H&M Hits Back at Claims Profits "Built on Poverty Wages"

H&M has hit back at campaigners alleging the brand is falling short of its responsibility to protect workers in its supply chain through compensation, despite the retailer announcing last week almost 1m workers are benefiting via its fair wage strategy. Clean Clothes Network launched an attack on H&M today (24 September) in which it said many of the brand's apparel makers are living below the poverty line. It claims workers in India earn a third of the estimated living wage, while workers in Cambodia earn less than half.

Workers at H&M's "gold supplier" in Bulgaria, it alleges, "are not even earning 10% of what would be required for families to have decent lives" forcing them to work overtime to cover basic needs. It also points out factory faintings were a "daily occurrence" in Bulgaria. The campaign group calls for "transparent changes in the real wages of workers in H&M's supply chain - a roadmap with time-bound, measurable wage level increase targets, detailing how H&M will change their purchasing practices to make sure workers get a living wage." Speaking to just-style today, a spokesperson for H&M said while the group supported the campaigner's vision of "systemic change in the textile industry" and that textile workers should earn a living wage, it "did not share their view of the textile industry and how best to achieve progress".

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