Esquel Group
Private
Native name溢達集團
FounderYang Yuanlong
LocationHong Kong
Key peopleMarjorie Yang (Chair)
IndustryTextiles
Num employees35,200[1]

traditional Chinese: 溢達集團; simplified Chinese: 溢达集团; pinyin: Yì Dá Jítuán; Jyutping: jat6 daat6 zaap6 tyun4 Esquel Group (traditional Chinese: 溢達集團) is a Hong Kong–based textile and apparel manufacturer. It is one of the largest producers of woven shirts globally. Its head office is in Harbour Centre (海港中心), Wan Chai, Hong Kong.[2]

History

Esquel was founded in 1978 by Yang Yuan-loong.[3] According to one of his daughters, the decision to establish the company was influenced by China's reform and opening up that year.[3] Esquel supplies textiles to companies such as Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Li Ning, ANTA Sports, Fila, Giordano, Muji.[4][5]

U.S. sanctions

Further information: United States sanctions against China and Xinjiang cotton industry

In July 2020, the United States Department of Commerce placed a Hong Kong–based subsidiary of Esquel Group on the Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List for alleged use of forced labor of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.[6][7] In July 2021, Esquel filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. government seeking removal from the Entity List.[8] In August 2021, Esquel was removed, with conditions, from the Entity List by the inter-agency End-User Review Committee, which is composed of representatives from the U.S. Departments of Commerce, State, Defense, Energy, and Treasury.[9][10] Several weeks later, Esquel resumed its lawsuit after failing to reach an agreement with the U.S. Commerce Department regarding the timetable for removal and the specifics of the conditions for removal.[11] In November 2024, U.S. authorities added Esquel Group to a list of entities prohibited from importing into the United States under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.[4]

Facilities

Most of the company's manufacturing facilities are located in mainland China.[12] Like much of the textile industry in the country, Esquel has faced rising labor costs and stricter environmental regulations.[12] To address these pressures, the company has invested in upgrading and automating facilities, rather than shifting production abroad.[12] This approach was noted by the South China Morning Post as different from some competitors that sought lower-cost locations overseas.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Esquel Group". Esquel Group. Archived from the original on 2017-07-24. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  2. ^ "Contact Us". Esquel. Archived 2022-06-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-06-24. ESQUEL ENTERPRISES LTD. [...] 13/F Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong - Traditional Chinese address Archived 2022-06-24 at the Wayback Machine: "溢達企業有限公司 [...]香港灣仔港灣道25號 海港中心13樓", Simplified Chinese address Archived 2022-06-24 at the Wayback Machine: "溢达企业有限公司 [...] 香港湾仔港湾道25号 海港中心13楼"
  3. ^ "How the Esquel Group unexpectedly ended up all in the family". CNBC. May 16, 2016. Archived July 6, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  4. ^ Vanderford, Richard (October 31, 2024). "Hong Kong's Esquel Group Added to U.S. Forced Labor Ban List". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  5. ^ Killing, Alison & Rajagopalan, Megha (January 13, 2022). "This Clothing Company Has Close Ties To Xinjiang, Where Forced Labor Is Rampant". BuzzFeed News. Archived February 19, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  6. ^ Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (July 21, 2020). "Subsidiary of world's largest shirtmaker put on U.S. blacklist over Xinjiang ties". Axios. Archived July 22, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  7. ^ "Commerce Department Adds Eleven Chinese Entities Implicated in Human Rights Abuses in Xinjiang to the Entity List". U.S. Department of Commerce. July 20, 2020. Archived 2020-07-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  8. ^ "Esquel Group sues US over subsidiary's inclusion on 'entity list'". South China Morning Post. 2021-07-07. Archived 2023-02-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  9. ^ Bray, Chad (August 4, 2021). "Nike's former supplier Esquel Group scores a rare win in a bid to remove Xinjiang unit from US forced-labour sanctions list". South China Morning Post. Archived August 17, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  10. ^ "15 CFR Appendix Supplement No. 5 to Part 744 - Procedures for End-User Review Committee Entity List and 'Military End User' (MEU) List Decisions". Legal Information Institute. Cornell Law School. Archived August 27, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  11. ^ Bray, Chad (August 30, 2021). "Hong Kong shirtmaker Esquel Group resumes lawsuit in bid to remove Xinjiang unit from US forced-labour sanctions list". South China Morning Post. Archived August 31, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  12. ^ "Why A Chinese Clothes Maker Rejects Cheap Labor And Goes Green". Forbes. November 10, 2015. Archived July 30, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  13. ^ "100m shirts and counting: Textile maker Esquel embraces technology to cut costs and protect the environment". South China Morning Post. December 16, 2016. Archived July 11, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 30, 2017.