H&M is being boycotted in China. It happened after the fast-fashion brand announced to stop buying cotton from the Xinjiang region. H&M is not the only one: Nike, Adidas, and Burberry are threatened to be boycotted in China after they voiced their concerns about the forced labor issue in Xinjiang region.
As reported by Reuters, many e-commerce platforms in China such as Tmall, Taobao, Pinduoduo, JD.com, and even the second-hand marketplace, Xianyu, have remove H&M’s products from their on-line website. To the date, at least six stores have been closed in mainland China following the boycott calls.
It all started with H&M’s statement which was posted a year ago on their website after growing global scrutiny around the use of Uyghurs in forced labor in Xinjiang. In it, H&M said that it was deeply concerned about reports from civil society organizations and media that include accusations of forced labor and discrimination of ethnoreligious minorities in Xinjiang and that it had stopped buying cotton from growers in the region.
What H&M issue has to do with your business?
Sustainability has become a top trend recently. A lot of people tend to pay more attentions to the environment and take humanity issues seriously. H&M as the number two largest fashion retailer in the world has done much to be a sustainable brand by minimizing their business impact on the environment and humanity issues, and is ranked No. 20 in the most recent Gartner’s Supply Chain Top 25 — behind Nike at No. 16 and Alibaba at No. 7. Since 2020, it has banned cotton from the Xinjiang region citing human rights concerns.
Transparency in the supply chain is currently a top priority for Western brands and it is high time, too. Chains must be clear and traceable. Customers have the right to know the details of the products they bought, including where are the source of the raw material until how the products are shipped.
For all businesses, to satisfy your customers’ need in terms of quality and quantity are essential no matter you sell online or in-store. In this globalization era where everyone has access to everything, any negative news will easily spread among customers. Once you have a quality issue, it will influence your brand reputation and it might affect a large number of potential customers.
This kind of situation needs to be avoided. To minimize future risk, conduct fashion goods factory audit and quality control inspection are necessary when you are importing goods from Indonesia. By doing so, you have more controls over your suppliers and your products. You can detect existing quality issues at an early stage. But previous to start working with a new supplier, you can conduct a social audit as the solution.
The Social Audit (SA) in Indonesia verifies that you are doing business with factories respecting social rights. In today’s marketplace, it is essential to protect your image by ensuring that your supply chain is socially compliant and responsible. You will be able to qualify new suppliers and understand if it is suitable to work with them or not.
What do we check during the Social Audit?
In addition to the Social Audit features, we focus our audit on evaluating the risks for: Working hours, Wages and compensation, Welfare, Freedom of association and right to collective negotiations, Environmental health and safety, Discrimination, Underage labor, Forced labor, Disciplinary practices, and Fire protection.
What is the benefit of the Social Audit?
There are several benefits of this service for your business, such as:
- Avoid factories with precarious working conditions, child labor, etc.
- Evaluate how far your vendor is from the SA 8000 certification
- Compare potential vendors and select a viable source
- Be proactive about sustainable development
- Demonstrate to your clients that you are a socially responsible company
- Save time and secure your business