Smart Glove, a leading manufacturer of rubber gloves for the medical and food industries, has been banned by the United States due to allegations of forced labor.
Smart Glove is the fifth Malaysian company to face such a restriction in less than two years.
In a statement, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it has issued a "Withhold Release Order" that bans imports from Smart Glove and its group of companies, a decision it said is based on evidence the company's factories "utilize forced labor."
Malaysian companies, which produce everything from medical gloves to palm oil and smartphone parts, have come under growing scrutiny due to accusations of abuse of foreign laborers, who make up a sizable portion of the manufacturing sector, made by rights groups and workers.
Smart Glove did not reply quickly to a request for comment.
Two weeks ago, the U.S. banned the products of another Malaysian glove manufacturer, Supermax Corporation, due to identical allegations. CBP, in a statement made on October 20, said Supermax and its subsidiaries violated 10 of the 11 forced labor criteria.
Top Glove, the world's biggest glove manufacturer, was penalized a similar ban from the CBP in July last year because of suspicions of forced labor.
The CBP disclosed its inquiry found seven of 11 International Labor Organization forced labor indications at Smart Glove, but did not specify which ones.
Excessive working hours, physical and sexual assault, and abusive working and living situations are among the ILO indicators.
The CBP has also banned palm oil producers Sime Darby Plantation and FGV Holdings in the last 12 months.
FGV and Sime Darby have both hired auditors to assess their operations and have stated that they will cooperate with the CBP to address the problems raised.
WRP Asia Pacific, another top Malaysian glove manufacturer, was also placed on the CBP withhold release order in September 2019 following allegations that its gloves were created using forced labor.
Meanwhile, Andy Hall, a migrant worker advocate, commended the CBP's decision to prohibit Smart Glove, claiming that foreign workers had been complaining to his team for years about the company's horrible working conditions.
