“Shave Their Heads. Sell Their Hair.” – The forced labor behind beauty.

Background

Since 2015, more than a million Uyghurs have been arbitrarily detained in a state-run system of concentration camps in East Turkestan where they are made to give up their religious and ethnic identities. Some current and former captives are sent to work in factories, where they are heavily monitored and forced to attend indoctrination sessions.

Female survivors of the camps have reported that women’s heads were immediately shaved when they were admitted to the camps.

What’s Happening

China supplies more than 80% of the world’s human-hair products that are used by wig makers. These hair products have been proven to come from the concentration camps in East Turkestan, with one Chinese hair exporter saying, “We have our own manufacturer, we just go [to East Turkestan] to source materials,” in response to questioning about their product named, “dark brown virgin Xinjiang human hair.”

At the same time as the concentration camps have developed, human-hair production in China has increased by 78%.

Outside of concentration camps, select prisoners are relocated to forced labor factories disguised as “vocational training” centers where they are kept apart from family to work without pay. Both camps and forced labor facilities are kept strategically in close proximity with human-hair production factories (see image).

Hair sourced from prisoners in concentration camps is passed through forced labor facilities into nearby hair factories to be exported to wig makers around the world.

Our Role

The United States is the largest importer of human hair products from China. In 2018 alone, we imported $3.15 billion hair products, 42% of China’s total exports.

The beauty industry is backed by forced labor and concentration camps. We need to stop this.

Act Now

Raise awareness of the tragedies happening in East Turkestan by sharing this information with your friends, family, and on social media. Spread the word, contact beauty bloggers and influencers and let them know what is happening. Learn where your products come from. Abstain from buying hair products that are sourced in China.

Contribute to the Uyghur cause, and directly help us stop the largest mass detention of people since the Holocaust. Visit saveuighur.com/act-now for more info.