When Soft Cotton Became A Weapon

Xinjiang cotton, has quality of white and soft, however, was exploited by political and commercial forces as their sharp weapon.

Thousands of sports brand and clothing brand stores became empty in only several days, most Chinese people started to boycott brands such as H&M and Nike. What happened?

First of all, let me to introduce something about Xinjiang cotton industry to you.

Xinjiang, located in the northwest of China, is a place with vast land and abundant resources. The suitable climate condition and adequate of sunlight of Xinjiang provide a proper environment for cotton growing. As a result, Xinjiang has become the largest cotton area in China. According to the website, over 50% of the farmers in Xinjiang grow cotton, which makes cotton industry become the main source of income for local farmers. And because of the cotton industry, more than 600,000 people's problems of employment were solved.

YouTube video - Fact about Xinjiang's cotton industry

Now, I guess you have already know about the cotton industry in Xinjiang, which has become their main agricultural and helped people there to raise their quality of life.

So, what happened on Xinjiang cotton?

The event started on March 10th, 2020, when Adrian Zenz claimed that there was "forced labor" at a number of textile and clothing companies in Xinjiang. Despite the regional government's denial, BCI (Better Cotton Initiative) suspended its so-called licensing in Xinjiang. Then, H&M announced that they were ending they relationship with a Chinese yarn producer to be against with "forced labor" in September, 2020. During a long time between September, 2020 to March, 2021, the problem had risen up to a political disputes, and Chinese organizations kept denying the rumor. After that, on March 24th, 2021, H&M published a statement 👇

The statement suddenly infuriated a large number of Chinese people, and Chinese consumers began to take actions such as spreading the information through social media to boycott H&M, and all the products were pulled out from online shopping platforms like Alibaba and Jingdong.com. At the same day, people found that most brands like Nike, Adidas, New balance, etc. had sent some related words to be against with 'labor force" and seemed like they were supporters of the rumor. As a result, most of the top searches of Sina Weibo (a social media) were about the Xinjiang cotton event, and boycotting the related brands, and actors and artists ended the partnerships with the brands. People rejected to purchase, which caused a large loss of Chinese customers for those brands.

YouTube video - Chinese call for Nike boycott over Xinjiang statement

It seems that most brands would like to show their concern about the "labor force" problem, they would like to raise their reputation through the so-called "labor protecting" statements. However, without the totally research, the brands followed a rumor widely spread from social media, when they tried to get empathy around the world, because of the sensibility of the problem, they angered most consumers in China, and caused a failed PR strategy. However, Lining announced at a right time that they kept using Xinjiang cotton, and for years, the sentence was printed on its label, which could be the pretty unique brand that could easily get people's acception at that time, leading to a dramatic growth of sales volume. The brand successfully caught the opportunity for them to build good reputation in Chinese market, which can be their main target.

Xinjiang cotton, should have been pure and soft, became a weapon, some brands got injured when tried to make use of it, while some benefited because of the wisely used.

Through this event, we can feel that how fast the information spread through social media and how huge the influence will be caused by social media. So, brands should take great care of their every word sent on social media. And once the information published, it can be spread in a surprising speed and then, cause a result, either good or bad.