Japanese clothing manufacturer Uniqlo (a Fast Retailing brand) faced criticism on Chinese social media after its founder and CEO, Tadashi Yanai, promised not to use cotton from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Reuters writes.
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Yanai, in an interview with the BBC on November 28, said the company does not use and does not plan to use cotton from Xinjiang. western countries accused authorities of this region in the use of forced labor, political repression and oppression of national and religious minorities. A 2022 UN report on the human rights situation in China also says there are “serious human rights violations” in Xinjiang.
Meanwhile, on Chinese social media, Uniqlo was accused of “arrogance” and called on Chinese citizens to boycott the brand’s products until the company apologizes for its management’s statements, Reuters notes. Fast Retailing had no comment.
China is Uniqlo’s largest market: there are more than 900 stores on the mainland and China, along with Taiwan and Hong Kong, contributes more than 20% of its profits to the company. In an interview with Xinhua in mid-November this year, Pan Ning, head of Uniqlo’s Chinese division, called the company “a direct beneficiary of Chinese economic growth” and expressed hope that the company’s business in China becomes “an example of cooperation between international business and China for the entire world.”
At the same time, the director of Uniqlo, in the same interview, expressed his intention to increase the number of the brand’s stores in China to 3,000. Most of the brand’s clothing is also produced in China, despite the company’s attempts to relocate. production to countries with lower labor costs, such as Bangladesh or Vietnam.
At a news conference on Nov. 29, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maong Ning said she hopes companies can “eliminate political pressure and harmful interference and make business decisions independently and in accordance with their own interests.”
In 2021, due to the Xinjiang cotton boycott, a public campaign against H&M, Nike, Adidas, Burberry and other companies was launched in China. Several dozen representatives of the country’s film and music industries refused to cooperate with the brands, and Chinese marketplaces stopped listing Western retailers on their sites.
At the beginning of the 21st century, up to 20% of the world’s cotton was produced in Xinjiang, highlights the Fashion United portal.
Author:
Mikhail Zelenin
Source: RB

I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.