Swedish fashion company Hennes & Mauritz is focusing on its ethical profile to drive long-term sales growth as shoppers become more interested in how clothes are produced as well as their environmental impact, its new sustainability chief said.
The fashion industry has come under increasing pressure to cut water use and pesticides in cotton farming, reduce pollution from textile factories and improve factory conditions, particularly after the collapse of the Rana Plaza complex in Bangladesh two years ago.
Opinion is split on whether companies are doing enough. While worker rights group Clean Clothes Campaign has accused H&M of using the sustainability issue as a marketing ploy, Corporate Knights magazine declared it to be among the world’s most sustainable companies.
(Source: Jakarta Globe )