YORK – The lawyer at the heart of a legal bid to block a potential public listing in London by ultra-fast fashion giant Shein discusses the case with our host Philip Berman in an exclusive podcast interview.
Ricardo Gama, a senior associate solicitor with law firm Leigh Day, is representing the Stop Uyghur Genocide (SUG) charity in the case which centres on alleged forced labour risks in the Chinese-owned company’s supply chain.
Gama explains to Berman that the SUG’s legal argument revolves around two pieces of legislation – the UK Modern Slavery Act and the UK Proceeds of Crime Act.
The first makes it illegal for one person to coerce another into labour but applies only in the UK. However, the second makes it a crime to benefit from any act that would be illegal in the UK even if it happens in another overseas jurisdiction.
Gama argues that it can't be right that the UK authorities can allow any company that potentially derives its profits from criminal conduct to list on the London Stock Exchange.
The SUG’s evidence of alleged forced labour in Shein’s supply chain relates to a 2020 High Court when the World Uyghur Congress challenged the National Crime Agency’s refusal to investigate forced labour risks in Xinjiang cotton in products sold in the UK.
The case was dismissed but later won on appeal. SUG argues that, in light of this case, it should be presumed that all cotton coming from the Xinjiang region – which provides 85% of China’s cotton – is tainted by forced labour.
Gama combines this with the results of laboratory testing, commissioned by Bloomberg News in 2022, which revealed that cotton used in Shein garments originated from Xinjiang.
With Shein said to be about to submit an application to list on the London Stock Exchange with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the SUG is determined to head it off at the pass.
“We are trying to make the case that London is not a 'no questions asked' jurisdiction where you can raise money happily on the capital markets, even if there's evidence of criminality in your supply chains,” Gama says.
Listen to the full podcast to hear more on the SUG’s case against Shein, which has always denied the presence of forced labour in its supply chain, and how the charity plans to continue its fight even if the FCA allows a London listing.
Note: In the interests of balance and journalistic integrity, we emailed Shein on 25th September to allow it to respond to the allegations being made in this podcast by Leigh Day on behalf of the Stop Uyghur Genocide, in particular, that its supply chain allegedly features forced labour and the consequential handling of criminal property in breach of the UK Proceeds of Crime Act, if this was the case.
We asked Shein for an interview to include at the end of this podcast, or a written statement, but as of 30 September no one from Shein had replied. So once again we’d like to extend that invitation of a right to reply here, and also invite Shein to record a follow-up podcast with us to respond to the content of this one.
If you're interested in this issue, then you might like to listen to another recent edition of Ecotextile Talks entitled: "Can we trust textile factory audits in China?" which has an interview with the Executive Director of the Worker Rights Consortium, Scott Nova.
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