Popular Brands Boycotted by China.
Should people boycott global brands that use forced Uyghur labour in their supply chains?
China is boycotting businesses from some countries that try to stand up for action against forced labour in their production lines.
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The Swedish company H&M is no longer using cotton from the Xinjiang region citing the BCI’s move to stop licensing cotton from the region because it was difficult to trace how it was produced.
- H&M is now being boycotted in China.
The South Korean shoe brand FILA says it will continue to use cotton from Xinjiang, and FILA China has started the process of withdrawing from the Better Cotton Initiative, an industry group that promotes environmental and labor standards.
- Will the world follow China’s example and boycott FILA products?
Dozens of Chinese celebrities have called off endorsement deals with Nike, Adidas, Burberry, Uniqlo and Lacoste after state media criticised the brands for expressing concern about Xinjiang.
These companies might also begin to feel the effects of boycotting their products in China.
According to researchers there are over 1 million members of the Uyghur and other ethnic minorities confined to detention camps in Xinjiang, with accusations of imposing forced labor and coercive birth control measures.
On rejecting the claims of abuses, the Chinese authorities say the camps are for job training to support economic development.
Some multinational companies like H&M and Nike, members of the BCI, are facing a backlash in China after they announced they were to suspend sourcing cotton from Xinjiang.
Burberry is the latest fashion retailer to face consumer backlash in China, after it announced it would not source cotton from the region, due to human rights allegations.
Chinese e-commerce platforms Taobao, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Suning.com, and Meituan’s Dianping on Thursday removed H&M from their platforms, and Chinese Android app stores have removed H&M as well.