The activists were working undercover at two factories in southern China, according to China Labor Watch, the New York-based advocacy group for which they were carrying out the investigation.
"We appeal to President Trump, Ivanka Trump herself, and to her related brand company to advocate and press for the release of our activists", he said.
China Labor Watch executive director Li Qiang says he assumes the men must be held either by the factory or the police to be unreachable.
The three men had been investigating a factory which makes shoes for the Ivanka Trump brand and other Western brands, he said in an email.
Li Zhao had worked covertly at a shoe factory in the city of Dongguan, in Guangdong province, Mr Li said.
Li said the activists were probing two factories owned by major footwear producer Huajian Group. During their final phone conversation on Saturday, Hua told Li that police had asked him to stop investigating the Huajian factory - another turn of events that Li said was unprecedented.
White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks referred questions to Ivanka Trump's company, which declined to comment.
Huajian Group and the Ivanka Trump brand did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Huajian didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. With the family's only breadwinner in police detention for the past four days, she said she's anxious about their financial situation.
Deng Guilian, Hua's wife, was notified of his arrest by Jiangxi authorities on Tuesday.
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People connected to the Trump administration have repeatedly come under fire for business dealings in China.
Abigail Klem, who took over day-to-day management when the first daughter took on a White House role as presidential adviser, has said that the brand requires licensees and their manufacturers to "comply with all applicable laws and to maintain acceptable working conditions". On Tuesday, the Associated Pressreported that the men investigating Ivanka Trump's factory are missing or have been arrested by local officials, an announcement that has led many to call on the fashion mogul to condemn the Chinese government's actions.
Advocacy groups, foreign or not, are having a rough time in China.
Last month, the Kushner family's real estate company sparked an uproar after his sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer, headlined events in Beijing and Shanghai to seek more than $150 million in investment in a U.S. luxury apartment complex through a controversial U.S. visa programme.
While Trump in January pledged to "buy American", US Customs bills of lading examined by AFP revealed that more than 50 tonnes of Ivanka Trump-branded items were streaming towards American ports from China even as he spoke.
Xi has overseen a tightening of controls on civil society since assuming power in 2012, with arrests that have drawn global condemnation.
Li Zhao and Hua Haifeng were blocked from leaving mainland China for Hong Kong in April and May - something that had never happened to his colleagues before, Li said.
Hua's wife, Deng, said she believed her husband's job was "helpful and meaningful to society".
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