H & M Sustainability Analysis

Concerning economy: TAX:
Since 99% of H&M´s garments are produced outside of Sweden, and they claim that “H&M sees tax as an important part of its social responsibility”, it´s hard to understand why the company does not redistribute any profit to the producing countries. H&M avoid paying income tax in sourcing markets by coordinating all their procurement orders through representative (procurement) offices in the producing countries. According to Erik Knijnenburg, the Global Tax Manager of H&M, there is no commercial transaction and therefore no base for income tax. It is H&M´s head office in Sweden, H&M GBC, that pays the suppliers and resells the clothes to their stores, and therefore it is this company, that collects the revenue, pays the
As H&M is one of the world´s largest fast-fashion retailers with new collections every??? They are committed to a more sustainable textile production chain. In their Sustainability Report (2016) they explain that they are taking a circular approach to how fashion is made and used. This includes a more effective use of resources, support of innovation within recycling technologies, but also an increased use of existing or new sustainable materials. They claim that improving sustainability issues is vital for future business success.
Since their first sustainability strategy in 2009, the company has been trying to act more sustainable in various fields.

H&M uses reusable transport boxes instead if cartons to ships garments from its distribution centers to stores, making savings of more than 400,000 trees each year compared with using traditionally made cardboard boxes. (Golinska, 2014).

Two of their main priorities are using cotton from sustainable sources and closing the loop on
Maxim 1 applies because H&M is convinced of the positive impacts of using Better Cotton and thus think their method should be generally applied (universal law). In accordance with Maxim 2, BCI farmers are treated with dignity as they are offered better working conditions and financial security. Maxim 3 can also be applied as H&M would not mind making this decision public, in fact, they are proud of working with BCI.

((non-consequentialist – categorical imperative))

Recycling:

As H&M claim: “As much as 95% of clothes thrown away could have been re-worn or recycled.”. Due to the fact that fashion trends are constantly changing and new clothes can be found in H&M stores every week, products have a very short lifecycle and vast amounts of waste are produced. But these are not the only issues: “Closed-loop recycling is becoming increasingly important due to consumer demand, governmental legislation, and increasing materials costs.” (Blackburn, 2015)

Whereas open-loop recycling often equals downcycling, H&M intends to close the loop on textiles and even upcycle the fibres.

“By being able to upcycle used textiles into new high value textiles, we no longer need to solely rely on virgin materials to dress a growing world population. This is a major breakthrough in the pursuit of a fashion industry operating within the planetary boundaries.” (Edwin Keh,