French Senate Bans Headscarves

Protest in France against headscarf ban

The French Senate has voted for outlawing the headscarf for minors in public. Details summarized in bullet points.

  • French senators approved an amendment to the ant-separatism bill calling for the “prohibition in the public space of any conspicuous religious sign by minors and of any dress or clothing which would signify inferiority of women over men”.
  • The French Senate voted to approve an amendment banning women under the age of 18 from wearing hijabs anywhere in public.
  • A second amendment would ban parents from participating in school activities with their children if they are dressed in religious clothing.
  • The ban is not yet law, with France’s National Assembly required to sign off on the change before it can take effect. - Aljazeera

Teen Vogue Editor Resigned

Alexi McCammond

2 weeks ago Alexi McCammond was supposed to start at the Condé Nast publication as a Teen Vogue editor.

But, due to racist and homophobic tweets she made as a teen the onboarding process halted. Out of loop?

No worries, all in the bullet points.

  • Offensive tweets resurfaced just days after Cone Naste named Alexi McCammond an editor of Teen Vogue. Tweets included comments on the appearance of Asian features, derogatory stereotypes about Asians and slurs for gay people.
  • In 2019 Ms. Cammond has apologized for the tweets and deleted them. But, with the new position and it's visibility screenshots recirculated and her position at Conde Nast became shaky.
  • Within days staff at Teen Vogue took to social media to complain about Ms. Cammond and soon after Ms. Cammond resigned and apologized, again, on Twitter. - NY Times

H&M, Nike and Adidas Under Pressure for Criticism of China's Labour Conditions

Workers in Uyughur

H&M, Nike and Adidas, have been, severly, criticized on Chinese social media for the statements they made over labour conditions in Xinjiang province.

Details summarized in bullet points.

  • Internet users in China targeted the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a group that encourages sustainable cotton production which said that they were suspending its approval of cotton sourced from Xinjiang for the 2020-2021 season, citing human rights concerns.
  • BCI members include Nike, Adidas, H&M and Japan’s Fast Retailing.
  • The ruling party’s Youth League recently called for a boycott of H&M after the retailer announced it would no longer buy cotton from Xinjiang.
  • Chinese officials have warned western companies that “ era of bullying” by foreign powers is over.
  • Xinjiang government spokesman Xu Guixiang said companies wielding the “big stick of sanctions” against the northwestern region would only hurt themselves. - Reuters

H&M Vanished From Maps and Apps in China

H&M in China

After warnings about map information concerns on H&M's website ,from officials in China, H&M last week mysteriously vanished from apps and maps in China.

Details summarized in bullet points:

  • It started with China demanding that H&M amend a map on its website.
  • Soon after Chinese regulators anounced that H&M has updated their map to follow Chinese regulations.
  • The announcement gave no details about the map. However, brands have been pressured to change how Taiwan is depicted on their websites. Chinese government doesn't recoginze Taiwan as a country and often insists for the companies that want business with China to respect their political views. Yet, no comment was made to deny or confirm this by H&M or China.
  • Then, late last week, people in China woke up to learn that H&M has vanished from apps and maps. - news.com.au