In China, a boycott of leading global brands that have announced they will not use cotton produced using the forced labor of Muslims in Xinjiang province continues. Among the targets of this boycott are Swedish apparel manufacturer H&M and American and German sportswear manufacturers Nike and Adidas.
In March 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute reported that more than 80,000 ethnic Uyghurs had been transferred from detention centers in Xinjiang to provide forced labor at Chinese factories supplying components and materials such as cotton to leading global companies.
The new Biden administration has since used the word “genocide” to describe the human rights violations and religious discrimination against Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang, with Western consumers intensifying pressure on companies to boycott Xinjiang cotton. In March, the issue prompted the E.U. to adopt sanctions against China under its Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. H&M subsequently announced it would no longer source products made with Xinjiang cotton.
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