The boycott of Swedish clothing chain H&M by Chinese netizens has spread to other global fashion brands including Nike, after Chinese state media rallied consumers and Chinese celebrities to snub other Western brands.

The furore began earlier this week, after a year-old H&M statement about its concerns over forced labor in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang resurfaced on Chinese social media, as users boycotted the brand.

Chinese netizens have appeared to respond to state media, who called for the boycott. While an H&M’s outdoor billboard was seen to have been dismantled in a shopping mall in China’s southwestern city of Chengdu, netizens posted videos on social media about burning their Nike sneakers to vent their anger, demanding they should “get out of the Chinese market.”

The coordinated protests against H&M and Nike reflected Beijing’s new strategy in response to increased sanctions from the United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada over human rights abuses in Xinjiang, which produces 87% of China’s cotton every year.

On Monday, the four entities announced joint sanctions on four Chinese officials responsible for cracking down on human rights in Xinjiang, following Washington’s blanket import ban on products from Xinjiang, including cotton, textiles and tomatoes, in January this year. They cited the use of forced labor related to a state-backed internment campaign for ethnic Uyghurs in the region.

H&M and American sports goods manufacturer Nike were among the dozens of fashion retailers to make a statement against using Xinjiang cotton last year. Others include Burberry and Adidas, while Japanese brand Uniqlo said that if their cooperating manufacturers were found to be using forced labor, it would cease the collaboration.

H&M’s statement was first dredged up by state media CGTN on Wednesday evening, which then later called on consumers to boycott the brand. Several Chinese celebrities followed suit, terminated their cooperation with the Swedish brand, including Huang Xuan, Victoria Song and Taiwanese musician Nana Ouyang.

Online shopping platforms Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo have appeared to have removed H&M products from their online stores, and its stores cannot be found on web mapping service Baidu Maps.

Hong Huang, the editor-in-chief and publisher of mainland Chinese fashion magazine iLook, posted a video calling on all Chinese people to boycott Western brands.

“I am sick of H&M … Such people are shameless to the extreme,” said Hong, who is often hailed as the “Godmother of Chinese Fashion” and equivalent to Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of the American edition of Vogue.

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