H&M stores shut in China after retailer focuses on Xinjiang human rights     

A man carrying an umbrellas walks past an H&M clothing store at a shopping mall in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

H&M stores in some parts of China are being closed by their landlords, threatening to disrupt the clothing giant’s growth in its fourth-biggest market as Beijing’s growing sensitivity toward criticism of the human rights situation in Xinjiang ensnares western companies.

Other western brands like Nike and Adidas have also drawn consumer ire for their pledges not to use Xinjiang cotton, but H&M appears to have suffered the brunt of the fallout after the statement was called out by the Communist Youth League and the People’s Liberation Army.