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| Faced with accusations that it was profiting from the forced labor of Uyghur people in the Chinese territory of Xinjiang, the H&M Group — the world’s second-largest clothing retailer — promised last year to stop buying cotton from the region. |
| 世界第二大服装零售商H&M在遭到从中国新疆维吾尔族的强迫劳动中获利的指控后，于去年承诺停止从该地区购买棉花。 |
| But last month, H&M confronted a new outcry, this time from Chinese consumers who seized on the company’s renouncement of the cotton as an attack on China. Social media filled with angry demands for a boycott, urged on by the government. Global brands like H&M risked alienating a country of 1.4 billion people. |
| 但是上个月，H&M遭遇了新的抗议，这次是来自中国消费者，他们坚称该公司不使用新疆棉花的承诺是对中国的攻击。在政府的怂恿下，社交媒体上充斥着抵制的愤怒呼声。H&M等全球品牌面临得罪这个有14亿人口的国家的风险。 |
| The furor underscored how international clothing brands relying on Chinese materials and factories now face the mother of all conundrums — a conflict vastly more complex than their now-familiar reputational crises over exploitative working conditions in poor countries. |
| 这场公愤突显出依靠中国材料和工厂生产的国际服装品牌正在面对所有难题的根源——比起人们熟悉的因贫穷国家的剥削性工作条件而引起的声誉危机，眼下的情况要复杂得多。 |
| If they fail to purge Xinjiang cotton from their supply chains, the apparel companies invite legal enforcement from Washington under an American ban on imports. Labor activists will charge them with complicity in the grotesque repression of the Uyghurs. |
| 如果不能从供应链中去掉新疆棉花，根据美国的进口禁令，这些服装公司将遭到华盛顿的执法行动。劳工活动人士将指控它们是对维吾尔人的丑恶镇压的同谋。 |
| But forsaking Xinjiang cotton entails its own troubles — the wrath of Chinese consumers who denounce the attention on the Uyghurs as a Western plot to sabotage China’s development. |
| 但是，放弃新疆棉花会给自身带来麻烦——中国消费者将对维吾尔人的关注视为西方破坏中国发展的阴谋，对此愤怒谴责。 |
| The global brands can protect their sales in North America and Europe, or preserve their markets in China. It is increasingly difficult to see how they can do both. |
| 全球品牌要不保护其在北美和欧洲的销售，要不保留其在中国的市场。越来越难以看到它们如何兼顾两者。 |
| “They are being almost at this point told, ‘Choose the U.S. as your market, or choose China as your market,’” said Nicole Bivens Collinson, a lobbyist who represents major apparel brands at Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, a law firm in Washington. |
| 代表几大服装品牌的华盛顿桑德勒-特拉维斯-罗森博格律师事务所(Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg)说客尼可·比文斯·科林森(Nicole Bivens Collinson)说：“此刻它们面临的几乎就是‘选择美国作为你的市场，还是选择中国作为你的市场’。” |
| In an age of globalization, international apparel brands have grown accustomed to criticism that they are profiting from oppressed workers in countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh, where cheap costs of production reflect alarming safety conditions. |
| 在全球化时代，国际服装品牌已经习惯了因为受益于缅甸和孟加拉国等受压迫工人而遭到批评，这些国家的廉价生产成本反映出令人担忧的安全状况。 |
| The brands have developed a proven playbook: They announce codes of conduct for their suppliers, and hire auditors to ensure at least the appearance of compliance. |
| 这些品牌已开发出行之有效的策略：它们宣布供应商的行为准则，并聘请审计方以确保至少看上去符合要求。 |
| But China presents a gravely elevated risk. Xinjiang is not only the source of 85 percent of China’s cotton, but synonymous with a form of repression that the U.S. government has officially termed genocide. As many as a million Uyghurs have been herded into detention camps, and deployed as forced labor. |
| 但是中国有更加严重的风险。新疆不仅是中国棉花85％的来源，而且也是一种镇压形式的代名词——美国政府已经正式将这种镇压定性为种族灭绝。多达100万的维吾尔人被送入拘禁营，并被强迫劳动。 |
| The taint of association with Xinjiang is so severe that both the Trump and Biden administrations have sought to prevent Americans from buying clothing produced with the region’s cotton. |
| 与新疆关联的污点如此之严重，以至于特朗普政府和拜登政府都试图阻止美国人购买用该地区的棉花生产的服装。 |
| For the apparel brands, their dilemma is heightened by the fact that the Chinese government has weaponized China’s consumer market. In fomenting nationalist outrage, Beijing is seeking to pressure the international brands to pick a side — to ignore reports of forced labor or risk their sales in the world’s largest potential consumer market. |
| 对于服装品牌来说，中国政府已经将中国消费市场变成了武器，这加剧了这些品牌的困境。为了煽动民族主义的愤怒，北京正试图向国际品牌施加压力，迫使它们站队——忽略强迫劳动的报道，否则会危及它们在全球最大潜在消费者市场上的销售额。 |
| Framing this choice is the reality that China remains the world’s central hub for making clothing. |
| 而这种二选一的背景是中国仍然是世界服装生产的中心。 |
| In pursuit of alternatives, many international brands are shifting production from Chinese factories to plants in countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh. But moving does not eliminate their exposure to Xinjiang cotton. |
| 为了寻求替代办法，许多国际品牌正在将生产从中国工厂转移到越南、柬埔寨和孟加拉国等国家的工厂。但是，迁厂并不能消除他们与新疆棉花的一切关联。 |
| China exports unprocessed cotton to 14 countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and yarn to 190 countries, according to the International Cotton Advisory Committee, an international trade association in Washington. |
| 根据华盛顿国际贸易协会国际棉花咨询委员会(International Cotton Advisory Committee)的数据，中国向包括越南、泰国、印度、巴基斯坦和孟加拉国在内的14个国家出口未经加工的棉花，并向190个国家出口纱线。 |
| China is the source of nearly half of all cotton fabric exported around the world. Most of that material includes cotton harvested in Xinjiang. |
| 世界上所有棉织物出口中近一半来自中国。这些材料大部分包括在新疆收获的棉花。 |
| “Supply chains are long and opaque, and the journey from field to shelf involves cotton gins, mills, weaving or knitting, dyeing and finishing — all steps that may take place in different parts of China, or different countries,” said Leonie Barrie, an apparel analyst at GlobalData, a consulting company in London. “Even if a brand had no direct relationship with Chinese factories, they can’t completely rule out any links to Xinjiang’s cotton.” |
| “供应链长且不透明，从田野到货架的过程涉及轧花、碾磨、织布或针织、染色和最后的处理——所有这些步骤都可能在中国不同地区或在不同国家进行，”伦敦咨询公司GlobalData的服装分析师列昂妮·巴里(Leonie Barrie)说。“即使一个品牌与中国工厂没有直接关系，他们也不能保证与新疆棉花没有任何联系。” |
| The Long March to Xinjiang |
| 通向新疆的漫漫征途 |
| The ubiquity of clothing made with Xinjiang cotton is the result of forces that have shaped the global economy for centuries. |
| 新疆棉花制成的服装无处不在，这是数百年来塑造全球经济的力量导致的结果。 |
| Cotton’s history is intertwined with the barbarity of slavery, given that it is vital to the production of textiles, and dependent on large numbers of people to harvest and refine in a grueling process. |
| 由于奴隶制对纺织品的生产至关重要，棉花的历史与奴隶制的残暴息息相关，并且依赖大量人在艰苦的过程中进行收割和精细加工。 |
| The lucre of cotton prompted plantations in the American South to turn to the African slave trade. In modern times, the cotton trade has frequently drawn accusations of forced labor from human rights groups, most prominently in Uzbekistan. |
| 棉花的丰厚利润促使美国南部种植园转向非洲奴隶贸易。在现代，棉花贸易经常引起人权团体对强迫劳动的指责，最突出的例子是在乌兹别克斯坦。 |
| As China has transformed itself from an impoverished country into the world’s second-largest economy, it has leaned on the textile and apparel industries. China has courted foreign companies with the promise of low-wage workers operating free from the intrusions of unions. |
| 中国从一个贫穷的国家转变为世界第二大经济体的过程，与纺织和服装行业息息相关。中国以低工资工人不受工会干涉的承诺来吸引外国公司。 |
| The brands have turned China into an export colossus. They have also invested heavily in selling their products to a growing Chinese consumer class. |
| 这些品牌把中国变成了一个出口大国。它们还投入巨资，向日益壮大的中国消费阶层推销产品。 |
| Xinjiang, a rugged expanse more than twice the size of Texas, holds China’s largest oil reserves. Its abundant land and sunshine have made it fertile ground for cotton. |
| 新疆的地势起伏辽阔，面积是得克萨斯州的两倍多，拥有中国最大的石油储量。肥沃的土地和充足的阳光使它成为种植棉花的沃土。 |
| The Chinese government has rejected claims of worker abuse in part by claiming that much of Xinjiang’s cotton harvest is now automated. But manual picking remains common in the south of the region, where most Uyghurs live. There, nearly two-thirds of cotton is handpicked, the regional government said last year. |
| 中国政府否认了有关虐待工人的指控，声称新疆大部分棉花生产已实现自动化。但在大部分维吾尔人居住的南疆，手工采摘仍然很常见。当地政府去年表示，那里近三分之二的棉花是手工采摘的。 |
| As human rights groups have focused on the exploitation of the Uyghurs, apparel brands have sought to distance themselves from Xinjiang. Nike, Burberry and PVH, the parent of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, have issued assurances that they have ceased buying cotton from sources in the region, while conducting audits of their suppliers. |
| 随着人权组织关注对维吾尔人的剥削，服装品牌寻求与新疆划清界限。耐克(Nike)、巴宝莉(Burberry)和PVH （凯文·克莱因[Calvin Klein]和汤米·希尔费格[Tommy Hilfiger]的母公司)均已保证不再从亚洲采购棉花，同时对供应商进行审核。 |
| But supply-chain experts caution that multinational manufacturers frequently game the audit process. |
| 但供应链专家提醒说，跨国制造商经常在审计程序上玩花招。 |
| “The key tool it’s used for is rubber-stamping conditions in supply chains, as opposed to trying to deeply figure out what is going on,” said Genevieve LeBaron, an expert on international labor at the University of Sheffield in England. |
| 英国谢菲尔德大学(University of Sheffield)国际劳工问题专家吉纳维芙·勒巴伦(Genevieve LeBaron)说，“它使用的关键工具是给供应链的工作条件盖个橡皮印章，而不是试图深入了解目前的情况。” |
| In Xinjiang, efforts at probing supply chains collide with the reality that the Chinese government severely restricts access. Not even the most diligent apparel company can say with authority that its products are free of elements produced in Xinjiang. And many brands are less than rigorous in their audits. |
| 在新疆，探索供应链的努力与中国政府严格限制进入的现实发生了冲突。即使是最努力的服装公司也不能有充分根据地声称自己的产品没有新疆生产的元素。许多品牌的审计也不那么严格。 |
| Major apparel brands have coalesced around the Better Cotton Initiative, an organization based in Geneva and London whose official mission includes improving working conditions for those in the trade. |
| 各大服装品牌都围绕良好棉花发展协会(Better Cotton Initiative)展开合作。该组织总部设在日内瓦和伦敦，其官方使命包括改善棉花从业人员的工作条件。 |
| Last fall, the organization announced a halt to its activities in Xinjiang amid persistent reports of forced labor. But the body’s China branch recently asserted that its investigation in Xinjiang “has never found a single case related to incidents of forced labor,” dating back to 2012, according to a statement reported by Reuters. |
| 去年秋天，该组织宣布停止在新疆的活动，因为有持续不断的强迫劳动报道。但根据路透社(Reuters)报道的一份声明，该机构的中国分支最近宣称，追溯至2012年，其在新疆的调查“从未发现任何一起与强迫劳动事件有关的事例”。 |
| That assertion flew in the face of a growing body of literature, including a recent statement from the United Nations Human Rights Council expressing “serious concerns” about reports of forced labor. |
| 这一说法与越来越多的文献相悖，包括联合国人权理事会(United Nations Human Rights Council)最近发表的一份声明，对有关强迫劳动的报告表示“严重关切”。 |
| The Better Cotton Initiative declined a request for an interview to discuss how it had come to its conclusion. |
| 良好棉花发展协会拒绝了关于讨论该机构如何得出结论的采访请求。 |
| “We are a not-for-profit organization with a small team,” the initiative’s communications manager, Joe Woodruff, said in an email. |
| “我们是一个非营利组织，团队很小，”该协会的公关经理乔·伍德拉夫(Joe Woodruff)在电子邮件中写道。 |
| The body’s membership includes some of the world’s largest, most profitable clothing manufacturers and retailers — among them Inditex, the Spanish conglomerate that owns Zara, and Nike, whose sales last year exceeded $37 billion. |
| 该组织的成员包括一些世界上最大、最赚钱的服装制造商和零售商，其中包括拥有Zara的西班牙集团Inditex，以及去年销售额超过370亿美元的耐克。 |
| Angering Chinese Consumers |
| 激怒中国消费者 |
| Even as statements about Xinjiang cotton from apparel companies have failed to ease human rights concerns, they have provoked outrage among Chinese consumers. |
| 服装企业有关新疆棉花的声明未能缓解人权问题，却激起了中国消费者的愤怒。 |
| On Chinese social media, people have posted photos of themselves throwing away their Nike sneakers or — for the less committed — covering the logos on their sweaters with masking tape. |
| 在中国的社交媒体上，人们纷纷上传自己扔掉耐克运动鞋的照片，有些不那么坚决的人用胶带把运动衫上的标识盖住。 |
| An auto body shop in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, put up a banner barring customers who wore Nike or H&M. A bar in Beijing offered free drinks to customers who wore apparel from domestic brands. |
| 内蒙古呼和浩特的一家汽车修理店挂起了一条横幅，禁止穿耐克或H&M的顾客前来。北京一家酒吧为穿国产品牌服装的顾客提供免费饮料。 |
| In the southern Chinese city of Xiamen, Polly Cai, 24, said her taste for clothing and shoes from brands like Nike and Uniqlo had been trumped by her disgust for what she viewed as a blow to her country’s dignity. |
| 在中国南方城市厦门，24岁的波莉·蔡（Polly Cai，音）说，她对耐克和优衣库(Uniqlo)等品牌服装和鞋子的喜爱被厌恶所取代，她认为这些品牌有损祖国的尊严。 |
| “Western brands want to take Chinese consumers’ money and still step all over Xinjiang cotton,” she said. “It’s ridiculous.” |
| “西方品牌想从中国消费者身上挣钱，又要拿新疆棉花说事，”她说。“这太荒谬了。” |
| The brands are putting stock in the enduring popularity of their products in China, while seeking to avoid further provocation. Inditex removed from its website a statement in which it had promised to avoid Xinjiang cotton. |
| 这些品牌把希望寄托在产品在中国的持久人气上，同时试图避免进一步的挑衅。Inditex从官网上删除了承诺避免使用新疆棉的声明。 |
| Yet in muting their condemnation of forced labor in Xinjiang, the brands risk amplifying their problems outside China. |
| 然而，如果对新疆的强迫劳动不置一词的话，这些品牌有可能在中国之外的地方遇到更大的麻烦。 |
| “If they do the right thing, they face serious commercial risk in China,” said Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, an advocacy organization. “Yet they know consumers globally will be repulsed by a brand that willfully abets forced labor. It is a profound moral test.” |
| “如果它们做了正确的事情，在中国就会面临严重的商业风险，”倡导组织工人权益联盟(Worker Rights Consortium)的执行董事斯科特·诺瓦(Scott Nova)说。“然而，它们知道，全球消费者会对一个故意支持强迫劳动的品牌产生反感。这是一个巨大的道德考验。” |
| Beyond China |
| 中国以外 |
| For the apparel brands, the furor over Xinjiang is merely the latest development driving them to move production to other countries. |
| 对于服装品牌来说，围绕新疆的风波只是促使它们将生产转移到其他国家的最新进展。 |
| As labor costs have climbed in China in recent decades, many industries have shifted operations to lower cost nations like Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh. The Trump administration furthered the trend by pressuring American multinational companies to abandon China. |
| 近几十年来，随着中国劳动力成本的攀升，许多行业已经将业务转移到越南、柬埔寨和孟加拉国等成本较低的国家。特朗普政府通过向美国跨国公司施压，迫使其放弃中国，进一步推动了这一趋势。 |
| “All of the economic forces that pushed this production to China are really no longer at work,” said Pietra Rivoli, a trade expert at Georgetown University in Washington. |
| 华盛顿乔治城大学(Georgetown University)的贸易专家皮彼得拉·里沃利(Pietra Rivoli)表示：“所有推动这种生产进入中国的经济力量，实际上都不再起作用了。” |
| Still, China retains attributes not easily replicated — the world’s largest ports, plus a cluster of related industries, from chemicals to plastics. |
| 尽管如此，中国仍有一些难以复制的特质——世界最大的港口，加上它拥有从化学品到塑料等一系列相关产业。 |
| Other countries present their own human rights concerns. Last year, the European Union revoked duty-free access for garments from Cambodia in response to its government’s harsh crackdown on dissent. |
| 其他国家也存在人权方面的问题。去年，作为对柬埔寨政府严厉镇压持不同政见者的行为，欧盟取消了它的成衣免税待遇。 |
| Some global brands are seeking Beijing’s permission to import more cotton into China from the United States and Australia. They could employ that cotton to make products destined for Europe and North America, while using the Xinjiang crop for the Chinese market. |
| 一些全球品牌正在寻求中国政府的许可，从美国和澳大利亚进口更多的棉花到中国。它们可以用这些棉花来制造销往欧洲和北美的产品，同时将新疆棉用于中国市场。 |
| Yet that approach may leave the apparel companies exposed to the same risks they face now. |
| 不过，这种做法可能会使得服装企业面临与现在同样的风险。 |
| “If the brand is labeled as ‘They are still using forced labor, but they are just using it for the Chinese market,’ is this going to suffice?” said Ms. Collinson, the industry lobbyist. |
| “如果品牌被贴上‘他们仍在使用强迫劳动，但只是用于中国市场’的标签，这就够了吗？”行业说客科林森说。 |
| Last week, H&M issued a new communication, beseeching Chinese consumers to return. “We are working together with our colleagues in China to do everything we can to manage the current challenges,” said the statement, which did not mention Xinjiang. “China is a very important market to us.” |
| 上周，H&M发表了一份新的声明，恳求中国消费者回来。“我们正与中国的同事一起，尽一切努力应对当前的挑战，”这篇并没有提及新疆的声明写道。“中国对我们来说是一个非常重要的市场。” |
| Those words appear to have satisfied no one — not the human rights organizations skeptical of claims that apparel companies have severed links to Xinjiang; not Chinese consumers angry over a perceived national indignity. |
| 各方对这份声明都不满意，包括那些对服装品牌与新疆断绝联系持怀疑态度的人权组织，还有认为自己的国家受到了侮辱的中国消费者。 |
| On Chinese social media, criticism of H&M remained fierce. |
| 在中国的社交媒体上，对H&M的批评仍然很激烈。 |
| “For you, China is still an important market,” one post declared. “But for China, you are just an unnecessary brand.” |
| “对你来说，中国仍然是一个重要的市场，”一个帖子写道。“但对中国来说，你只是一个不必要的品牌。” |
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