H&M extends its inspection from factories to supplier to improve working conditions

Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) Sweden-based clothes manufacturer and world’s second largest fashion retailer with shops in a number of countries has extended its inspections from factories to suppliers of fabric and yarn used in making its clothes.

H&M marking progress in a programme to improve working conditions in plants typically in India and Bangladesh as half of its clothes will by year-end made of fabric from mills which it has inspected,

Poor working conditions in the textile industry were thrust into the limelight by the collapse in 2013 of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh in which more than 1,100 workers were killed.

H&M’s social sustainability manager Hanna Hallin said that its purchasing policies would benefit those sub-suppliers who measure up to its code of conduct.

H&M in its annual sustainability report released on Thursday stated that the proportion of its clothes being made from fabric made by audited mills would rise to 50 percent this year from 35 percent last year.

Hallin said that it’s about having a safe work environment and ensuring human rights with regards to remuneration and overtime for example, and that there is no child labour.

They will place more orders and book more material with those that take responsibility and where they see a continuous development. It will be their business tool to drive a positive development which will make a difference for workers.

H&M said that unlike direct suppliers in the garment industry, most mills have never been exposed to demands or compliance standards from brands and its challenge was to educate them.

The global retailer H&M (Hennes & Mauritz AB) will be opening a store at the Quail Springs Mall. The store will be 23,000 square feet with clothing collections ranging from ladies and men to a separate “store within a store” section for accessories and H&M’s plus-sized line. The store will also carry children’s clothing from newborn to 14 years. With the opening of the store at Quail Springs, 20 local jobs will be created.