Casual wear giant Uniqlo is facing calls for a consumer boycott in China after a BBC report quoted the CEO of its owner as saying the company does not source cotton from China's Xinjiang region, which has faced allegations of forced labor in recent years.

Fast Retailing CEO Tadashi Yanai made the comment during an interview in Tokyo with the British Broadcasting Corp. that was published on Thursday.

Two hashtags on Yanai's comment went viral on Friday on Chinese social media platform Weibo, where several users slammed the company and vowed to never purchase its products.