H&M’s online store on its Chinese shopping site has been blocked.
Swedish clothing brand H&M, because of a statement refusing to use Xinjiang cotton by the Chinese Communist Party authorities and pinky attack, H&M China shopping site on the online store, but also all blocked. However, a reporter visited the field on the 25th found that H&M physical stores still have queues of people.
In China has nearly 500 stores of the internationally renowned fashion giant H & M, located at the top of the list of companies banning cotton products in Xinjiang. With the U.S. and Europe recently sanctioned the Communist Party of China’s policy of extermination of Xinjiang, H&M also declared its refusal to use Xinjiang cotton.
According to the statement, the group is deeply concerned about allegations of forced labor and discrimination against minority religions in Xinjiang, and has decided “not to work with any garment manufacturing factories in Xinjiang or source products and raw materials from the region,” and said it has joined the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). “(BCI).
“Members of the Better Cotton Initiative, a global nonprofit organization, have expressed strong concerns about the production of products from Xinjiang by forced labor and have cut back. Members include major international brands such as Nike, IKEA and MUJI, and the famous Chinese brand Anta is also among them.
The statement was issued last October, but after the U.S., Europe and other Western countries tightened sanctions against the CCP over human rights issues in Xinjiang, the statement was heavily relayed by the CCP’s official media on March 24, and related issues quickly fermented, with many old and young fans shouting boycott.
That night, CCTV and Xinhua also published commentary articles criticizing the brand for “eating China’s rice and smashing China’s pot. Chinese cell phone manufacturers such as huawei and Xiaomi, as well as e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and Tmall, have also taken H&M’s apps and products offline.
However, despite such a huge boycott by the Chinese Communist Party, it did not affect customers’ mood to go shopping in any way.
A reporter from the mainland media visited H&M stores in Beijing and found that not only were the stores open for business as usual, but there were also queues of people shopping and trying on the products, and sales clerks and customers were asked questions about the situation, but they all used the excuse “I’m not sure”.
However, after the fermentation of the incident, H&M seems to have softened its attitude and issued a statement on the 24th, saying: “The Group has always adhered to the principle of openness and transparency in the management of our global supply chain to ensure that suppliers worldwide comply with our sustainability commitments such as the OECD Code of Responsible Business Conduct, and does not represent any political position. “
The statement mentioned that H&M Group continues to respect Chinese consumers and is committed to long-term investment and development in China, where it currently works with more than 350 manufacturers to provide apparel products that comply with sustainable development principles for Chinese and global consumers.
This statement by H&M last October is now being rehashed by the Chinese Communist Party’s official media, perhaps in connection with the multi-national collaboration to sanction Chinese Communist Party officials for human rights violations against Uighurs in Xinjiang.
On March 22, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada announced travel bans and asset freezes against four Communist Party officials and one entity for human rights violations against the Uyghur people in Xinjiang, and the United States announced sanctions against two Communist Party officials.
On the same day, the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the American Footwear Dealers Association, the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, and the Fashion Industries of America issued a joint statement supporting the State Department’s actions to stop the persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang and to promote an end to the ongoing genocide.
The joint statement indicates that the U.S. business community has been working to reduce forced labor for the past two years and that these industry representatives will continue to work with the U.S. government and Congress to implement effective and enforceable strategies to address forced labor in Xinjiang.
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