Fashion giant H&M to probe ‘daily risk’ of violence, sex abuse in Asian factories

Fashion giant H&M said on Tuesday it would investigate reports that Asian garment workers making clothes for its high-street stores routinely face sex abuse, harassment and violence.

Based on interviews with some 330 workers in 32 H&M supplier factories in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, civil society groups said women were at “daily risk” of violence, and faced retaliation if they reported the attacks.

The coalition has investigated the factories for several years as efforts mount to push Western brands into improving safety along their supply chains and render them slave-free.

Clothes stitched by low-paid Asian workers – part of a complex global supply chain – end up on high-priced Western high streets, with some 4,750 H&M stores operating in 69 countries.

Sweden’s H&M, the world’s No 2 clothes group after Zara owner Inditex, said it would review the findings of the recent report by the rights groups and unions.

“We will go through every section of the report and follow up on (a) factory level with our local teams based in each production country,” a company spokesman said in a statement.

“All forms of abuse or harassment are against everything that H&M group stands for.”