H&M Group
H&M Group
Ensuring responsible recruitment, hiring and employment of foreign workers in Turkey.
BCTA MEMBERSHIP STATUS
Active
SECTOR
Consumer Goods
HEADQUARTERS
Sweden
REGION OF INITIATIVE
Asia & Pacific
SDG CONTRIBUTION
RELATED NEWS
The Impact Goal
H&M Group joined Business Call to Action in February 2014 and committed to making continuous and lasting improvements for the clothing industry in Bangladesh by providing training to 5,000 individuals in its supply chain by 2016.
In 2020, H&M Group renewed its membership for its inclusive business initiative in Turkey and made a commitment to collaborate with 40 textile factories in Turkey for the employment of foreign workers to strengthen inclusion and diversity approach; support the designing of vocational hubs in 2 textile factories for the sustainable workforce to integrate foreign workers in the textile sector, and support suppliers to hire 2000 foreign workers in total and integrate them into the Turkish labor market by 2025.
The Market Gap
Refugees, as a vulnerable community, are at risk of being exploited in unfair labor conditions in the Turkish labor market. They are considered cheap labor and work mostly under inhumane conditions. H&M Group wants to raise awareness of fair and equal labor conditions in its supply chain, including fair and equal conditions for refugees. Chiefly designed as a social sustainability program, the H&M Group’s Foreign Worker Program in Turkey goes one step further to link with the Sustainable Development Goals and achieve a sustainable mechanism for fair and equal labor practices.
The Business Solution
The goal of the Foreign Worker Program is to increase the level of awareness about formal employment in H&M Group’s supply chain in Turkey. H&M Group will raise awareness among refugees working with 100% fair & equal labor principles by giving necessary training and expecting the same requirements for Turkish and refugee workers. As the second-largest buyer in Turkey, H&M Group works with textile suppliers and engages with production units and textile workers directly and indirectly in the supply chain.
The Foreign Worker Program is designed to eliminate the risks of unregistered labor in H&M Group textile factories. Since the textile sector is the in-demand sector among refugees, H&M Group collaborates with other brands and Turkish government authorities to pave the way for fair labor recruitment practices. After the necessary legislation and procedures are formed by the Turkish government, H&M Group revises its risk mitigation approach to the integration approach for increasing the number of foreign workers in the supply chain for a sustainable workforce in the textile sector.
After 2016, with the implementation of new legislative regulations in work permit licenses, H&M Group encourages suppliers in Turkey to hire foreign workers, especially refugees as vulnerable groups, and promote fair and equal recruitment practices in H&M Group Turkey’s supply chain. H&M Group expects that refugees in its supply chain will spread their knowledge to the other refugees in their community and that the program will have a bigger impact on this vulnerable group in Turkey.