H&M's signature low prices may have to be raised to provide a better future for some of the globe's poorest workers.
The Stockholm, Sweden-based company announced Monday that its clothing may cost more in the near future to raise wages for textile workers in such countries as Bangladesh, where minimum wage is less than $70 a month, Jezebel reported via AFP.
H&M head of sustainability Helena Helmersson said higher prices "might be a possibility" but won't be instated any time soon.
Industry experts still see the announcement as a good sign for workers who aren't making anything close to a livable wage.
"It's the first time ever they have said they were willing to raise prices and that consumers were now ready for that," said Viveka Risberg from Swedwatch, which monitors Swedish multinational corporations.
"It's going to take years to get to a living wage in Bangladesh but I'm more hopeful now they have opened up to involving all the stakeholders--the unions, the workers the suppliers and the government."
H&M, which announced a Fair Living Wage policy in November that "all textile workers should be able to live on their wage," aims to raise the pay rates of 850,000 textile workers worldwide by 2018.
According to Helmersson, the retail heavyweight will use its size and influence with suppliers to push for fairer wages, training for workers and recognition of the role of trade unions in pay negotiations. The company is also lobbying governments to raise minimum wage levels and introduce annual reviews, she said.
The two efforts would work in tandem, since simply raising pay rates likely wouldn't be enough to keep workers at a livable wage.
"We can set goals to make sure the right pay structures are in place with our suppliers," said Helmersson.
"But when it comes to the result ... one of the challenges is that when you raise wages--we've seen this in Bangladesh--rents are also raised and food prices go up. So they have to find a way to continuously review wages."
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