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Uniqlo is facing an online backlash in China after the boss of its parent company said the Japanese clothing retailer does not source cotton from Xinjiang.
Fast Retailing chief executive Tadashi Yanai told the BBC this week that Uniqlo “does not use” cotton from China's western province.
Chinese commentators picked up on the comment and called for a boycott of the retailer.
Xinjiang cotton is controversial because China has been accused of using forced labor of people from the Uyghur Muslim minority in its production. Beijing has always denied these allegations.
Following the BBC report, commentators took to social media platform Weibo to call for a boycott of Uniqlo.
Millions of people read articles with hashtags related to the topic: “Controversy over the words of the founder of Uniqlo”.
Related trending hashtags included: “Xinjiang cotton is the best in the world,” “I support Xinjiang cotton,” and “Uniqlo’s China results are falling.”
One user wrote: “With this kind of attitude from Uniqlo and the arrogance of its founder, they are probably betting that mainland consumers will forget about it in a few days and continue buying.” So can we hold on this time? “
The online backlash came after Mr Yanai told the BBC: “We don't use (Xinjiang cotton).”
“By mentioning what cotton we use…” he continued, before pausing and ending his response with: “Actually, it gets too political if I say more so let’s stop there.”
In June 2022, companies began having to prove that their imports into the United States are not produced using forced labor.
Swedish group H&M has had its clothing removed from major e-commerce stores in China after refusing to source cotton from Xinjiang.
Many global brands such as Nike, Burberry, Esprit and Adidas have been boycotted after being caught up in the controversy.
Part of the reason Uniqlo avoided controversy was because Mr. Yanai refused to take a position at the time.
Western companies continue to get involved in this controversial subject.
In September, China's Commerce Ministry opened an investigation into Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger's parent company PVH, saying it was suspected of “unfairly boycotting” Xinjiang cotton and other products “without factual basis.” .
PVH said it would respond in accordance with current regulations, according to media reports.
