H&M faces Vietnam boycott over South China Sea map

Backlash follows uproar in China over fashion retailer's Xinjiang stance

Vietnamese Twitter and Facebook users are calling for a boycott of H&M after the fashion retailer used a controversial map of the South China Sea on its website. (Screen shot from Twitter)

LIEN HOANG, Nikkei staff writer

April 5, 2021 16:26 JST

HO CHI MINH CITY -- H&M's attempt to mend fences in China after angering consumers there with its stance against forced labor appears to have triggered another boycott next door in Vietnam.

The Swedish fashion retailer drew Vietnam's ire after it posted a map on its website that depicts islands in the South China Sea as Chinese territory. Vietnam has a competing claim on the islands. H&M changed the map at the request of authorities in China, according to Vietnamese media.