H&M takes steps to improve working conditions in supply chain by encouraging trade unions within factories - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (2024)

FAQs

What is the problem with H&M supply chain? ›

One of the principal risks threatening the H&M supply chain is the scarcity of natural resources. As the fashion industry relies heavily on materials like cotton, water, and energy, any disruption or depletion in these resources can have a profound impact on production.

We take a zero-tolerance approach to both forced labour and child labour. All suppliers working for us must sign and comply with our strict anti-forced-labour and anti-child-labour policies. In 2022, we identified 0 cases of child labour.

Diversify Products:

Retailers offering a wide variety of products are stable and earn more. H&M can improve its bottom line by diversifying offerings to include sports apparel.

The organization has been tracking cases of alleged labor and human rights abuses against garment workers in the country for years. It said Wednesday it had documented 212 alleged cases affecting at least 108,000 workers between February 2021 to February 2023.

H&M supply chain strategy ensures operational efficiency, sustainability, and customer satisfaction. Key elements include strategic sourcing, efficient production, optimized distribution, and effective inventory management.

Also in 2018, factories that supply H&M were named in reports by Global Labour Justice detailing abuse of female garment workers, and more recently in 2023, workers' rights abuses from the brand's suppliers in Myanmar came to light. Clearly, there is still a long way to go.

H&M was an early pioneer of fast fashion. In the 1980s, it began developing a global supply chain to make inexpensive clothes, using low-cost labor in foreign countries and cheaper materials like polyester. It's stated goal was to democratize fashion, making trendy, off-the-runway looks accessible to everyone.

Workers reveal poverty wages and labour law violations in H&M's supply chain. Research findings published today reveal that many workers making H&M's clothes live below the poverty line -- despite H&M's promise of a living wage by 2018, and despite the brand's recent deceptive claims of progress.

We take a zero-tolerance approach to both forced labor and child labor. All suppliers working for us must sign and comply with our strict anti-forced-labor and anti-child-labor policies. In 2022, we identified 0 cases of child labor.

As part of our materials vision, key virgin raw materials should be produced using regenerative agricultural practices. Crop rotation, cover cropping, minimal or no-tilling, as well as the use of natural fertilisers all help improve soil health. The soil can then store more carbon and retain water more efficiently.

Why is H&M successful? ›

The Secret to H&M's Success: Fast Fashion

Aimed at young, fashion-conscious urban consumers, their products are trendy and they're cheap, bordering on disposable. Fast fashion retailers make their profits by having a high merchandise turnover and by constantly resupplying the product pipeline with the latest trends.

The H&M mission statement is "to make fashion accessible and enjoyable for all." High fashion used to be something that ordinary people only see on the runways, on the red carpet, or on TV. High fashion is not something that you can find in your own closet or on pedestrians that you encounter on the streets.

In the lawsuit filed against H&M, a June investigation by the news outlet Quartz was cited claiming that more than half of H&M's sustainability profiles portrayed products as being better for the environment than they actually were and, in some cases, were allegedly completely untrue.

We take a zero-tolerance approach to both forced labor and child labor. All suppliers working for us must sign and comply with our strict anti-forced-labor and anti-child-labor policies.

Ox is accusing the fast-fashion retailer of patent infringement, trade dress infringement, and unfair competition.

Supply chain technology problems often arise due to outdated systems, lack of integration between different platforms, data silos, limited scalability and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. These issues can lead to inefficiencies, errors in data management, operational disruptions and compromised data security.

There is no hard evidence that workers conditions are improving through their supply chain. H&M continue to apply pressure to manufacturers to lower prices, leading to repeated ethical scandals as recently as Natchi Apparel in 2021. Clothes are still made using environmentally harmful inks and dyes.

2021-22 supply chain overview

The most common supply chain challenges in 2021 and 2022 were port congestion, manufacturing delays, and extreme weather events (including hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires).