December 1, 2023

Chinese prisoner's ID card apparently found in lining of Regatta coat

Source: Guardian

An ID card that appears to belong to a Chinese prisoner was found inside the lining of a coat from the British brand Regatta, raising concerns that the clothing was manufactured using prison labour. The waterproof women’s coat was bought online by a woman in Derbyshire in the Black Friday sale. When it arrived on 22 November, she could feel a hard rectangular item in the right sleeve, which restricted the movement of her elbow. After cutting into the coat to remove the item, she discovered what looked like a prison identification card, with a mugshot of a man apparently in a prisoner’s uniform in front of a height chart, and the name of the prison in China. The card was found inside a plastic holder embossed with the words: “Produced by the Ministry of Justice prisons bureau.”

It is not clear how the ID card ended up in the coat or whether it was put there deliberately. Handwritten notes from Chinese prisoners occasionally turn up in consumer products, such as in 2019, when a note written in English was found by a six-year-old girl in a Christmas card sold by Tesco. The note said “We are foreign prisoners in Shanghai Qinqpu prison China. Forced to work against our will. Please help us and notify human rights organization.”

Last month, the French broadcaster Arte aired a documentary about a handwritten Chinese letter that was found inside a pregnancy test bought in Paris. The anonymous note said: “Dear friends, do you know that behind your peaceful life, there are Chinese prisoners,” according to the documentary.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/01/chinese-prisoners-id-card-apparently-found-regatta-coat-lining-derbyshire

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Capitalism cares very little for labor. Prisoners here in the US are also 'worked' as slaves in the prison 'industry.'

This practice is odious, immoral, reprehensible.