The Swedish fashion chain H&M has announced that it intends to stop clothing production in Myanmar. The reason for this are concerns about labor law violations in supplier companies.
H&M follows other fashion retailers such as Inditex, Primark and Marks&Spencer, who have also withdrawn from the country due to persistent reports of abuse.
“After careful consideration, we have now made the decision to phase out our activities in Myanmar,” H&M told Reuters in an email. However, the phasing out of production in Myanmar is to take place gradually.
H&M’s decision is based on the company’s increasing challenges in ensuring compliance with its standards and requirements in Myanmar. The company said it aligns itself with the “Responsible Exit Framework” developed by global union IndustriALL. This set of measures has been promoted by the union to encourage brands to stop doing business with Myanmar.
“We have been following recent developments in Myanmar very closely and see increasing challenges in conducting our business in accordance with our standards and requirements,” H&M said previously.
In June, a notable incident occurred at the Hosheng Myanmar garment factory in Yangon, where seven workers were fired for lobbying to negotiate working conditions and better pay coupled with higher skills and seniority incentives. The reason for this measure was the extraordinarily low wages in the industry. At the factory that produces for Zara, around 600 workers went on strike on June 12 to demand the reinstatement of the seven who had been laid off. The strike ended abruptly when the employer called in the military on June 13 to intimidate workers.
Numerous similar incidents have occurred throughout 2023. IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll Europe have renewed their call for the European Union to withdraw its support for the Made in Myanmar project, which unintentionally supports the Myanmar military junta. The organizations also support the elimination of preferential tariffs under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). IndustriALL demands that EU citizens and public funds should not contribute to the benefit of the military junta and should not be associated with EU-funded projects where workers face threats, sacking or unjust arrests.
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.uk.