Over 40 celebrities end ties with fashion companies over Xinjiang cotton allegations
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The Better Cotton Initiative suspended its approval of cotton sourced from Xinjiang.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
BEIJING - More than 40 celebrities from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan have cut their ties to fashion brands that object to the use of Xinjiang cotton.
Taiwanese actor Eddie Peng, Hong Kong singer Eason Chan and Chinese actress Dilraba Dilmurat, who is of Uighur ethnicity, have announced, through their agencies on Weibo, that they are severing ties with Adidas.
Chinese actor Huang Xuan and Chinese actress Victoria Song have ended things with H&M, and Chinese actress Zhou Dongyu with Burberry.
Also affected are brands such as Puma, Converse, Tommy Hilfiger and Uniqlo.
Other celebrities, such as Hong Kong singer Kenny Bee, Hong Kong singer Joey Yung and Chinese actress Yang Mi, have used the hashtag #ISupportXinjiangCotton.
They have also shared a post from China's official media People's Daily that shows a picture with the Chinese words "I support Xinjiang cotton" and the English words "Xinjiang Mian Hua".
"Mian hua" means "cotton" in Chinese.
The saga arose over a statement made by the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) on Xinjiang several months ago.
The BCI promotes sustainable cotton production and the group said in October 2020 that it was suspending its approval of cotton sourced from Xinjiang, citing human rights concerns, Reuters reported.
BCI members include Nike, Adidas and H&M.
The statement has resurfaced in recent days after Western countries imposed sanctions on several Chinese officials from the Xinjiang autonomous region.
Western countries have accused China of committing serious human rights violations against the Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang, an allegation which has been denied by China.
