Swedish fashion giant H&M is trying to salvage its reputation in the Chinese market, to little effect as internet users appear unmoved.

The company on Wednesday put out a statement reiterating its commitment to China’s market.

“We are dedicated to regaining the trust and confidence of our customers, colleagues, and business partners in China,” H&M said.

“We want to be a responsible buyer, in China and elsewhere, and are now building forward-looking strategies and actively working on next steps with regards to material sourcing.”

The company said it was doing everything within its control to “manage the current challenges and find a way forward.”

It has been a week since H&M became a target online for making statements in 2020 on forced labor in Xinjiang. In those statements, which are not available online anymore, the company said it would no longer source cotton from there.

Chinese patriots raked the fashion chain over the coals for spreading rumors. Netizens vowed to boycott H&M products. The controversy soon spread to other global Western brands, such as Nike and Adidas.

The lack of an apology in the latest statement is keeping the controversy alive, however. One user on social media site Weibo described the statement as an attempt by the company to continue to make money in China while not admitting its mistakes.

Others said the statement was meaningless and urged H&M to get out of China.

State broadcaster China Central Television was also dismissive of the retailer’s damage control effort. It described the new statement as “second-class public relations” and asked in its official Weibo account why H&M had not apologized to Chinese consumers. The company should make its stance clear if it wanted to earn the trust of Chinese shoppers again, CCTV said.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play