Chairman Tadashi Yanai said in BBC interview published this week that Uniqlo doesn’t source cotton from that region of China’s far west, where the US has restricted trade.

Tadashi Yanai, chairman and president of Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing Co., has caused controversy in China for ･･･

Tadashi Yanai, the CEO of Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing, said it does not source cotton from the region, which has faced allegations of forced labor.

Uniqlo is facing an online backlash in China after the boss of its parent company said the Japanese clothing retailer does not source cotton from Xinjiang. Fast Retailing's chief executive Tadashi Yanai said Uniqlo was "not using" cotton from the western Chinese province in a BBC interview this week.

China is a crucial market for Uniqlo not just for customers but also as a major manufacturing hub. Xinjiang cotton was once known as some of the best fabric in the world. But it has fallen out of favour after revelations that it is produced using forced labour by people from the Muslim Uyghur minority.