Law Centre associate legal director Freya Dinshaw said this case also highlights some of the weaknesses in Australia’s modern slavery laws.
“It shouldn’t be left to members of the public to take companies to court and force them to open their books where there are suspicions of links to modern slavery,” Dinshaw said.
“Australian companies should be legally required to investigate and prevent forced labour in their supply chains and face hard consequences if they don’t. Australia should also follow the example of other countries like Canada and the US and ban imported goods made with forced labour, so they don’t end up on our shop shelves.”