Nike and other international brands’ statements about Xinjiang cotton were greatly fermented, and YiBo announced the termination of all cooperation.
Reporter | Qiao Qidi
On the evening of March 24th, 2021, the storm caused by "Better Cotton Plan" (BCI) continued to ferment.
Nike and Adidas, the top brands in sports consumption, both issued statements about Xinjiang in official website in March 2020, among which Nike was the first in hot search last night.
The full text of Nike’s Statement on Xinjiang is translated as follows:
Nike is committed to ethical and responsible manufacturing, and we adhere to international labor standards. We are very concerned about the reports of forced labor in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Nike has not purchased products from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and we have confirmed with our cooperative suppliers that they have not used textiles or staple yarns produced in this region.The Nike Code of Conduct and the Leadership Standard Code prohibit any kind of imprisonment, coercion, detention or slavery of workers, including detailed provisions on freedom of movement and the prohibition of discrimination based on ethnic or religious background. We will continue to have regular contact with all suppliers to assess their compliance with the Leadership Standards of the Nike Code of Conduct.We have been conducting due diligence with our suppliers in China to identify and evaluate the potential forced labor risks faced by Uighurs or other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region when they are employed in other parts of China. As the information gradually followed up, we strengthened the audit agreement to identify new risks related to the potential labor transfer plan. After active investigation, we did not find any evidence about hiring Uighurs to know or come from other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in other supply chains.The report of the Australian Institute of Strategic Policy (ASPI) is inaccurate, and Nike actually has nothing to do with Haoyuanpeng Garment Factory, Qingdao Jifa Group, Changji Yida Textile or other factories of Yida Group. As for Taekwang Group, when the report about Xinjiang surfaced in 2019, Taekwang stopped hiring new employees from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in Qingdao factory, and an independent third party also confirmed that there would be no more employees from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the factory. After active investigation, we have not found any evidence that we employ Uighurs or other ethnic minorities in China supply chain.尽管耐克公司不直接采购棉花或其他原材料，但原材料层面的可追溯性仍是我们持续关注的领域。我们正与供应商、行业协会、品牌及其他利益相关者紧密合作，以试验可追溯性方法并用地图标出材料来源，使我们有信心产品中的原料都是以负责任的方式制造出来的。耐克非常重视有关强迫劳动的任何报道，我们始终与多方利益相关者合作，评估有助于维护全球供应链完整性的解决方案。我们应决策者要求，定期就广泛的公共政策问题提供意见和反馈，包括人权和供应链完整性，且并未游说反对《维吾尔族强迫劳动与方法》等立法。我们将继续与美国服装和鞋类协会、国家零售联合会、美国时装行业协会等行业协会及专家、合作伙伴、利益相关者、其他组织合作，以理解、评估和处理这一关键性全球问题。
2020年3月，耐克在官网发表声明。2020年3月，阿迪达斯同样在声明中回应ASPI的报道，表示“在2019年春季，我们明确要求我们的材料供应商不要从新疆地区购买纱线。 其中包括禁止从该地区生产的华孚顶级染色混纺纱有限公司采购纱线。
We can confirm that Haoyuanpeng Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is neither a participating entity nor an authorized entity in our supply chain. We had direct contact with the management team of the factory, and they apologized to adidas for wrongly displaying the Adidas logo on their websites and buildings. At present, these logos have been removed.
We don’t produce goods in Qingdao Jifa Huajin Clothing Co., Ltd. It is not a licensed or authorized supplier of adidas. We have joined forces with the instant hair company to learn more. "
In March 2020, Adidas issued a statement in official website.In fact, many well-known sports brands are among the members of BCI, including domestic brand Anta.
On the evening of March 24th, Anta responded to this matter in Weibo and issued a statement:
We have taken note of the statement issued by BCI recently and are seriously concerned about this matter. We are starting relevant procedures to quit the organization.
As a company that continuously promotes environmental protection actions, Anta brand became a member of the Swiss Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) in 2019. The pure intention of cooperation is to promote the environmental protection and sustainable development of procurement supply chain from the perspective of global and regional environmental protection, so that cotton planting and production in various regions of the world are more beneficial to cotton farmers and the planting environment.
We have been purchasing and using cotton produced in China cotton producing areas, including Xinjiang cotton, and will continue to purchase and use China cotton in the future.
Anta brand insists on making every dress and every pair of shoes, and is committed to providing high-quality sports equipment for consumers, and together with all suppliers, it continues to promote the development of environmental protection.
Original statement of Anta.In addition, some consumers found that another domestic brand, Li Ning, had previously written "Xinjiang Cotton" on the product label, and the "Esquel Group" on the label seemed to be the Esquel Group mentioned by Nike in its statement.
Netizens showed Li Ning’s tag on social media.The series of events triggered a heated discussion. Some netizens said that AdiNike had been used for many years before, and it will be replaced by Li Ning Anta in the future.
Some netizens also believe that some brands have too much in-depth cooperation in China, and it is difficult to cut off the relationship.
As of press time, neither Nike Global nor Nike Greater China responded to this matter.
At 9: 00 am on March 25th, Beijing time, Lehua Entertainment announced through the official Weibo that from now on, YiBo will terminate all cooperation with NIKE brand.
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