Ever since I saw the Netflix documentary “The True Cost”, explaining the harsh and catastrophic harm the fast fashion companies have on sustainability. The heartbreaking truth of where our clothes came from and the ecological effects it has throughout the whole lifecycle.  At the time when I saw this film I had never seen anything about this issue and that scared me even more, what other things were these companies not telling us? Unfortunately, it took most consumers to realize the truth and some are still unaware, but finally, companies like Zara and H&M have started to take a stance.

H&M had an article written about them in 2018, publishing their kids’ campaign with WWF, the premises is for every article of clothing bought from this campaign 10% of the profits were given to WWF to help with their conservation work. However, this is not that part that caught my eye… Anna Gedda, the head of sustainability department in H&M, stated that by 2030 H&M want to only use recycled and/ or sustainable material (Young, 2018). On Zara’s website, they have implemented a new campaign called “Join Life”, where customers can find products that come from a sustainable resource like the use of renewable energy as well as recycled clothes.

Yay finally a change is being made! However, how long is it just a trend? Will they actually uphold their goals, or is this just a defensive green strategy? According to a Nordic business insider with 1.6 million workers in the supply chain of Bangladesh their monthly wage is around $86 USD, the living standard in Bangladesh has risen to $239 USD (Petcher, 2017). The author even goes into more detail that if H&M were to raise their t-shirts 16- 33 cents more, these women could receive double their normal salary (Petcher, 2017).

After reading these disappointing facts, it is very apparent that although they have tackled the environmental aspect, socially they are lacking. On a more optimistic side at least they’re doing something rather than nothing. Right? Rome wasn’t built in a day 🙂

Reference:

Young, S. (2018, September 15). H&M collaborate with WWF to launch sustainable childrenswear collection. Retrieved January 27, 2019, from https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/hm-wwf-planet-care-clothes-collection-childrenswear-clothing-a8535321.html

Petcher, O. (2017, June 01). Chipotle spent millions launching an incredible rewards program for customers – but nobody cared. Retrieved January 27, 2019, from https://nordic.businessinsider.com/chiptopia-failed-to-win-over-customers-2016-9/