Uniqlo risks boycott in China after CEO’s comments from Xinjiang

BEIJING – Casual wear giant Uniqlo is facing calls for a consumer boycott in China after the CEO of the clothing company’s owner said it does not source cotton from China’s Xinjiang, where allegations of forced labor have been made in recent years.

Tadashi Yanai, CEO of Fast Retailing, made the comments during an interview in Tokyo with the British Broadcasting Corporation published on November 28th.

Two hashtags related to Mr. Yanai’s comment went viral on Chinese social media platform Weibo on November 29, where several users criticized the company and vowed never to buy its products.

“Given this attitude from Uniqlo and the arrogance of their founder, they probably assume that mainland consumers will forget about it in a few days and continue buying. “So can we stand firm this time?” wrote one user.

Fast Retailing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Asked about Mr. Yanai’s alleged comments at a news conference on Nov. 29, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said she hoped “enterprises can eliminate political pressure and bad interference and independently make business decisions in line with their own interests.”

China is Fast Retailing’s largest overseas market, with more than 900 stores on the mainland. Greater China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, accounts for more than 20 percent of the company’s sales.

The issue of sourcing from Xinjiang has been a geopolitical minefield for foreign companies with a large presence in China.

This was highlighted by the consumer boycott that Uniqlo’s rival H&M faced in China in 2021, after the company released a statement on its website expressing concern over allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang and stated it I will no longer buy cotton from there.

H&M had to remove its stores from major e-commerce platforms and remove its store locations from mapping apps in China as it bore the brunt of consumer anger over companies refusing to source cotton from Xinjiang, despite other Western brands like Nike , Puma, Burberry and others refusing to source cotton from Xinjiang were also caught up in the controversy.

In September, China’s Ministry of Commerce opened an investigation into PVH, the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, saying in a statement that PVH was suspected of an “unjustified boycott” of Xinjiang cotton and other products “without any factual basis.”

According to media reports, PVH has stated that it will respond in accordance with relevant regulations. REUTERS