State Media Attack Brands For Xinjiang 'concerns'

A growing number of multinational brands have come under attack in China, with state media urging people to boycott the firms for making “scathing and false" remarks about the human rights situation in Xinjiang.

The calls come after Swedish fashion retailer H&M and sportswear giant Nike were condemned by mainland netizens on Wednesday, for past statements expressing concerns over reports of forced labour in Xinjiang, and saying they do not source cotton from the region.

Reports from the state-run People’s Daily, Global Times and CCTV on Thursday said other companies had made similar statements before, including Burberry, Adidas, Zara and New Balance.

They added that according to Kyodo News Agency, several major Japanese companies, such as Uniqlo and Muji, have also ceased business deals with “Chinese companies found to benefit from the forced labour of the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang”.

“Whoever dares to make money in China and yet criticises us has no way out”, a commentary from Xinhua said.

“The act amounts to wanting to eat rice but throwing away your rice cooker!”

The slew of reports prompted online shopping platforms to pull products, mainland celebrities to cancel endorsement deals, and netizens pledging on social media to boycott the brands and dump products they already own.

Threads supporting “Xinjiang Mianhua” (Xinjiang cotton) proliferated on Weibo, with one netizen saying: “Who has an extra pair of slippers? I am going to immediately throw my Nike sneakers into the bin.”

While most of the companies named by state media have not responded to the growing criticism so far, the website of Muji China shows it is still selling a collection of clothes made with ‘Xinjiang cotton’.

H&M China, meanwhile, said on its Weibo site late on Wednesday that the company did not “represent any political position.”

“H&M Group respects Chinese consumers as always,” the statement said. “We are committed to long-term investment and development in China.”