(Yicai Global) March 25 -- Japan's Muji has changed its labeling in China to specify when a product is made from cotton produced in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region after a media report claimed that the retailer will stop buying the material from the region.

Many of the retailer's products on its official Chinese mobile application now carry a “Xinjiang Cotton" label.

The Chinese arm of Ryohin Keikaku, the operator of Muji, said today that the company is not boycotting cotton produced in Xinjiang as many of its products are made from it. Muji is purchasing high-quality cotton from all over the world, including China, India, and Turkey, it added.

Last month, Kyodo News reported that 12 Japanese brands, including Muji and Uniqlo, intend to suspend transactions with Chinese companies that allegedly had taken part in forced labor in Xinjiang.

Another retailer, Hennes & Mauritz Group, was drawing the ire of Chinese e-commerce platforms yesterday as JD.Com, Tmall, and Pinduoduo stopped selling H&M products after the Swedish firm said it will quit buying cotton produced in Xinjiang due to the canceled sustainability marking by Switzerland's Better Cotton Initiative.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi