H&M to support new Ethiopian textile factory

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
May 31, 2016

H&M, the Swedish high street fashion giant, is lending its support and sustainable fabric knowledge to a new textile factory that is opening in Ethiopia.

The factory will be established by development financier Swedfund and the industry group DBL, and provide job opportunities for 4,000 people. H&M, which will buy products from the factory and also support it with its knowledge of sustainable textile production, said the requirements on this individual factory are "in line with the strict standard requirements H&M’s suppliers always have to follow."

The project is specifically focused on creating jobs for women in Ethiopia, said Anna Ryott, Managing Director at Swedfund. "Job creation is crucial to help people find their way out of poverty and the cooperation with such a great partners like H&M and DBL will make this a role model for other similar projects.”

”H&M is pleased that Swedfund is co-financing a project with DBL Group. H&M wants to contribute to a long-term sustainable textile industry in Ethiopia taking social as well as environmental dimensions into consideration. It is important to us that both DBL and Swedfund are putting these questions on top of their agenda when doing investments”, says Helena Helmersson, Global Head of Production at H&M.