According to H&M’s official website, the H&M Group will no longer use Xinjiang cotton for production, prohibit cooperation with clothing factories in Xinjiang, and cancel the purchase of products because of concerns about “reports from civil society organizations and the media”. In the recent days caused a large number of Chinese netizens vitriol, Chinese actor Huang Xuan and Chinese actress Song Xi also announced the termination of cooperation with H&M.
The statement reads, “H&M is deeply concerned about reports from civil society organizations and media reports, including allegations of forced labor and religious discrimination against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” according to comprehensive media reports. In the statement H&M Group said that we do not work with any garment manufacturing factories located in Xinjiang and do not source products/raw materials from the region.”
The statement also mentions that Xinjiang is the largest cotton growing region in China and that our suppliers have so far sourced cotton from farms in the region associated with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). As it has become increasingly difficult to conduct credible due diligence in the region, BCI has decided to suspend the issuance of BCI cotton licenses in Xinjiang. This means that the cotton needed for our products will no longer be available from there. “
It is true that H&M has terminated its cooperation with the supplier in question, but the timing is in 2020. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has already responded to this matter last year. on September 16, 2020 Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin hosted a regular press conference. At the meeting, the question was asked: “What is China’s comment on fashion retailer H&M’s termination of its partnership with a Chinese supplier suspected of using forced labor in Xinjiang? “What does China have to say about this? Wang Wenbin replied, “I already answered a similar question yesterday, that the country concerned used the so-called “forced labor” issue as a pretext to take restrictive measures against the Chinese company concerned, which China firmly opposes. We believe that the relevant measures are a kind of politicized manipulation, which violates the rules of international trade and undermines the global industrial chain, supply chain and value chain. “
Recently Chinese netizens focused on boycotting H&M, from March 21, under the three recent microblogs released by H&M China, a large number of netizens left messages saying: “Quit China”, and the relevant messages are still growing. The Central Committee of the Communist Youth League issued a message saying, “Trying to make money in China while creating rumors and boycotting, delusional!” . Chinese actor Huang Xuan and Chinese actress Song Xi also released the news of termination of cooperation with H&M through the studio today (24).
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