The PRC crashed global cotton markets in 2011 due to massive dumping on world markets and severe distortion of supply through subsidy programs and stockpiling in Xinjiang. Price volatility from 2009 to 2012 harmed many producers in the United States. There has long been a need to confront PRC cotton practices.

That need has taken new urgency with genocide in Xinjiang. The U.S. Department of Agriculture was one of the first entities to ban PRC cotton, placing import restrictions on all Chinese origin cotton shipments in 2019. Most U.S. brands followed suit after an investigation by the U.S. government revealed the extent of human rights abuses, including forced labor, in Xinjiang. Most major Western brands cited a complete inability to audit Xinjiang supply chains as an important reason for a total ban.

At the end of the day, more and more companies will be forced to make a choice, please Zhongnanhai or do the right thing. If they don't do the right thing they risk being targeted in other markets around the world. And while the People's Republic is an important market, it is not the largest market globally, nor is it as vital as it used to be to the fiber trade. After PRC state textile subsidies expired and most manufacturing machinery in the Mainland aged out, much of the textile industry shifted to Southeast Asia. Long-term, the shift out of Mainland China will be healthier for the world and for companies bottom lines. Political risk in the PRC is just simply too large for most corporations to balance. It will unfortunately mean in the short-term more bifurcation in supply chain and economies, but in the long-term it will either force Beijing to change its practices or become a permanent member of the middle income club. Any modern nation that commits genocide doesn't deserve a seat at the table, or the comfort of luxury products. The most concerning part of this whole story is how PRC citizens are losing their moral objectivity. It's a big reason the genocide is occurring and ultimately all societies that commit genocide pay for it.