Badger Sportswear in a statement posted to its website said it will no longer do business with a Chinese company that allegedly used workers from an internment camp holding targeted members of ethnic minority groups, according to the Associated Press.
In a statement reportedly on its website, Badger Sportswear said it will no longer do business with Hetian Taida, nor import any goods from the same region “given the controversy around doing business” there.
“Furthermore, we will not ship any product sourced from Hetian Taida currently in our possession,” the company said, adding that the supplier accounted for about 1 per cent of Badger’s total annual sales.
The decision comes after an Associated Press investigation found the Chinese government had started forcing some detainees to work in manufacturing and food industries and tracked some of those to a factory owned by Hetian Taida that Badger was found to be working with.
Universities stocking Badger clothing began pulling items from their shelves and websites after the report appeared in December, according to the Associated Press.
Founder Sport Group owns Badger Sportswear as well as Teamwork Athletic Apparel, Alleson Athletic and Garb Athletics.
