How firms linked to sanctioned Chinese cotton giant sell clothes to U.S.
PVH•Three Vietnam garment makers linked to sanctioned Esquel Group have exported at least $5 million in cotton goods to the U.S. since the company was sanctioned in November 2024. Muji and Rodd & Gunn confirmed sourcing apparel from the makers but said they were unaware of links to Esquel.
1. Vietnam makers export to U.S.
Shipment records show An Loi Apparel, Tessellation Binh Duong and Tessellation Hoa Binh sent at least $5 million in cotton goods to the U.S. after Esquel was sanctioned over alleged links to forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. Esquel denies the allegations. The article says it could not establish whether the exported products contained cotton produced by Esquel or in Xinjiang.
2. Links and supplier disclosures
The three manufacturers formerly used variations of the Esquel Garment Manufacturing Vietnam name and were rebranded in October 2022. Esquel supplied about 70% of the $34 million in cotton it exported from China between November 2024 and June 2026 to the three makers, customs data show. Muji and Rodd & Gunn confirmed they sourced from the manufacturers and said they were not aware of their links to Esquel.
3. U.S. enforcement figures
Between November 2024 and June 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained roughly $2.6 million of the $28 billion in apparel shipped from Vietnam for inspection under the Uyghur forced labor law. More than half of the detained goods, by value, were later released.
