H&M Broken Promises, Demonstration in front of H&M Stores worldwide

Staff Correspondent : Demonstration in front of H&M stores over 45 Cities in 11 countries against their failure to keep the promises to make their facilities in Bangladesh safe on Third May 2016 when at the same time there was a schedule for H&M Annual General Meeting in Sweden. There are few NGO including Clean Cloths Campaign (CCC) led this campaign to create pressure on H&M to boost up their remediation activities throughout their facilities in Bangladesh.

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Later in April 2016, Clean Cloths Campaign posted their analysis report on the development remediation activities at the H&M facilities in Bangladesh. As per their report majority of H&M’s Bangladeshi supplier factories are still not safe. Three years after H&M became the first signatory to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh; almost all of its factories remain behind schedule in carrying out the mandated renovations, with 70% of its strategic suppliers still lacking such a vital, life-saving feature as adequate fire exits. They also declared that on the day of H&M’s Annual General Meeting, activists around the world will make their concerns known at their local H&M store.

They also mentioned in the report that in February 2016 a huge fire broke out at H&M supplier Matrix Sweaters, and deadly casualties were only prevented because workers had not yet arrived for their first shift. Before there is a next fire, it is imperative that H&M put an end to the safety delays. As the largest buyer of clothing made in Bangladesh, and the first company to sign the Accord, other companies look to H&M to set the standard in compliance. While the delays continue, we ask H&M to provide a realistic timeline for the completion of the renovations as well as to disclose what sort of financing it has provided to factories to enable timely repairs as stated in the press release provided to RMG Times by the Clean Cloths Campaign.

During the demonstration, the activists were holding play cards, festoons with different slogans to shame on H&M and motivating customers and managers of the store not to buy and sell the H&M brands respectively. Millions of people actively aware about this campaign through social media like face book, twitter, linkedin etc.

Like other cities, The activists were very active in front of the sourcing office of H&M at City’s important area of Dhaka led by Kalpona Akter, the leader of Bangladesh Centre for worker Solidarity (BCWS).