On September 11 of this year, H&M published their new ad for the 2016 fall collection, which featured many different kinds of women sporting "un-lady-like" behavior, along with different body shapes that didn't resemble the "typical" H&M model. While this display of real women was moving, and closer to what media should look like, the production of H&M products step on the rights of a women's workforce that are losing their rights and lives in the harsh conditions of the factories where the clothes are made.
The ad itself was not what got under my skin as I watched it pop up on my Facebook stream. I think it is great that large companies are using different kinds of women in their advertising. But this video is just that: advertising. My problem lies in the fact that it was not what the company stands for based on their history of exploitation.
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H&M garments (along with other stores like Gap and Walmart) are made in mainly Asian countries, predominately India, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia, and are paying workers small wages with short contracts, alongside harsh work environments. Most of the factories are unsafe, and women working there are treated like slaves. They are given short contracts, so if they speak up and fight for their rights as workers, they will not be hired back. Around 80% of Cambodia's workforce is involved with exporting goods, and 85% of those workers are women.
Workers are normally not paid for any overtime work they do and can work up to 100 hours in a week, making around $140 each month in total. The Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) claims that workers in Bangladesh and India are making around one fifth of the living wage. China has increased its minimum wage, and this is leading big companies to move their business to poorer countries in order to get their labor for even cheaper.
In order to provide for their families, young women often leave school to go to work so there is more than one income in a household. These women have little to no other option to make money and become stuck in the garment industry with no financial way of escaping.
Women in the workforce have reported losing their jobs for becoming pregnant, making some resort to illegal abortions just to keep their position. These garment factories are also known to sexually and verbally harass workers, going so far as to encourage them not to use the bathroom or stop for water and to just keep working.
In 2014 three people were shot and killed by police in a protest demanding that workers would be able to join unions and receive higher wages. The voices of the women in garment factories are being taken away, and standing up can result in losing anything from your job to your life.
The conditions of the factories have taken thousands of lives, the biggest event being the collapse of the Savor building in 2013, which left over a thousand people dead in Bangladesh. The collapse happened after workers were forced to go into the factory and work after reports of cracks in the base of the structure were reported. Workers had no choice but to go in and start their day or risk being fired, even though the shops and bank in the lower section had closed due to the structural damage. Along with the fatalities, there were over 2,500 people reported as injured.
CEO of H&M, Karl Johan-Perrson, has commented about the fact that his company does not personally decide the wages of these workers. Even though this is true, H&M is very aware of what is going on in these factories where their garments are being produced. It is their choice as a company where they would like to do business, and they have the power to demand an increase in the wages of the workers or take their business somewhere else where the workers are not paid so little and treated so poorly.
According to the H&M website, they are planning to implement a Fair Living Wage to their textile and garment producers—by 2018, two years from now. In two years, these workers will only make around $3,360—less than work-study students can make in three-quarters.
Unsafe work conditions, low wages, harassment, and mistreatment of women is not worth cheap clothes in my eyes, and by purchasing these garments you are also contributing to these systems staying in place. In the U.S. we have choices that people in other countries may not have, such as where we buy our clothes.
I have been an H&M shopper for many years, along with other brands that mistreat their workers in order to make a profit for themselves, but I am no longer one of those ignorant shoppers who will give my money to a company that does not treat their workers fairly. We all have a choice of where our money goes, and please consider this information next time you see an H&M.
