What: H&M has been removed from online shopping and service apps in China after it published a statement expressing “grave concern” over allegations of forced labour in the Xinjiang cotton industry. H&M has disappeared from ecommerce sites Alibaba’s Taobao, JD.com, Pinduoduo, as well as from apps Dianping, Tencent and Baidu. Many brands in China do not operate their own apps or websites but rely on a network of third-party e-commerce platforms and “super apps”.

Why it is important: H&M operates 445 stores across the country and China represents one of its four largest markets. A blog from the Communist Youth League called for a boycott of the brand just days after The UK, Canada, the EU and the US announced sanctions. Other brands which support the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) such as Nike, Adidas, Ikea have also come under attack. The BCI said last October that it was suspending its approval of cotton sourced from Xinjiang.

Assessing China’s Xinjiang Cotton Fallout 

China erasing H&M from internet amid Xinjiang backlash