H&M stores in China have suddenly disappeared from Apple Maps amid a rapidly growing dispute over human rights in China’s cotton-taking region.
Beijing’s consumers were unable to find a location listing for the fast-fashion retailer on either Apple Maps or Baidu Maps on Friday, according to Bloomberg, while stores continue to be listed for other retailers, including Japan-based Uniqlo.
Meanwhile, Barbaric became the first brand to break even. Its contract with Burberry was terminated, according to Raeber, from its trademark plaid design to a popular Chinese video game – Honor of Kings – and a Chinese actress who was a brand ambassador.
Earlier this week, H&M was removed from Alibaba’s e-commerce platform after anonymous sources reported previous statements from the Swedish retailer about the Forced Labor report to China’s cotton region, Xinjiang, and that from the region. The source of the products was not.
Both Nike and Adidas from Xinjiang have made similar statements about not sourcing their products. There were also calls for a boycott of their products in China this week.
Both the Communist Youth League of China and the People’s Liberation Army spoke out earlier this week specifically against statements from H&M – which appear to have been removed from its social media accounts.
The United Kingdom spoke to the Chinese government on Friday against “lies and disinformation” about Xinjiang in response to a ban this week for alleged human rights abuses in the region.
London-based Burberry is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative, which promotes sustainable cotton production, and said last year that it was suspending cotton approvals from Xinjiang. According to its website, Burbari’s cotton is sourced from the US, Australia, India, Turkey and Egypt.
According to Raiberry, Burberry’s Chinese brand ambassador Zhou Dongyu said she would no longer work with the fashion giant because she had “not explicitly and publicly stated her stand on cotton from Xinjiang.”
It is not clear who is responsible for eliminating H&M’s store listings from Map Software, but it is widely known that the Chinese government controls social media content in the country and increases its reach to 1.4 billion consumers Prohibits.
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