H&M’s Conscious Choice: Efforts (and Errors) in Sustainability

Abstract

In June 2022, H&M came under scrutiny for greenwashing (exaggerated or false claims that a product is environmentally responsible). The multinational apparel enterprise was being accused of using sustainability metrics in bad faith for financial gain. To greenwash was for an organization to disseminate disinformation to present an environmentally responsible public image. The headline read “H&M showed bogus environmental scores for its clothing” (Shendruk, 2022). H&M reacted by taking down the material from promotional and corporate communications (sales websites and annual report). It appeared that the Sustainable Apparel Coalition profiles were fabricated. Journalists had uncovered that H&M’s U.S. and European websites were coded by programmers to offer only a green picture of its clothing. In response, a university student in the United States filed a class action lawsuit against H&M. The Norwegian Consumer Authority, a watchdog organization, had written a scathing letter to H&M and the clothing retailer and manufacturer Norrøna Sport. H&M scored well in its Fashion Transparency Index (public disclosure of information) for 2021, as it had in 2020 and 2019, but was now embroiled in concerns brought by those who saw its claims in the realm of the natural environment as overstated or dishonest. Students are asked to examine corporate social responsibility and produce an action plan for H&M to follow with true conviction and concern for the natural environment.