France probes fashion groups Uniqlo, Zara, Skechers, SMCP 3 over Uyghur labor

French magistrates have opened an inquiry into allegations that fashion groups Inditex, Uniqlo, SMCP, and Skechers profited from the forced labor of the Uyghur minority in China.

The case stemmed from a complaint lodged in April by the anti-corruption group Sherpa, the French branch of the Clean Clothes Campaign, the Uyghur Institute of Europe, and an Uyghur woman previously held in a Xinjiang camp.

Zara owner Inditex, Uniqlo, French fashion group SMCP, and footwear manufacturer Skechers were accused of using cotton produced in the Xinjiang region.

At least one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are believed to have been incarcerated in camps in the Xinjiang region, where forced labor is imposed and women forcibly sterilized.

The US says "genocide" has been inflicted on the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, allegations which China denied.

China insisted that Xinjiang policies are for countering violent extremism.

The US has announced import bans on a handful of companies operating in Xinjiang, including the solar panel maker Hoshine Silicon Industry.

Inditex disputed that it had used cotton from Xinjiang, saying it has strict traceability controls which allowed them to determine that the allegations were unfounded.

Inditex added that it has a zero-tolerance policy for forced labor and has procedures that guarantee it doesn't exist in its supply chain.

Uniqlo is alleged to have sourced cotton from the Anhui province where Uyghur workers were transferred.

SMCP is alleged to own shares in a firm with factories in Xinjiang, but has refuted that and is willing to work with investigators.