Meghan Markle’s instant coffee investment has landed her in hot coffee beans as the ‘wellness’ brand has been linked to a Chinese state accused of genocide.
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Meghan invested in Clevr Blends as her first independent move after leaving the royal family with her husband Prince Harry in December.
The brand, which apparently prides itself on its ethical practices, has been caught using the oat milk supplier Xinjiang Haiyan International Trade, which according to Page Six, is situated six kilometres from an alleged detention centre, which includes a re-education site.
The brand received thousands upon thousands of oat milk powder from the Chinese state between the months of October and February.
Meghan is known for her activism and for supporting women, which makes sense she wanted to partner with Clevr Blends, which advertises itself as a “woman-led mission-driven wellness company,” according to the Daily Telegraph.
Although these new allegations have just come to light, the brand and Meghan may find it difficult to claim ignorance since other companies have been well aware of the genocide link with this Chinese supplier.
Human rights groups have called for western companies to remove business ties from the Xinjiang region because of allegations of systematic rapes and the detention of millions of Muslims in re-education forced labour camps.
With huge companies like H&M and Burberry refusing to work with the Chinese state, the information about their practices has clearly been out in the open for long enough for businesses to remove ties and find new suppliers.
Unfortunately for the Duchess, this isn’t her first food-based scandal, and back in early 2019, she was under fire for advertising her love of avocados.
At the time, The Daily Mail blasted Meghan for “fuelling human rights abuses, drought and murder,” as a result of enjoying the popular avo and toast combo.
Although the avo-gate drama was swiftly forgotten about, this new coffee-gate fiasco is less likely to fade into obscurity as there has been more effort to boycott the Chinese supplier than there has been to shut down avocado abuse.
Both Meghan and Clevr Blends are yet to comment on the scandal.
