Chinese netizens have called for the ouster of Sweden's fashion retailer H&M from the Chinese market after they found the company had previously said it had prohibited sourcing products from Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, citing so called forced labor concerns in the cotton-producing region amid the latest wave of Western attack at China.
The boycotts is still spreading, and consumers can not check out H&M products on some online platforms and even some work studios said they have stopped cooperation with the brand.
As of press time, the latest search results of the taobao.com show that all "H&M" and "HM" searches have returned no results. Similar result is also found out on JD.com, another online shopping giant.
H&M issue goes viral. Mobile phone app stores of Xiaomi, Huawei and Vivo have removed H&M’s app, while Baidu map and Dianping.com blocked search results for their stores.
H&M said in March 2020 that it is deeply concerned by reports from civil society organizations and media that include accusations of "forced labor" and discrimination of ethno-religious minorities in Xinjiang, and it strictly prohibits any type of forced labor in the supply chain, regardless of the country or region.
The company said if it discovers and verifies a case of forced labor at a supplier it works with, it will take immediate action and, as an ultimate consequence, look to terminate the business relationship.
Although the statement has been on its official website for more than one year, it has triggered a fresh round of attention as the EU recently made sanctions over Xinjiang affairs, sending a strong signal of meddling in Chinese internal affairs. Some internet users said "such suicidal behavior" deeply offends the feelings of the Chinese people, and the company could not earn money in the Chinese market.
Netizens also left remarks on the official Weibo account of H&M to show their outrage, including comments such as "'I heard that you are boycotting Chinese cotton, then I will boycott your products."
