H&M wants faster inspections in Bangladesh

Plan for faster inspections

More than 150 brands and retailers have signed a treaty after that disaster to get all 1,500 Bangladeshi textile factories inspected by the end of August, but H&M feels it is taking much too long to get things going.

According to Helena Helmersson, head of sustainability, there should be a national plan for these inspections. “It should not be dependent on which brand is buying at the factory – it should be all factories. They have to put a lot of resources to be able to speed up the inspections”, she told Reuters. H&M currently buys some 80 % of its clothing in Bangladesh.

The government in Bangladesh believes it will take up to 5 years before all factories are completely inspected, as it only has 200 qualified inspectors. H&M is also an advocate of higher wages, striving to get textile factory wages adjusted on a yearly basis instead of a 4-year basis as is the case now. “As inflation goes up, then also wages have to go up.”