What’s Inside The Blind Box?

Pop Mart’s Viral Labubu Toys Expose Forced Labor in Global Supply Chains

Pop Mart’s collectible Labubu dolls, sold in “blind boxes” across U.S. retail stores, contain cotton that traces directly to China’s Xinjiang region, where up to 3 million Uyghurs face state-imposed forced labor. This case demonstrates how Beijing’s repression of ethnic groups has penetrated even trendy consumer products on American shelves, while Pop Mart publicly defended Xinjiang cotton. With Pop Mart projecting to expand its U.S. presence, immediate enforcement action is critical to prevent the normalization of forced labor in consumer supply chains.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

-Independent laboratory testing of 16 of 20 Pop Mart Labubu dolls sold in the U.S. used isotopic testing to trace their cotton directly to Xinjiang — a region where forced labor is systematically embedded in cotton production.

-Xinjiang operates the world’s largest contemporary system of state-imposed forced labor. In 2025 alone, authorities transferred over 3 million people via “labor transfers,” with those refusing state work assignments facing detention and long-term imprisonment.

–Dongguan, Guangdong—where Pop Mart’s production capacity is centered—also has documented labor transfer programs importing Uyghur workers from Xinjiang.

-Xinjiang produces over 90% of China’s cotton and roughly 20% of global cotton supply, making genuinely clean cotton supply chains inside China vanishingly rare and impossible to maintain. “Cotton trains” regularly transport Xinjiang cotton to textile hubs in Guangdong and Hebei where Pop Mart concentrates production.

-In 2021, Pop Mart terminated its collaboration with Adidas after the sportswear company pledged to avoid Xinjiang cotton. In court filings, the company accused Adidas of “baselessly smearing Xinjiang” and “hurting the feelings of the Chinese people.”

–Pop Mart’s U.S. footprint has expanded from 26 stores in March 2025 to 72 by the end of 2025, with plans to exceed 100 locations in 2026, including 20+ new stores through a partnership announced in January 2026.

RECCOMENDATIONS

–The U.S. government already has the authority to stop these forced labor imports. Now is the time to act. U.S. Customs and Border Protection should immediately detain and test all imports tied to Pop Mart’s manufacturing hubs in Guangdong, Hebei, and Zhejiang provinces to enforce the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’s rebuttable presumption that goods from Xinjiang are made with forced labor.

–The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force should add Pop Mart to the UFLPA Entity List based on evidence of sourcing material inputs presumptively made with forced labor, contracting with facilities credibly accused of coercive practices, and demonstrating patterns of opaque sourcing that impede verification.

–Major U.S. retailers carrying Pop Mart products should immediately audit existing inventory and adopt verifiable cotton traceability protocols, recognizing that companies cannot “responsibly source” in China while sidestepping a state-engineered system of coerced labor.

–Policymakers must recognize that viral consumer trends can rapidly saturate markets with tainted goods when vigilance slips. If enforcement cannot keep toys made with forced labor off shelves, more critical supply chains—from semiconductors to medical gear—remain vulnerable.

Photo by Keith C via Flickr under CC BY 4.0