What’s Happened So Far In The Ongoing Xinjiang Cotton Controversy?

The controversy over human rights abuses in the region of Xinjiang, China continue to dominate the headlines. With Western brand boycotts and most recently sanctions against Chinese officials by the EU, UK, USA and Canada, it seems a resolution is far from sight.

So what is the story so far? In December 2020, the BBC published an investigation into alleged human rights abuses by China against Muslim minority group the Uighurs in the region of Xinjiang. Located in the North-Western area of China, it is estimated that over 12 million Uighurs live in Xinjiang, speaking their own language and culturally identifying with bordering Asian countries like Mongolia and Kazakhstan. The Xinjiang region produces a fifth of the world's cotton for brands such as H&M, Nike, Hugo Boss and Adidas, who in recent months expressed concerns over allegations of torture, modern day slavery and forced labour of thousands of Uighurs to pick cotton used in their clothing. In the BBC report, evidence was found of Uighurs being held in detention camps and wearing special uniforms whilst moving between textile factories, which the Chinese government claim is part of an anti-poverty campaign with the camps designed as ‘re-education’ facilities for Uighurs.

Cotton pickers in Xinjiang China | Getty via BBC

What we have seen in the last few months are global brands such as H&M and Nike, who shared statements expressing concerns over the production of Xinjiang cotton, boycotted by China with their products removed from e-commerce sites such as Pinduoduo and JD.com, their logos blurred on TV programmes and their stores closed. Chinese celebrities and brand ambassadors who have spoken out in support of their government have cut ties with luxury brands too. Burberry, New Balance, Converse and Calvin Klein are just a handful of labels who have lost their Chinese ambassadors, as reported in the Business of Fashion. Actors Zhou Dongyu and Song Weilong announced in March they would end their contracts with Burberry, Jing Boran and Wang Yuan have parted ways with Uniqlo whilst popular actor Bai Jingting stepped down as spokesperson for Converse. And it’s not just celebrities who have retaliated against the Xinjiang crisis. Not three weeks ago, ‘I support Xinjiang cotton’ was trending on Chinese social media site Weibo, which has over 445 million active monthly users.

The Chinese consumer market is one of the biggest in the world, generating billions of sales for Western brands. Losing such a crucial market is the price brands are currently having to pay for standing up to allegations of human rights violations. In a statement to the House of Commons in Janaury, UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab described the treatment of Uighurs as “one of the worst human rights crises of our time,” whilst China have hit back against recent sanctions from Western superpowers stating that they are “based on nothing but lies and disinformation.” Chinese government officials have also warned foreign brands not to interfere in Chinese domestic affairs regarding Xinjiang as the crisis over the reported unethical treatment of the Uighur people continues.