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FAST FASHION INDUSTRY REPORT

Company Name: H&M

1. Introduction

This report aims to provide an in-depth analysis into the ethical, sustainability as well as corporate

social responsibility (CSR) issues that are faced by the fast fashion industry and H&M currently

and in the long run. In particular, a thorough evaluation of the industry that H&M is operating

within will be constructed first and foremost. After that, different potential ethical, sustainability

and CSR issues that are presented within the fast fashion industry value chain will be extracted.

Last but not least, detailed implications for ethical and social problems within H&M’s operations

as well as possible measures for the corporation to overcome such problems in the future will also

be given out throughout the rest of the report.

2. Industry Analysis

In recent years, fast fashion has been one of the fastest-growing industries all over the world,

recording a 2.5 annual percent growth in terms of profit in ever since the 2008 global recession

(McKinsey, 2019). Throughout its development, there has been three main leading companies

within the fast fashion industry taking over the market in terms of both profits and scale at the

moment, which include: Zara, H&M and Marks and Spencer (M&S); each of which has been

acquiring its own customer base through its own set of unique values and competencies. In

particular, while Zara has been spending extremely little amount of capital on marketing and

primarily focusing on the refreshments of product designs, H&M has been operating at a slower

pace but partnering with a wider base of celebrities and influencers to represent its fashion

products. On the other hand, M&S has steered away from its luxury fast fashion path and focused

on the pursuance of wardrobe essentials and basic instead (Marks and Spencer, 2019). In terms of

major production locations, the paper formulated by Escalona Orcao and Ramos-Pérez (2015) has

argued that most of the manufacturing facilities of fast fashion firms have been established or

partnered in Asia, especially China and India, with key unique production activities being set up

in the firms’ hometowns within the European Union (EU). Furthermore, most of the supplies of

materials and components for the manufacturing of fast fashion clothing are also obtained from

Asian countries, where garments and textiles have been their primary export commodities over the

years. The research performed by MacCarthy and Jayarathne (2010) has extracted that: the

construction of strong global distribution networks around the world as well as firm partnership

with key regions, especially Asia, where manufacturing expenditures are extremely low, is highly

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FAST FASHION INDUSTRY REPORT Company Name: H&M 1 1. Introduction This report aims to provide an in-depth analysis into the ethical, sustainability as well as corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues that are faced by the fast fashion industry and H&M currently and in the long run. In particular, a thorough evaluation of the industry that H&M is operating within will be constructed first and foremost. After that, different potential ethical, sustainability and CSR issues that are presented within the fast fashion industry value chain will be extracted. Last but not least, detailed implications for ethical and social problems within H&M’s operations as well as possible measures for the corporation to overcome such problems in the future will also be given out throughout the rest of the report. 2. Industry Analysis In recent years, fast fashion has been one of the fastest-growing industries all over the world, recording a 2.5 annual percent growth in terms of profit in ever since the 2008 global recession (McKinsey, 2019). Throughout its development, there has been three main leading companies within the fast fashion industry taking over the market in terms of both profits and scale at the moment, which include: Zara, H&M and Marks and Spencer (M&S); each of which has been acquiring its own customer base through its own set of unique values and competencies. In particular, while Zara has been spending extremely little amount of capital on marketing and primarily focusi ...
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