H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB

How ethical is H&M?

Our research highlights several ethical issues with H&M and its brands. These include allegations of labour abuse, accusations of greenwashing, and criticisms for sourcing animal products associated with major welfare issues.

Below we outline some of these issues. To see the full detailed stories, and H&M’s overall ethical rating, please sign in or subscribe.
 

Accused of greenwashing environmental impacts

H&M has taken some positive steps when it comes to its climate impacts. 

In its 2025 annual report, it published all its emissions – including those from its supply chain, by far the largest share. It has set a climate target to reach net-zero greenhouse emissions across the value chain by FY2040 from a FY2019 base year. And its targets have been approved by the leading accreditor, the Science-Based Targets Initiative. 

However, the company has also faced criticisms over its environmental claims. In July 2022, the online outlet Quartz published an investigation which found that H&M “showed customers environmental scorecards for its clothing that were misleading and, in many cases, outright deceptive”. 

The investigation stated: “More than half of the scorecards on H&M’s website claimed that a piece of clothing was better for the environment when, in fact, it was no more sustainable than comparable garments made by the company and its competitors. In the most egregious cases, H&M showed data that were the exact opposite of reality."

H&M removed all the environmental scorecards from its website soon after Quartz told the company about its findings. In a statement, H&M said, “We came across a couple of technical issues that we are looking into.” 

Allegations of labour abuses at supplier factories

H&M has a mixed track record on workers’ rights. 

The company has strong policies in place, for example requiring payment of living wage and the freedom to join unions in its supply chains. It also publishes its direct and some indirect suppliers – a vital step for transparency.

However, it has also received some criticisms for abuses in its supply chain. In August 2023, Reuters reported that H&M was investigating 20 alleged instances of labour abuse at Myanmar garment factories in its supply chain. The investigation followed a report by non-governmental organisation Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), which had found issues including wage reduction, wage theft, unfair dismissal, inhumane work rates, and forced overtime, in the Myanmar garment industry.

H&M told Reuters: "All the cases raised in the report by BHRRC are being followed up and where needed remediated through our local team on the ground and in close cooperation with relevant stakeholders. We are deeply concerned by the latest developments in Myanmar, and we see increased challenges to conduct our operations according to our standards and requirements”.  

In December 2025, Climate Rights International also published a report showing the impact of extreme heat, in a warming climate, for garment factory workers. The report – which was based on interviews – documented the experiences of workers in Karachi in Pakistan, who described "how escalating temperatures, inadequate workplace protections, and systemic labor rights abuses intersect and together threaten workers’ health, livelihoods, and basic rights." 

The factories were traced to many brands including H&M. "While all of these companies have made public commitments to support workers’ fundamental rights, those commitments are belied by the lived reality of workers on the ground,” the report stated. 

H&M told Climate Rights International that it had plans to introduce heat guidance in the coming year.  However, CRI noted that according to prior correspondence, H&M guidelines would recommend “taking local legal limits for maximum temperature for working into account,” which Pakistan has yet to establish.

H&M received a middling score in Ethical Consumer’s workers rating overall. 

Wool and down linked to animal welfare violations 

H&M group has some positive policies on animal welfare issues. For example, it has banned wool that is produced using the practice of mulesing – a painful process that involves removing parts of sheep’s flesh to avoid infection.

The company has a target to source all animal products from “responsible farms that are certified to a credible animal welfare standard” by 2025. However, it exempts leather, setting a target of 2030.

In April 2026, animal rights group PETA published an investigation into a wool farm with ties to H&M group. Undercover footage from a sheep farm in South Africa showed sheep being treated with extreme cruelty. 

The report stated: "The farm sells its wool through a broker that supplies H&M Group with “responsibly” sourced wool … PETA is calling on H&M to get cruelly obtained wool out of its products.” No response from the company could be found. 

In 2023, PETA also published an investigation looking at a major down supplier in Vietnam, who sold down certified under the Responsible Down Standard, and was linked to multinational brands including H&M. The investigation, which took place over 13 months between November 2021 and November 2022 and included video footage on farms, showed workers electrocuting and stabbing birds. 

Following the expose, H&M set a target to end the use of animal down in its clothing by 2025. 
 

Politics and finance

When it comes to financial ethics, H&M has a mixed track record. 

In 2025, the company paid its CEO, Daniel Ervér, was paid 26,722,763 SEK – equivalent to over £2 million, an amount that Ethical Consumer considered to be excessive.

The company also owns a number of subsidiaries in tax havens. However, in July 2021, it emailed Ethical Consumer to explain the purpose of each of these subsidiaries. For example, it stated that its subsidiaries in Hong Kong were a hub for sourcing and producing in Asia. "The purpose of these companies has not been to avoid tax”, it said.

The above text was written in September 2026, and based on research mostly conducted in August 2026.