H & M'S Boycott Of Xinjiang Cotton Provokes Public Anger, And There Are International Brands Like Adinike Behind The Deep Excavation!

"While spreading rumors to resist Xinjiang cotton, and at the same time trying to make money in China? Wishful thinking A statement on the official website of Swedish clothing brand H & M was widely circulated on Weibo on the 24th, causing anger among Chinese netizens. The statement, entitled "H & M group's due diligence statement on Xinjiang", said the H & M group was "deeply concerned" by reports from civil society organizations and media, including accusations of "forced labor" and "religious discrimination" against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. H & M does not cooperate with any garment manufacturing plants in Xinjiang and does not purchase products / raw materials from the region, the statement said. Facing the anger of Chinese netizens, the Swedish headquarters of H & M group said on the 24th that "it is unable to respond on the phone and will reply after checking the email". "H & M China" micro blog account issued a statement on the evening of 24, saying that H & M group has always adhered to the principle of openness and transparency in managing our global supply chain, and does not represent any political position.

The Global Times reporter noted that the above statement, which caused public anger, was published in October 2020. Xinjiang is the largest cotton growing area in China and our suppliers have so far purchased cotton from farms in the region associated with BCI, H & M said in the statement. "As credible due diligence in the region has become increasingly difficult, BCI has decided to suspend the issuance of BCI cotton permits in Xinjiang. This means that the cotton we need for our products will no longer be available from there. "

It can be seen from H & M's statement that H & M made the decision of "stopping Xinjiang cotton" based on BCI's judgment and some so-called private reports and media reports. "Global Times" reporters found that BCI, whose full name is the better cotton initiative, is a non-governmental organization established in Switzerland in 2009. According to the app, BCI set up a representative office in Shanghai in October 2012. BCI issued a statement in English on October 21, 2020, but the network link of this statement can not be opened normally. According to the website snapshot, the statement declared that "the persistent accusations of forced labor and other human rights violations in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, as well as the increasing risk of forced labor at the farm level, have made the business environment difficult to maintain". Therefore, BCI decided to "immediately stop all field activities in the region, including capacity-building, data monitoring and reporting." ”。 In March 2020, BCI suspended certification and assurance activities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, so no new certified "good cotton" came from the region, the statement added. BCI has no explanation as to why it made the above judgment.

It is worth noting that a wechat official account named BCI good cotton, certified as "Shanghai Representative Office of Swiss good cotton Development Association", published an article entitled "important statement on Xinjiang issue" on March 1 this year. Contrary to the English statement issued in October last year, this Chinese "statement" clearly points out that BCI China project team strictly abides by BCI's review Nuclear principle: since 2012, the second-party credibility audit and third-party verification of Xinjiang project site have been carried out over the years, "there has never been a case of forced labor". The two sets of speeches published in different languages inevitably make people feel that BCI is fooling people.

In fact, there are still many foreign enterprises that have made comments on "cutting" cotton in Xinjiang in the past two years. Including BCI members Burberry, Adidas, Nike, new Bailun, etc. As early as September last year, H & M announced that it would terminate its "indirect business dealings" with Huafu, a giant in China's spinning industry, on the grounds that the factory was suspected of employing "forced labor" by ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported in February that 12 Japanese companies, including UNIQLO and Muji, planned to suspend transactions with "Chinese companies that have confirmed their involvement in forced labor in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.". "Global Times" reporters interviewed UNIQLO, Muji and Panasonic on the 24th. As of 24:00 on the 24th, no reply has been received. The reporter noted that there are no products related to Xinjiang cotton on UNIQLO's official website, but there are still a large number of Xinjiang cotton products on the official website of Muji.

On the 24th, topics such as "H & M boycotting Xinjiang products" and "H & M touching Xinjiang cotton" continued to ferment on microblogs. Netizens said, "I hope these companies that distort the facts and want to make money for Chinese people will do their best" and "Xinjiang cotton will not eat this set". Since then, Taobao, Jingdong, pinduoduo and other e-commerce platforms have launched H & M related products. Xiaomi, Huawei, vivo, Tencent and other mobile app stores are off the shelves of H & M mall app. Huang Xuan and song Qian, artists who have had business cooperation with H & M, have successively issued statements saying that they have no cooperative relationship with H & M. H & M China has always respected Chinese consumers and is committed to long-term investment and development in China. Currently, H & M has cooperated with more than 350 manufacturers in China to provide clothing products in line with the principle of sustainable development for Chinese and global consumers. But this belated statement obviously can't let netizens buy the bill. Some netizens said, "I'll simply translate it to you: I didn't do anything wrong."

A netizen discovered on the 24th that Anta, a famous Chinese sports shoe brand, is also a member of BCI. Anta side issued a statement on the evening of 24, saying that it has taken note of the statement made by BCI recently and is seriously concerned about this matter. We are starting relevant procedures to withdraw from the organization. Anta has been purchasing and using cotton from China's cotton producing areas, including Xinjiang cotton, and will continue to purchase and use Chinese cotton in the future, the statement said.

In the past two years, American and Western politicians have been speculating on China's Xinjiang related issues. "Forced labor" has become a common excuse for us and Western Anti China forces to attack China's Xinjiang affairs. After consulting a large amount of public information, the reporter of Global Times found that the concentrated attitude of foreign brands towards Xinjiang, China, is basically related to a round of "defamation" actions launched by Western Anti China forces led by the United States against China in Xinjiang from 2018 to 2020. For example, the center for strategic and International Studies (CSIS) of the United States and the Institute of strategic policy of Australia produced two reports distorting China's Xinjiang policy in October 2019 and March 2020 respectively, focusing on the industrial chain of well-known foreign brands using Xinjiang products and labor force, including cotton. Among them, the Australian Institute of strategic policy also lists a list of 83 foreign and Chinese garment enterprises that use Xinjiang's products and labor force.

China's Ministry of foreign affairs and the Xinjiang government have repeatedly refuted the defamation of Anti China forces, stressing that the so-called "forced labor" problem is completely fabricated by some institutions and personnel in the United States and the west, which seriously violates the facts. Taking this as an excuse, the United States and the West take restrictive measures against relevant Chinese enterprises, violate international trade rules, and destroy the global industrial chain, supply chain and value chain, which is a naked act of bullying. China firmly opposes this. Global Times reporters have previously interviewed many enterprises "named" by Western media and think tanks. They all said that employees from Xinjiang work voluntarily and legally, and enjoy social security and other benefits. Cross regional employment and transfer employment to the mainland are important channels for Xinjiang people to get rid of poverty and become rich.