H&M is a huge store in and has stores all over the world however can they be trusted well I’m going to answer that question. There will be three things I will be looking at, materials they use for clothing, people working for them, and impact on the environment. once all these are answered I and hopefully you the reader will know if H&M can be trusted to buy from as a sustainable company.
MATERIALS used
Most of the materials that I found on the H&M website were organic or recycled with the exception of a few items. It’s good to see that H&M are getting most of their products organic or recycled this makes their company sustainable. Recycled clothing is good as it will reduce textile waste. They also have a lot of materials from the FSC™ which is an organization that helps the environment, social and economic groups get a say there’s more information here. It’s good that H&M are partnered with them as it gives them a perspective on the environment, social and economic viewpoints from lots of different organizations. It can help them pick more sustainable materials. However, a set back is that H&M is a fast fashion company so there are some materials that aren’t the best for the environment as they are materials made to be used for fast fashion. H&M needs to find a solution to this is it wants to be more sustainable to the environment.
People working for them
On the H&M website, they are very diligent about telling the consumer about the partnerships they have with the factories where they make their garments. They claim that they imply people who want to work and make sure that the factories they are partnering with will treat their workers well. They have several articles on their website elaborating on the conditions and process of picking a company to partner with. I think this is a good effort by H&M as they are trying to make a safe workplace for a worker in their factories as there are so many factories where safety and human welfare is just thrown out the window. However, I do have some concerns as it is a third party factory that H&M is hiring. H&M does not hire the workers, give them there pay directly or supervise the factories. Workers could be paid less or treated badly and they wouldn’t know because of there in a different part of the world.
impact on the environment
H&M has really been trying in the last few years to make there clothing better for the environment and they seem to be succeeding. Some things they are doing right are a thing like there recycling process. In their stores, clothing can be bot worn then returned in a bin to be reused for other clothing. This is great for the environment as an average person usually throws away 70 pounds of waste annually. So H&M having this program in place helps the environment greatly. However that’s not the only good thing they have done for the environment, H&M plan to no longer use dangerous chemicals and solvent-based glues in the making of its apparel by 2020. This will be a good thing for the environment as there will be less chance for harmful chemicals to get into the water or soil. However good this is they are still a fast fashion brand and use some unsustainable materials to make their products. Fast fashion is fast clothing that are meant to be bot worn then thrown out and is a place for improvement for H&M.
final THOUGHTS
I think that H&M is a good company and has the right ideas about becoming more sustainable. Having the recycling box of clothing, switching to non-toxic glow, and trying to pick the right third-party company to manufacture clothing, is important. However, there are some things that H&M could improve on to make their store more sustainable such as finding a better way to do fast fashion or eliminating it. I think that H&M is still a pretty good place to shop they have nice clothing for the prices. But if they would just go that extra mile to make their company more sustainable I think it would benefit a lot of people and the plant.
fashion & social change 