Report accuses Swedish fashion chain of polluting water in Bangladesh

By Alexandra Enberg

IZMIR, Türkiye (AA) - Swedish clothing giant H&M is responsible for polluting water in Bangladesh, according to a newspaper report. The fashion chain has suppliers who produce items in factories in the South Asian nation.

Bangladesh along with China is among the leading producers of fast fashion.

The consumption of clothes is 60% up from 2000 and every clothing item is on average worn only seven times before it ends up at a landfill site, according to the in-depth piece published in Aftonbladet

Nearly 100 billion new garments are produced every year.

Bangladesh in addition to low wages has yet another competitive advantage: cheap water.

Sharif Jamil, one of Bangladesh's best-known environmental activists and leader of the organization Bapa, said only 30 inspectors in the crowded capital of Dhaka inspect thousands of factories for compliance.

They have neither the knowledge, the equipment nor the capacity, he said.

And the penalties for flouting rules are low and the corruption extreme, he added.

- Deep pockets

Several government ministers and dozens of parliamentarians and mayors own factories themselves.

The investigation reviewed eleven of the factories that manufacture clothes for H&M.

It confirmed that four of these discharged contaminated water.

The reporters involved in the investigation spoke to a large number of stakeholders, such as residents, factory employees, environmental activists, and government officials.

They also tracked down secret sewers and confirmed the emissions visually. In Bangladesh, the discharges have led to entire rivers being declared biologically dead.

H&M says that they have 35 employees working on sustainability in Bangladesh. None of these have been seen by locals.

The four factories associated with pollution are Sterling Denim and Mascotex near Dhaka; Taqwa Fabrics and Aswad Composite Mills located in Sreepur.

During the week, Aftonbladet contacted H&M for a response.

In a written reply, Shariful Hoque, water impact lead, said the clothing chain was taking the information seriously and has launched an internal investigation on the issue.

The company is producing clothes at three of the four factories named in the report.

"Although we are one of the few brands that share data and are approaching fully functional sewage treatment at our suppliers' factories, we have not yet achieved 100 percent compliance," Hoque added.