In March 2021, a consumer boycott started in China following statements by Western fashion brands such as H&M and Adidas announced that they would not use products or raw materials from Xinjiang due to reports and accusations of forced labor against Uyghurs. Many garment companies have also issued statements for similar reasons not to use raw materials or products from Xinjiang. Chinese state media, prominent Chinese celebrities and the Chinese public accused the West of malicious smearing and mobilized to support Xinjiang cotton and boycott those companies that abandoned Xinjiang cotton. The incident led some Chinese companies to withdraw from the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and sparked a boycott of foreign goods in China.

Background

China is the world's largest cotton consumer and the second-largest cotton producer. Xinjiang is the main cotton producing area in China. As of 2020, Xinjiang's cotton production had exceeded 5 million tons, accounting for 87% of China's national output and 20% of the world's cotton production. The area of machine-harvested cotton accounted for 69.83% of the total cotton planting area. Every autumn, when cotton enters the harvesting season, the Xinjiang Railway Department runs special cotton trains to facilitate cotton pickers from inland provinces to enter Xinjiang for harvesting. The machine-harvested cotton business of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps began in 1996, when it mainly used cotton harvesters from the American brands John Deere and Case IH. Since 2018, cotton harvesters from China have been used in Xinjiang.

In July 2019, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) investigative program The Four Corners reported that Uyghurs were arrested and forced to work in textile factories in Xinjiang. Subsequently, Cotton On Group and Target Australia launched an internal investigation into their supply chains and announced that they would no longer use cotton purchased by their Xinjiang subcontractors. On 1 March 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) released a research report stating that about 83 well-known consumer brands, including Apple, Nike, Adidas, Uniqlo and Skechers, had suppliers who were linked to forced labor by Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China, with tens of thousands of Uyghurs being forced to migrate to various parts of China for work. In late March 2020, the British and Swiss-based Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) announced a suspension of its work in Xinjiang for the upcoming cotton season, halting the issuance of Good Cotton licenses in Xinjiang due to ongoing reports and allegations of forced labor in the region, and commissioning an external assessment of the situation in Xinjiang by experts, but promising to support farmers throughout the cotton season. On 21 October, BCI decided to cease all field activities in Xinjiang.

On 9 September 2020, Bloomberg News quoted a spokesperson as saying that H&M had no partnership with any garment factories in Xinjiang and was not currently sourcing any products from the region. The spokesperson also stated that measures had been taken to ensure that suppliers in China were not employing Xinjiang workers through relocation programs. On 16 September, H&M announced the termination of its relationship with a yarn supplier in China (Huafu Fashion) because the factory's products were suspected of being produced using "forced labor" from ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. In a statement released, H&M said it was "deeply concerned" about reports of "forced labor and discrimination against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region" and stressed that it "does not partner with any garment manufacturing plants in Xinjiang and does not source products or raw materials from the region." On 22 September 2020, the United States Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Prior to this, some European and American media accused Xinjiang of forced labor. On 14 December 2020, Adrian Zenz, a senior researcher at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, conducted an investigation into cotton picking in Xinjiang and said that more than 500,000 ethnic minority workers are forced to go to the area to pick cotton every year under the government's mobilization. For example, on 8 October 2018, Aksu and Hotan regions sent 210,000 workers to cotton plantations under the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps through "labor transfer". On 17 December 2020, the BBC News reported in a report titled "Xinjiang cotton pickers: New evidence reveals forced labor behind the fashion industry" that hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities were engaged in hard manual labor in the vast cotton fields of Xinjiang and that hundreds of factories were built rapidly after 2018, many of which were located inside or near the walls of Xinjiang internment camps. The report also stated: "Xinjiang's cotton industry has historically relied on seasonal migrant workers from other provinces of China. Although documents claim that wages can reach ¥5,000 renminbi ($764 dollars) per month, one report seems to indicate that the average monthly wage of 132 cotton pickers in a village organization is ¥1,670 renminbi ($255 dollars)."

On 22 March 2021, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada announced sanctions against Chinese officials for human rights violations by Uyghurs in Xinjiang. This was the first time sanctions had been imposed on China by the EU since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. The United Kingdom, the United States and Canada subsequently issued a joint statement stating that there was conclusive evidence of human rights violations by Chinese authorities in Xinjiang. Australia and New Zealand also issued a joint statement on the same day supporting the sanctions imposed by the EU, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The boycott campaign Starting in the early morning of 24 March 2021, information about H&M, Xinjiang cotton and the BCI label began to circulate on social networking sites such as Weibo and Douban. At 10:00 a.m. on 24 March, the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) criticized a statement issued by H&M, a BCI member, in September 2020 on Weibo. H&M was accused of "deliberately finding fault with Xinjiang cotton" and "spreading rumors and boycotting Xinjiang cotton while making money? That's wishful thinking". The group stated in its statement that it "does not cooperate with any garment manufacturing factories located in Xinjiang, nor does it purchase products or raw materials from the region", which was considered a statement against China's accusations of forcing Uyghurs to work. H&M was boycotted by the Chinese state media and netizens in China on Chinese social networks. Some argue that H&M was not criticized when it issued a statement in September 2020 because the government of China did not want to affect the negotiations on the China–EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment at that time.

Boycott of H&M The studios of former H&M Greater China spokespeople Victoria Song and Huang Xuan, as well as Jackie Li, also issued statements on 24 March 2021, indicating that they had terminated their cooperation with H&M. Taobao, JD.com, Pinduoduo and other e-commerce platforms in China blocked H&M's store and related products a little later, while its official website in China was still operating.

Chengdu Joy City removed the H&M trademark. In addition, Huijia Times Department Store in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, closed its H&M store and issued a statement demanding that H&M apologize to the people of Xinjiang. On the morning of 25 March, the staff of the Dezhou branch in Shandong suddenly closed the store and suspended business. Some stores that were not closed were even more affected by this incident, with few people. In Qingdao, Shandong, some real estate projects even used banners to state that they would not allow people wearing H&M products to visit, but they were criticized by many as being sensationalist. At the H&M store in Zhongyuan Wanda, Zhengzhou, Henan, a young woman held up a sign that read "I support Xinjiang cotton and boycott H&M" and tried to persuade and prevent customers from entering the store. She was eventually taken away by the police. According to a Bloomberg News report on 29 March, mall operators in second-tier cities such as Ürümqi, Yinchuan, Changchun and Lianyungang said that at least six stores have been closed by their owners. Chinese media reported more store closures, and many H&M brand billboards, such as those in Dazhou, Sichuan, Chongqing MixC store, and the H&M specialty store in Hohhot National Mall, Inner Mongolia, have been removed. It is understood that the closure of multiple H&M stores was the latest response to H&M's statement.On 24 March 2021, H&M Group issued a statement saying that the group has always adhered to the principle of openness and transparency in managing its global supply chain, ensuring that suppliers around the world comply with its sustainable development commitments such as the OECD Code of Responsible Business Conduct, and does not represent any political stance. Subsequently, the People's Daily's Weibo account "People's Daily Commentary" stated that "Chinese netizens will not buy it" and emphasized that "national interests are above all else". On 31 March, H&M stated that the company's long-term commitment to the mainland Chinese market "remains firm" and that the company hopes to be a "responsible shopper, whether in mainland China or elsewhere in the world." It continued "Through working together with stakeholders and partners, we believe we can take action together to develop the fashion industry and serve customers and act in a respectful manner". However, this response did not mention Xinjiang and did not gain the approval of Chinese netizens. On 31 March 2021, the Helena Helmersson, the CEO of H&M, revealed that 20 stores in China had been closed. H&M was also blocked by e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and JD.com.

In July 2021, H&M announced its second fiscal quarter performance from March to May, revealing that the group's sales in mainland China fell by 28% to kr1.624 billion krona from kr2.259 billion krona during the same period last year. At the same time, as of the end of May, the number of the group's stores in China decreased by 13 to 489. Compared with H&M's other ten sales markets, China was the only region without sales growth. Moreover, before the boycott in the same period last year, China was H&M's third-largest region in terms of sales, second only to Germany and the United States, accounting for nearly 6% of the group's global market. In the last quarter, China's ranking in terms of the group's sales fell to sixth. In August 2021, H&M released its third quarterly performance, revealing that China had fallen out of the list of H&M's top ten markets, meaning that H&M Group's revenue in China in that quarter was no longer in the top ten. According to Bloomberg News, H&M's revenue in China in the third quarter of this year plummeted by about 40%, with a loss of more than ¥737 million renminbi. In response, H&M Group CEO Helena Helmersson declined to disclose the latest situation of H&M's business in China, only saying that H&M was boycotted after raising issues related to Xinjiang cotton, which was "a very complex situation". She later said in an interview: "Of course, it has been a challenging year. The more unpredictable world has taught me a lesson." She then stated that "while the Chinese market is very important, we will not apologize or resume using Xinjiang cotton."

Government reactions