[서울신문] China burns Nike and “NO H&M”… Xinjiang Human Rights Sparkling Global Fashion

Clothing industry stands at the crossroads of choosing human rights and the Chinese market

H&M·Nike “boycott of forced labor growth”
The issue is belatedly due to public sanctions such as the United States and the United Kingdom.
All brands made in China likely to be subject to ideological verification
Chinese government “It is a fiction that forced labor exists”

The flames of conflict between the United States, the European Union, and China over the Uighur issue have shifted to global fashion brands. As H&M of Sweden and Nike of the United States announced that they will not procure products and raw materials from Xinjiang, which are subjected to forced labor, a boycott among Chinese consumers is spreading. It is expected that global brands will soon have to choose between’human rights’ and’the Chinese market’.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 25th, it was belatedly known that H&M did not use cotton produced in Xinjiang and did not cooperate with clothing factories in Xinjiang, and was beaten by Chinese netizens. On Weibo (Chinese version of Twitter), “Is it reasonable to make money in China by boycotting new products?” and “I will no longer buy H&M products that distort the reality of China.”

The products were also deleted from Chinese online shopping malls such as Taobao, Jingdong and Tian Mao (T Mall). H&M male and female models actors Hwang Xuan and Song Chen (Victoria) also said, “All contracts are ending. “I oppose the act of fabricating rumors against China.”

H&M has 520 stores in China, the second largest after the US (593). If the trend is right now, the company is likely to be expelled from the mainland.

In September of last year, on its website, H&M expressed his deep concern about forced labor and discrimination against ethnic minorities. I will not buy cotton produced in this area.” The statement did not receive much attention, but on the 22nd, when 30 countries including the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom, and Canada entered public sanctions on the grounds of suppressing the human rights of the Uighurs, the Chinese Communist Youth Corps (the public hearing group) spread the information, and the situation grew, SCMP said. Explained.

Nike also emerged as a target. This is because the company also expressed concern over reports related to forced labor in Xinjiang and said that “it does not receive products from this region.” Hong Kong Myungbo said that the video of burning Nike shoes started filling the Internet from the day before. Advertising models Wang Yibo and Tan Songyun said, “We will stop all cooperation with this company.” Netizens also listed Uniqlo (Japan), Adidas (Germany), and New Balance (USA) on boycott companies. In the near future, all overseas apparel brands with manufacturing facilities in China are expected to be on the “ideal verification” cutting board.

China’s Commerce Department spokesman Gao Feng said in a briefing today, “When individual companies made a commercial decision (stop using kidney cotton) based on false information, consumers responded with action.” Spokesman Gao argued that “the existence of’forced labor’ in Xinjiang is a complete fiction,” and “will not allow any power to insult the pure white kidney cotton.

According to the US think tank Institute for Strategic International Studies (CSIS), China is the world’s largest cotton textile exporter, with a market share of more than 20%. Of the cotton fabrics made in China, 85% is from Xinjiang. Considering the complexity of the supply chain, the industry explains that it is almost impossible to completely filter out ‘100% free products from forced labor’ while using cotton made in China.

Beijing Correspondent Ji-young Ryu [email protected]