The boss of Uniqlo’s parent company Fast Retailing has said that the fashion retailer does not use cotton from China’s conflict-ridden Xinjiang region in its products.
Fast Retailing chief executive Tadashi Yanai directly addressed the controversial topic for the first time when speaking to the BBC earlier this week.
Speaking about the business to the broadcaster in Tokyo about Uniqlo and its sister brand’s efforts to be transparent about its materials and how they are made, he said the business is “not using” cotton from the region.
He added: “By mentioning which cotton we’re using… actually, it gets too political if I say anymore so let’s stop here.”
This comes after a number of fashion retailers have faced backlash regarding cotton from the Xinjiang region in China in the past including Shein, H&M, Nike, Burberry and Adidas among others.
Despite Uniqlo’s ongoing aggressive expansion worldwide, Yanai also said Uniqlo is “not a known brand globally” and added that Asia remains to be its largest market to date.
Fast Retailing also has more stores in China than it does in its home market of Japan, and Yanai said he has no plans to change that strategy.
“There are 1.4 billion people in China and we only have 900 to 1,000 stores,” he said. “I think we can increase that to 3,000.”
It is understood that China is Uniqlo’s largest manufacturing region while it also has manufacturers in Vietnam, Bangladesh, India and Indonesia.
Speaking to the BBC about the rise of competitors such as Shein and Temu in the fashion market, Yanai said he doesn’t “think there’s a future” for fast fashion and that Uniqlo remains laser-focused on “essential items that can be worn for years”.
He added: “They’re [fast-fashion retailers] producing clothes without any careful consideration which you only wear for one season. That is a waste of the planet’s resources.”
Yanai also revealed plans to overhaul Spanish fashion giant Inditex as the world’s biggest fashion retailer before he retires.
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