H&M Hit Hard by Boycott, Donates Over 300 Million Won to Flood Relief in Henan Province, China

Photo by Reuters

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The Swedish global clothing brand H&M, which faced severe boycott campaigns in China, has donated a total of 2 million yuan (approximately 355.46 million KRW) in cash and goods to flood victims in Henan Province, China.

On the 22nd, H&M announced via Weibo that it had sent 1 million yuan in cash and 1 million yuan worth of clothing to the Henan Charity Federation. The company stated, "All H&M employees in China pay tribute to those working on the front lines to overcome the flood disaster."

H&M’s leading role in donating to flood victims in Henan is seen as an effort to improve its deteriorated image in China.

H&M suffered a significant blow to its sales this year after Chinese consumers launched a fierce boycott against the brand for refusing to use cotton produced in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

At that time, H&M criticized the Chinese authorities' human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, becoming the target of boycott campaigns by Chinese netizens, resulting in a nearly 30% drop in sales within China.

Not only H&M, but big tech companies facing regulatory challenges from Chinese authorities have also rushed to support flood victims.

Jack Ma and Alibaba Group, who fell out of favor with the authorities after publicly criticizing them last year, made the largest donation totaling 250 million yuan (approximately 43.3 billion KRW). Big tech companies such as Tencent, ByteDance, Didi Chuxing, Meituan, and Pinduoduo each contributed 100 million yuan.

The Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that big tech companies facing investigations and social criticism from Chinese authorities are showing swift donation efforts ahead of state-owned enterprises.