When Taking a Stand on Human Rights Gets in the Way of Making a Profit

This video (Run Time: 6:53) explores the complicated challenge facing Western companies doing business in China as they react to demands from human rights activists intent on righting wrongs in China’s Xinjiang province and calls for boycotts from China’s social media influencers. The complex situation emerged following claims that Beijing was committing human rights violations against the Uyghur people in the country’s Xinjiang province. Many Western governments have joined forces to call for an end to alleged human rights abuses especially as they relate to forced labor in the production of cotton. Their efforts were initially supported by many globally recognized companies like Adidas, Burberry, and H&M. More recently though, many Western companies have gone silent, bowing to the pressure of Chinese social media influencers who accuse the companies of unpatriotic behavior and calling for Chinese consumers to stop buying their products. While Western governments are continuing their efforts, companies like H&M
appear to be putting profits from the all-important Chinese market ahead of their reputations as ethical companies committed to sustainability.

Discussion Questions:

1. Are companies like Burberry and H&M doing the right thing by choosing to protect their investments and markets in China? Discuss the conflicting demands for companies caught in the middle of the controversy.
2. How should companies respond to stakeholders demanding strong profits if generating those profits means failing to respond to stakeholders interested in sustainable production?
3. Would you still buy a shirt from H&M knowing that it could contain cotton produced by forced labor? How will this controversy impact the supply and demand for products containing cotton from China?

Sources: PBS News Hour: Western companies face nationalist backlash in China over criticism from home countries, Photo by dominik reallife on Unsplash