Scoop from @BethanyAllenEbr and @shawnarchen: the @iocmedia gave a uniform contract for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 #Beijing Olympics to a textile company in #China that has a factory in #Xinjiang. axios.com/olympic-commit…
The company also openly advertises its use of #Xinjiang cotton. The company told the IOC that the cotton used in the Olympic uniforms doesn't originate in Xinjiang.
HYX Group has a long-standing relationship with the Chinese Olympic Committee and was a sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In listings on Taobao and JD.com, the company advertises numerous products as containing Xinjiang cotton.
"The Olympics should have no association with corporations producing in the Uyghur Region. Partnering with a company that not only sources from the Uyghur Region but boasts about it in its product advertising is morally reprehensible," said Penelope Kyritsis, ...
... director of strategic research at Worker Rights Consortium.
"At a time when the world is waking up to the horrors taking placing in the Uyghur Region, the IOC appears to be turning a blind eye," Kyritsis said.
An IOC spokesperson told Axios that HYX Group provided the IOC with a certificate of origin for the cotton used in the production of the IOC uniforms and that the certificate indicated the cotton originated from outside China.
The spokesperson did not say what body had issued the certificate and did not provide a copy of the certificate at Axios' request. "Given the diverse participation in the Olympic Games, the IOC must remain neutral on all global political issues," the IOC said in a statement.
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