Ryohin Keikaku Co.,Ltd, the parent company of Japan’s leading brand MUJI, planned to issue a new statement on April 14 on the use of Xinjiang cotton. The statement said the company had commissioned a third-party agency to conduct local investigation in Xinjiang and found no violations. The Nikkei said the announcement meant MUJI will continue to use Xinjiang cotton despite intense pressure.
Ryoshin said “We have checked the relevant fields and workers’ files on farms and other facilities in the region and got a full understanding of the personnel plan, we sent a third party agency in accordance with the planting plan, to conduct supervision and investigation last year. In our supervision, we have not found any serious violation of laws and regulations or our code of conduct.”
Takata Sugiyama, the Ryoshin’s finance executive director, read the announcement at the news conference. For Ryoshin, the Chinese market now accounts for about 20 per cent of sales and is regarded as a growth pillar.
The furore over H&M’s boycott of Xinjiang cotton sparked a chain reaction in the garment industry. MUJI’s China headquarter said in March that the company was not boycotting Xinjiang cotton and was continuing to use it.
Uniqlo founder responds to Xinjiang cotton incident: “We are doing what we can. We will not comment on others. “
According to the foreign research reports on April 13, a journalist asked how to treat “human right issue” in Xinjiang on the performance conference of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd (Uniqlo’ parent company). The founder of Uniqlo Tadashi Yanai said, ” we are monitoring all the factories and cotton production, once found any problem we will stop the cooperation with them. Beyond that, it is more like political issue other than human rights issue.” “Human rights are very important things and we are doing what we can as an enterprise. We will not comment on anything else.” When asked about the resist by Chinese consumers against foreign companies that do not use Xinjiang cotton, Mr Yanai said: “The issue itself is politically charged and we maintain a neutral stance. “ In addition, he also said that Uniqlo is developing well in the domestic market of Japan and China at present. Although the turnover has slightly decreased, the profit has increased. In the future, Uniqlo will focus on Asia market and strive to become the No.1 in Asia.
Post time: Jun-10-2021