Xinjiang cotton industry

[6] However, production rebounded and grew significantly after these years; cotton harvests increased by a factor of 27 between 1977 and 1997, when a total yield of 1.5 million tons was recorded.

Due to trade tensions and allegations of forced labor, pressure has been placed on cotton growers and suppliers, with small firms being the hardest hit.

[22] In October 2020, BCI ceased all field-level activities in Xinjiang, citing "sustained allegations of forced labour and other human rights abuses" in the region leading to "an increasingly untenable operating environment".

The office stated that since 2012, the Xinjiang project site has performed second-party credibility audits and third-party verifications over the years, to reach their findings.

[29] A commentary published by the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency said that BCI was part of a "western smear campaign".

Perceptions of popular opinion may be distorted because of widespread censorship of posts which do not match the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) line.

[31] Decisions by various companies to stop buying Xinjiang cotton have led more than 40 celebrities from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, including Eddie Peng, Eason Chan, Uyghur actress Dilraba Dilmurat, Huang Xuan, Victoria Song, and Zhou Dongyu, to sever ties with those companies.

[35] Amid the boycotts, Chinese sportswear company Anta Sports announced it was exiting the BCI, citing their statement on Xinjiang as "seriously concerning".

"[37] In September 24, 2024, China raised the issue of cotton with PVH Corp.[38] In July 2020, the United States passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which instituted tracking and reporting requirements regarding China's abuses against Turkic Muslims and called for sanctions on individuals and organizations involved in the persecution thereof.

[27][28] In January 2021, the United States banned the import of cotton produced in Xinjiang in a move aimed at pressuring the Chinese Government to end the persecution of Uyghurs in China.

[46] In June 2024, the Court of Appeal ruled that the National Crime Agency must reconsider whether to open an investigation into cotton from Xinjiang.

In response, UK director of the WUC, Rahima Mahmut, called the decision "a monumental victory and a moral triumph"[47] Zhun Xu (Associate Professor of Economics at John Jay College) and Fangfei Lin (Associate Professor in Sociology at Xinjiang University) write that there is insufficient support for claims of forced labor in Xinjiang.