Cotton On, the owners of Typo, are looking into greeting card sourcing following reports about the use of prison labour. This, from the ABC News report:
A Chinese printing company accused of using prison labour to make Christmas cards sold at Tesco supermarkets in the United Kingdom is also a supplier to Australia’s Cotton On Group — a relationship the group is now investigating.
The forced labour allegations emerged after a six-year-old girl in London discovered an apparent plea for help written inside a Christmas card, which was made by the company Zhejiang Yunguang Printing and sold at the supermarket chain Tesco.
“We are foreign prisoners in Shanghai Qingpu Prison China. Forced to work against our will. Please help us and notify human rights organisation,” the note in the Christmas card said.
However, Zhejiang Yunguang Printing also manufactures products for the Cotton On Group, which owns a variety of retail brands across Australia, including Cotton On, Typo and Supre.
The Chinese company was named in Cotton On’s most recent official supplier list, and Zhejiang Yunguang Printing also claimed to make products for the Australian brand in a corporate video on its website.