Correspondence
Email sent to media team at Coles.
The email said that a supplier in the company's supply chain has imported product from a facility in China - Shandong Haidu - which received persons from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China under a state-imposed labor transfer program. The email also asked for comment.
Jessica Tancred, Media Manager Corporate & Indigenous Affairs at Coles Australia, replied by email, saying that their records do not indicate Shandong Haidu is in their Tier 1 or 2 supply chain, but the company will investigate further as human rights is an issue they take very seriously. The email also said: “Coles is committed to acting responsibly and working with suppliers that meet the requirements of our Ethical Sourcing Policy. To ensure we uphold this, the Coles’ Ethical Sourcing Program focuses on mitigating risk across our operations and supply chain. We work closely with our suppliers and take a risk-based approach to ensure we focus on the areas in the supply chain with higher likelihood of human rights and labour rights violations. Suppliers must implement all the requirements within our Ethical Sourcing Program to retain business with Coles.” She also asked for the statement to be credited to a "Coles spokesperson".
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied to say that we do not quote spokespeople anonymously or permit unilateral 'on background' input.