Source : Procurement Leaders
Clothing retailer H&M has announced plans to source more goods from Bangladesh to take advantage of low labour costs, despite concerned about working conditions.
Approximately 25% of H&M’s goods are currently made in Bangladesh and while the retailer wants this level to increase, it has noted concerns over the social conditions there.
Helena Helmersson, head of sustainability for H&M, told Dow Jones Newswires that "The often-recurring strikes and demonstrations disrupt production and cause delays. We want to grow in Bangladesh [...] a stable market will benefit us buyers, the suppliers and the workers."
In 2010, 21 workers at a H&M factory in Bangladesh were killed when a fire broke out, while many workers are not represented by a union, something that H&M is looking to change by working with its suppliers.
"We told them how we would like to grow in Bangladesh, but that the ongoing instability in the country makes it difficult for us to plan production and makes us wonder if we dare grow there," Helmersson said.
CEO Karl-Johan Persson said "We are big buyers in Bangladesh and we want to take greater responsibility for working conditions there.
"And we reward the suppliers who take the greater social responsibility with more business, larger orders and longer contracts," he added.