News about Our Work - 25 November 2017 H&M promised living wages from 2018 - campaign for clean clothing reminds of the pending implementation Today, four years ago, on November 25, 2013, the fashion group H&M made a landmark announcement. By 2018, the approximately 850,000 seamstresses producing for the company are to receive a living wage. In Bangladesh, seamstresses in H&M supplier factories currently earn around $87 per month. This average income is just below the poverty line of $88 per month calculated by the World Bank. "Wages would have to be almost tripled in order for workers to have enough money for adequate nutrition, housing, medical expenses and their children's education," says Laura Ceresna-Chaturvedi of the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC). From the point of view of the CCC, the payment of a living wage is affordable for H&M. H&M CEO Stefan Persson could finance living wages for the sewers in Bangladesh for the next 30 years with his assets alone of an estimated US$19.9 billion. The company's net profit would also allow for redistribution. In 2016, this amounted to around $2 billion. With 1.9 percent of this profit, the company could pay Cambodian workers an additional $78 per month - the difference that is currently still missing for a living wage. Contact Laura Ceresna-Chaturvedi Emergency Action Coordinator Clean Clothes Campaign This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: +49-30- 42 08 202-52 Press release of the Clean Clothes Campaign, 25.11.2017
