Zara photo: VCG

Spanish fashion brand Zara's parent company Inditex is suspected of quietly withdrawing a boycott of Xinjiang Cotton after H&M, Nike and other companies caused public outrage on the Chinese Internet for boycotting Xinjiang cotton.

The company once published a "zero tolerance for forced labor" statement on its official website, saying that the company has confirmed that it has no commercial connection with any company in Xinjiang. However, on Thursday morning, Global Times found that Inditex appeared to have quietly removed this statement from its official website.

According to previous reports, in the second half of last year, many American and European clothing brand companies, purchasers and retailers asked Chinese suppliers and contract processing companies to prohibit the use of Xinjiang cotton, yarn, and cotton products, including Zara. 

Global Times was still able to find search results showing Zara's parent company Inditex once issued a statement of clearing relations with Xinjiang with Google snapshot. 

We are aware of a number of such reports alleging social and labor malpractice in various supply chains among Uygurs in Xinjiang (China) as well as in other regions, which are highly concerning. Following an internal investigation, we can confirm that Inditex does not have commercial relations with any factory in Xinjiang, according to the snapshot.

At present, this statement has disappeared from both the English and Spanish pages of Inditex's official website. According to Google's snapshot information, the statement remained on its official website at least until 10:08 GMT on March 24 (that is, 18:08 Beijing time March 24).