Canada’s corporate ethics watchdog on Thursday announced investigations into the Canadian units of Walmart and Hugo Boss to probe allegations of Uyghur forced labour in the companies’ supply chains and operations.

The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) said it had published an initial assessment report after complaints filed by a coalition of 28 civil society organisations in June 2022.

CORE will also investigate the Canadian unit of fashion firm Diesel, which is owned by Italy’s OTB. It has already launched probes into Nike Canada, Dynasty Gold and Ralph Lauren.

“As mediation between the parties is not currently an option, we will be launching investigations into the allegations outlined in these reports,” CORE’s Ombudsperson, Sheri Meyerhoffer, said in a statement.

Walmart Canada and Hugo Boss said they did not tolerate forced labour of any kind in their supply chains.

“None of the entities in the complaint are in our active disclosed supply chain,” Walmart said in a statement. Hugo Boss said CORE’s investigation is based on a supplier relationship that ended in 2022. Diesel did not respond to requests for comment.

In March, a UN committee said it was concerned about China’s treatment of its Muslim minority, including the use of forced labour against Uyghurs. China denies the allegations.

CORE was launched in 2019 to monitor and investigate human rights abuses, mainly by Canadian garment, mining and oil and gas companies operating abroad.

By David Ljunggren; Editor Jonathan Oatis

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Editor's Note: This article was revised on Aug. 25 2023 to add comment from Hugo Boss.