H&M, Nike and other big Western apparel brands are facing a boycott in China because of the stand they’ve taken against the alleged use of forced labor to produce cotton in the country’s western region of Xinjiang. Nike shares tumbled more than 3% Thursday on Wall Street, while Adidas sank more than 6%. In London, Burberry lost more than 4%. H&M stock also slid nearly 2% in Sweden.
H&M and Nike (NKE) said months ago they were concerned about allegations that forced labor has been used to produce cotton in Xinjiang, but they have now been caught in an escalating firestorm that has erupted on Chinese social media this week.
Dozens of Chinese celebrities have terminated contracts or said they would cut ties with these brands, including Nike, Adidas, Puma, Converse, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Uniqlo — a move lauded by state media. The honor of Kings, Tencent’s smash-hit video game, is ending a partnership with Burberry (BBRYF) and removing its tartan design from characters’ outfits.
Human rights groups have repeatedly accused Beijing of detaining Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in the region in “re-education” camps and using them as forced labor, which they claim is part of global tech and retail supply chains, either directly or indirectly. Recent sanctions from the United States and other Western countries over Xinjiang have sparked a renewed pushback from the Chinese government, which calls the camps “vocational training centers” designed to combat poverty and religious extremism
