By Eduardo Baptista and Casey Hall
BEIJING (Reuters) – Casual clothing giant Uniqlo faces calls for a consumer boycott in China after a BBC report quoted its owner’s chief executive as saying the company does not source cotton from the Chinese region. of Xinjiang, which has faced accusations of forced labor in recent years. years.
Fast Retailing CEO Tadashi Yanai made the comment during an interview in Tokyo with the British Broadcasting Corporation that was published on Thursday.
Two hashtags about Yanai’s comment went viral on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Friday, where some users criticized the company and vowed to never buy its products.
“With this kind of attitude from Uniqlo, and with its founder being so arrogant, they are probably betting that continental consumers will forget about this in a few days and continue shopping. So can we hold our own this time?” wrote one user.
Fast Retailing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Asked about Yanai’s comments at a news conference on Friday afternoon, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said he hoped “companies can eliminate political pressure and bad interference and take business decisions independently and in line with their own interests.
China is Fast Retailing’s largest overseas market and has more than 900 stores on the mainland. Greater China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, accounts for more than 20% of the company’s revenue.
The issue of sourcing in Xinjiang has been a geopolitical minefield for foreign companies with a large presence in China.
This was demonstrated by the consumer boycott that Uniqlo’s rival H&M faced in China in 2021 over a statement posted on its website expressing concern over allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang and saying it would no longer source cotton from there. .
H&M saw its stores pulled from major e-commerce platforms and its locations moved from mapping apps in China as it bore the brunt of consumer anger over companies refusing to source cotton from Xinjiang, although others Western brands such as Nike, Puma, Burberry, Adidas and more were also caught up in the controversy.
In September, China’s Ministry of Commerce launched an investigation into PVH, the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and in a statement said PVH was suspected of “unfairly boycotting” Xinjiang cotton and other products “without factual basis.” “.
PVH has said it will respond in accordance with relevant regulations, media reported.
(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing and Casey Hall in Shanghai; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)