LONDON, July 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - When it comes to Chinese cotton, fashion retailers are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t. French prosecutors have opened an investigation read more into four firms suspected of concealing "crimes against humanity" in the northwest Xinjiang region, where Beijing is accused of forcing Muslim Uyghurs to work. It denies the allegations. Japan"s Fast Retailing (9983.T), $93 billion Zara-owner Inditex (ITX.MC), France"s SMCP (SMCP.PA), majority-owned by China’s Shandong Ruyi, and $8 billion Skechers (SKX.N) are the targets of the French probe. Given the bulk of Chinese cotton comes from the region, it’s hard to avoid and tracing it is notoriously difficult . Those who have taken a tougher stance, including $34 billion H&M (HMb.ST) read more , are under Chinese boycott . Other European countries will be under pressure to follow France’s lead. Washington has already been impounding shipments it believes contain Xinjiang thread . Picking a side in the fracas is becoming harder. (By Dasha Afanasieva) On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews Capital Calls - More concise insights on global finance: India’s bad debt redux looks less painful read more South Korea’s video-game maker undershoots in IPO read more It sure feels good to be a banker read more UK finance shakeup papers over post-Brexit cracks read more Worldline’s Italian deal heats up payments M&A read more