Overview

• RTÉ found at least 15 Bangladeshi factories imported hundreds of tons of fabric in 2024 from Esquel Group and Jiangsu Lianfa Textiles, which then supplied Penneys, Dunnes Stores, Marks & Spencer, and Tesco.
• Verified footage from December 2024 and corporate records showed both Chinese firms maintained farms and factories in Xinjiang, while the companies did not respond to RTÉ’s requests for comment.
• Better Cotton said its mass balance system, used by Tesco, Marks & Spencer, and Dunnes Stores, was not designed to assure the actual cotton in any given product.
• Experts cautioned that isotopic and geochemical tests struggle to determine origin in mixed or blended fabrics, and testing provider Oritain described its approach as hypothesis driven rather than a determination of origin.
• Tesco, Penneys, and Marks & Spencer cited supplier declarations stating no Xinjiang cotton was used, while Dunnes Stores did not engage with RTÉ and has no public sourcing position.