Japanese brands still marketing ‘Xinjiang cotton’ apparel

XINJIANG – Research by ABC News has found Japanese clothing brands Muji and Uniqlo are continuing to market clothing made with Xinjiang cotton products, while many other brands look at distance themselves from the region over concerns about human rights abuses. The website of Muji is continuing to advertise a shirt which says, ‘Made of organic cotton delicately and wholly handpicked in Xinjiang, the men’s Oxford Shirts of MUJI are soft and breathable with a clean design.’ Uniqlo has also been advertising a men’s button-down with the selling point: ‘Made from Xinjiang Cotton, famous for its superb quality.’

In recent weeks, Cotton On and Target Australia have both announced they have stopped sourcing cotton from China’s Xinjiang province because of credible reports about mass human rights abuses there by Chinese authorities. Reports have emerged in recent months of persecuted Uighur Muslims being forced to work in textile factories and cotton mills.