On 17 December 2024, the High Court issued a judgment on preliminary issues in a libel claim by Smart Shirts against a report published by Sheffield Hallam University. The report alleges links between Smart Shirts and state-sponsored Uyghur labour transfers and North Korean forced labour.
- On 17 December 2024, the High Court handed down a judgment on preliminary issues in a libel claim brought by Smart Shirts, a Hong Kong-based international supplier of garments and fabric. The claim, filed on 19 December 2023, concerns allegations made in a report by Sheffield Hallam University’s (SHU) Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice. Titled “Tailoring Responsibility: Tracing Apparel Supply Chains from the Uyghur Region to Europe,” the report was published on 6 December 2023, and an email containing similar allegations was sent to third parties on 21 and 23 November 2023. The report and email assert links between Smart Shirts and state-sponsored labour transfer programs involving Uyghur people, as well as the forced labour of North Koreans.
- While we believe Smart Shirts’ initial filing has not yet been published, The New York Times reports that it claims SHU’s report is false and has jeopardised its business making shirts for brands like Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, and Burberry. Smart Shirts also stated that it believes the allegations “have spread via the grapevine effect” among its customers.
- In the SHU report, Smart Shirts is not itself alleged to have used Uyghur forced labour. The linkages are further in the supply chain and involve multiple complex corporate structures predominantly involving Zhejiang Sunrise but also Younger and Itochu.
- SHU stated in its report that “Zhejiang Sunrise is sourcing from the Uyghur Region, is likely operating in the Uyghur region… and is either directly engaging in – or sourcing from companies that utilize – state-sponsored labor transfer programs of Uyghur people and, allegedly, the forced labour of North Koreans. Zhejiang Sunrise owns the Smart Shirts company and brand, which is a major supplier to international menswear companies.” The report also stated that “According to customs records, Zhejiang Sunrise sends shipments of fabric to its Smart Shirts subsidiaries in Sri Lanka and Vietnam.”
- The New York Times stated that British defamation laws favour plaintiffs more than those in the United States, making Britain a preferred destination for individuals suing news outlets and others over published content, suggesting why the claim was brought in the UK and not elsewhere. We will continue to monitor the case.
Additional Context
- The SHU report briefly references the use of North Korean labour linked to Zhejiang Sunrise. US Customs and Border Protection began detaining goods produced by Zhejiang Sunrise Garment Group in December 2022 for the alleged use of North Korean labour in their supply chains in violation of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).