Need to know
- As of May 2025, Kmart Australia had 856 businesses in its supply chain, based in China, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan and Vietnam
- The Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association (AUTWA) recently filed an application in the Federal Court to force Kmart to supply documents about two of its suppliers in the Uyghur Autonomous Region in Xinjiang, China
- According to the legal firm handling the case, there are "credible links" between these factories and the use of Uyghur forced labour
The supply chains of large-scale retailers such as Kmart Australia extend through many countries and involve hundreds of individual suppliers. The vast majority of Kmart's suppliers are located in China, but Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan and Vietnam also manufacture the apparel, footwear and other products in their stores, with rock-bottom prices that prove irresistible for many Australians.
With goods this cheap from numerous suppliers, the possibility of labour exploitation is always there. The International Labour Organisation (part of the United Nations) estimates that around 50 million people work under modern slavery conditions around the world, many of them in countries that are poor compared to Australia.
The Kmart Group, which is owned by Wesfarmers and includes Target, had a banner 2024 financial year. Profits (or 'earnings', which is revenue minus expenses) of $958 million were about 25% higher than the previous 12 months and set a new record. Overall revenue was up to over $11 billion.
As of May 2025, Kmart Australia had 856 businesses in its supply chain, many of which have thousands of employees
Kmart says the factories that supply its products are independently audited. Its ethical sourcing transparency policy states "we work with suppliers who share and follow our high standards of conduct in whichever country they operate". The company can demand information from suppliers about the ages and wages of workers and says it can prohibit 'high risk' sourcing practices.
But as of May 2025, Kmart Australia had 856 businesses in its supply chain, many of which have thousands of employees. Even with a firm commitment to ethical sourcing, keeping a close eye on all of them would be a massive and costly undertaking for any major retailer.
And like other companies, Kmart's supply chains extend to parts of the world where concerns about forced labour are particularly acute, including what is now known as the Uyghur Autonomous Region in Xinjiang, China.
Australian Uyghurs take legal action
On 4 August, the Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association (AUTWA) announced that it had filed an application in the Federal Court in an effort to force Kmart to supply documents detailing what it knows about two of its suppliers based in the region.
AUTWA president Ramila Chanisheff says: "China's mass imprisonment, repression and forced labour of Uyghur people is well-documented. We're demanding answers from Kmart so we know whether its actions live up to its words about addressing forced labour risks in its supply chain."
Kmart has strenuously denied any links to forced labour, but Jennifer Kanis of the law firm Maurice Blackburn – which is representing the AUTWA along with the Human Rights Law Centre – says, "We know there are credible links between two of its factories and suppliers and the use of Uyghur forced labour in Xinjiang."
We're demanding answers from Kmart so we know whether its actions live up to its words about addressing forced labour risks in its supply chain
AUTWA president Ramila Chanisheff
"Kmart must be transparent about its potential links with Uyghur forced labour, and the Court will be asked to compel Kmart to hand over information about what due diligence it has conducted on suppliers with links to Xinjiang," Kanis says.
If Kmart can't or won't supply the information, any further legal action would hinge on whether the company has engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by advertising itself as more ethical than it is.
Uyghur women at a hotan market in Xinjiang, China. The Chinese government's oppression of the Muslim minority is well documented.
Kmart stands by its ethical sourcing credentials
A Kmart spokesperson tells CHOICE that the company "is disappointed that the AUTWA has taken this course of action", adding that it had invited the group to meet with the company several times "to help us understand their concerns" and that the invitation has not been taken up.
Though the Uyghur rights group is seeking documentation that would substantiate that Kmart has no links to forced labour in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the spokesperson says that "at no point has the AUTWA engaged with Kmart to explain or identify any specific alleged inadequacies".
At no point has the AUTWA engaged with Kmart to explain or identify any specific alleged inadequacies
Kmart spokesperson
Kmart maintains that it has had an ethical sourcing program in place for 15 years, which it says helps "to identify and mitigate modern slavery risks, including the risk of forced labour, in our operations and supply chains".
Compliance with the code is a contractual obligation for Kmart's suppliers.
No ban on goods from questionable sources
But why are goods from regions where forced labour is a major concern coming to Australia in the first place? Shelley Marshall, deputy dean at the School of Law at RMIT University, says Australia has a long way to go in establishing firm policies against modern slavery, of which forced labour is a prime example.
"Unlike the United States and the European Union, Australia does not ban imports linked to forced labour, nor does it impose a duty on companies to act on modern slavery risks—only to report them," Marshall says.
"Kmart maintains it has robust ethical sourcing policies and denies any link to forced labour. But the fact that the plaintiff had to apply to the court just to access supplier information, which Kmart publicly claims to have transparently disclosed, demonstrates the profound inadequacy of Australian consumer law."
It shouldn't be left to members of the public to take companies to court and force them to open their books where there are suspicions of links to modern slavery
Freya Dinshaw, associate legal director, Human Rights Law Centre
Freya Dinshaw, associate legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, says "the alarm bells have been ringing for a long time" about forced labour in the Chinese garment sector, a fact that human rights advocates have made clear to Australian retailers.
Dinshaw believes companies should be required to investigate and prevent labour exploitation, rather than merely having to report on potential modern slavery risks in their supply chains as required by Australia's Modern Slavery Act.
As it stands right now, it's up to non-governmental organisations and advocacy groups to press the issue.
"This case highlights some of the weaknesses in Australia's modern slavery laws," Dinshaw says. "It shouldn't be left to members of the public to take companies to court and force them to open their books where there are suspicions of links to modern slavery."
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