Nike falls following boycott calls in China over their statement about forced labor of Uyghurs, sending the Chinese Communist Party into a tirade that anyone dared highlight the human rights abuses by the regime.
“China’s government is telling people to boycott companies like H&M and Nike after they commented on reports of forced labor in Xinjiang. 20% of the world’s cotton comes from Xinjiang, where groups say over 1 million Uighurs and Muslims have been forced into abusive work camps,” AJ News reported.
Here is Nike’s Statement in Full:
Nike is committed to ethical and responsible manufacturing, and we uphold international labor standards. We are concerned about reports of forced labor in, and connected to, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Nike does not source products from the XUAR, and we have confirmed with our contract suppliers that they are not using textiles or spun yarn from the region.
The Nike Code of Conduct and Code Leadership Standards have requirements prohibiting any type of prison, forced, bonded, or indentured labor, including detailed provisions for freedom of movement and prohibitions on discrimination based on ethnic background or religion. We continue to regularly engage with all of our suppliers to evaluate compliance with Nike’s Code of Conduct and Code Leadership Standards.
We have been conducting ongoing diligence with our suppliers in China to identify and assess potential forced labor risks related to the employment of Uyghurs, or other ethnic minorities from XUAR, in other parts of China. Based on evolving information, we strengthened our audit protocols to identify emerging risks related to potential labor transfer programs. Our ongoing diligence has not found evidence of employment of Uyghurs or other ethnic minorities from XUAR elsewhere in our supply chain.
Nike does not have relationships with the Haoyuanpeng Clothing Manufacturing, Qingdao Jifa Group, Changji Esquel Textile, or any of Esquel’s other facilities in the XUAR, as was inaccurately reported by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Related to the Taekwang Group, when reports of the situation in XUAR began to surface in 2019, Taekwang stopped hiring new employees from the XUAR to its Qingdao facility and an independent third-party audit confirmed there are no longer any employees from XUAR at the facility. Our ongoing diligence has not found evidence of employment of Uyghurs, or other ethnic minorities from the XUAR, elsewhere in our supply chain in China.
While Nike does not directly source cotton, or other raw materials, traceability at the raw materials level is an area of ongoing focus. We are working closely with our suppliers, industry associations, brands and other stakeholders to pilot traceability approaches and map material sources so we can have confidence the materials in our products are responsibly produced.
Nike takes very seriously any reports about forced labor and we have been engaging with multi-stakeholder working groups to assess collective solutions that will help preserve the integrity of our global supply chains. We regularly provide insight and feedback at the request of policymakers on a wide range of public policy issues, including human rights and supply chain integrity, and have not lobbied against the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, or any other proposed forced labor legislation. We will continue to continue to collaborate with industry associations such as Retail Industry Leaders Association, American Apparel & Footwear Association, National Retail Federation and U.S. Fashion Industry Association as well as with industry experts, partners, stakeholders and other organizations to understand, evaluate and address this critical global issue.
One Independent Chinese reporter showed the CCP’s response to the statement:
Apart from #yangjiechi and #WangYi , we also have female wolf warriors in #CCP’s #China , such as this anchor of #Beijing TV station. @Nike has become the latest boycott target because its stance against the genocide in #Xinjiang and #XinjiangCotton 北京電台的主播戰狼 pic.twitter.com/wHrOoi08sq
— Jennifer Zeng 曾錚 (@jenniferatntd) March 25, 2021
LIVE BY CCP SOCIAL JUSTICE, ‘DIE’ BY CCP SOCIAL JUSTICE
“Global fashion brands are facing an increasingly tough choice in China as a state-back campaign has fueled boycott calls against companies that have pledged to stop using cotton from Xinjiang.
After the Communist Youth League set off a wave of online attacks on H&M on Wednesday, other global brands, including Nike, Adidas, and Zara, have also come under fire, as Chinese nationalists question their statements distancing themselves from allegations of rights abuse in Xinjiang,” VIce News reported.
Brands that once were favored by the Communists are now seeing what happens when the global movement leaders to control economies get angry. The gangster-style capitalism with the rise of the Communist Party is something many proponents of economic nationalism movements have warned about for years.
There are numerous issues with dedicating companies to political/social justice messaging, branding and PR, which is the foundation of the Globalist movement. The CCP pushing for a boycott of a Global company that pushes their Globalist ideology, but now disagrees with them, may be about to hit peak hypocrisy in a very public way.
Consider this post, can you see the problem with a Global Communist movement?:
“Many brands like @nike have made their commitment to social causes integral to their brand and commercial success – but mainly in the USA or home western markets with little downside risk, or rather distinct upside reward from controversy,” Brian Elliott, a CEO from Amsterdam posted.
Many brands like @nike have made their commitment to social causes integral to their brand and commercial success – but mainly in the USA or home western markets with little downside risk, or rather distinct upside reward from cont…https://t.co/wC38mMPeVO https://t.co/w7NeH1kBoe
— Brian Elliott (@brianelliott) March 25, 2021
“This has been much lauded in advertising circles. Now we will see how they handle the heat. Should brands “render unto Ceaser” and not involve themselves with other countries “internal affairs”? What say you? is it not precisely the role of government to do that work and not biz. Do brands have to act the same way everywhere, or must they put local laws and sensitivities first? Your global brand would not be very global if you only did business in countries with perfect records. May you live in interesting times,” Elliott wrote.
GLOBALISTS HAVE TO ACT THE WAY THE CCP WANT- YES
Lots to think about as we watch how the CCP uses the massive amount of dominance they have acquired over the Globe, with their push for what they hope ends in Global Communism.
Hopefully, some people will begin to understand what Economic Nationalism is really all about because of this.
Companies are now under pressure to choose between buying Xinjiang cotton and getting boycotted in China. Let’s see how that works for them.
Kari is an ex-Community Organizer who writes about Cultural Marxism, grassroots activism, music, IndyCar racing and political campaigns. @Saorsa1776