Fast Retailing, which operates Uniqlo, a SPA (specialty store retailer of private label apparel) brand, stated that the outsourcing contract for GU brand products in Myanmar will end with the fall/winter season. While Uniqlo is not manufactured in Myanmar, some clothing items for its other brand, GU, were produced there.
The company did not specify the exact reason for halting production in Myanmar. However, according to Japanese media Nikkei Asia, the decision may be related to the country’s human rights situation and operational difficulties since the military coup in February 2021.
Following the coup, major foreign companies have withdrawn from Myanmar, including Norwegian telecoms company Telenor, French and American energy firms TotalEnergies and Chevron, and the world’s largest food company, Nestle.
Several fashion companies, including Dutch retailer C&A, Irish brand Primark, and UK retailers Tesco and Marks & Spencer, have also decided not to source products from Myanmar factories due to labor rights violations.
