Climate shaming will have ‘terrible social consequences’

The CEO of fashion giant H&M says a growing movement that shames consumers represents a very real social threat.

Karl-Johan Persson, the H&M CEO and son of its billionaire chair, is speaking out as a pattern of shaming that initially targeted air travellers spreads into more industries, including his.

The movement has gained traction as Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teen activist, inspires millions of people across the globe to take to the streets and voice their anger over what she says is a climate crisis.

Persson, who has been running H&M for a decade, says his concern is that the movement seeks to prohibit behaviours. Many of the protests are “about ‘stop doing things, stop consuming, stop flying’,” Persson said in Stockholm.

“Yes, that may lead to a small environmental effect, but it will have terrible social consequences,” he said.

The H&M CEO is a key figure in the $2.5-trillion fashion industry that has come under increasing scrutiny amid concerns about pollution and workers’ rights in the developing economies that have tended to do the bulk of the manufacturing.

The UN Economic Commission for Europe says that part of the problem is that consumers have been gripped by an “era of fast fashion” that has led to an “environmental and social emergency”.

The clothing industry is responsible for about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and consumes more energy than aviation and shipping combined, according to the UN.

Persson says that “the climate issue is incredibly important. It’s a huge threat and we all need to take it seriously politicians, companies, individuals. At the same time, the elimination of poverty is a goal that’s at least as important.”

“We must reduce the environmental effect,” Persson said. “At the same time we must also continue to create jobs, get better health care and all the things that come with economic growth.”

H&M estimates that about 70% of a garment’s effect on the climate happens during the manufacturing process.

By 2040, H&M intends to be climate positive, which it says means reducing more greenhouse gas emissions than its value chain emits.

The company says it is one of the world’s biggest users of organic and recycled cotton, citing data from Textile Exchange, a nonprofit organisation.

And H&M has started exploring some unconventional fabrics specifically designed to incorporate recycling into the mix, such as citrus peel and old fishnets. It also works with governments to help install solar panels and other renewable energy solutions to make local factories more sustainable.

Persson says things such as “environmental innovation, renewable energy, improved materials” are better ways to tackle climate change than a moratorium on consumption. “Continue to focus very much on the environmental issue, but have an open discussion about what the solution is,” he said.

Shares in H&M gained more than 60% in 2019 after the company lost about a quarter of its market value in 2018.

10% the portion of global greenhouse gas emissions by the clothing industry, which consumes more energy than aviation and shipping combined, according to the UN