H&M, Beyonce, and Bangledesh

To see the power of conscious consumerism in the eyes of H&M executives, one must direct themselves to the H&M homepage.  

After ten days of international condemnation over connections to the Bangledesh garment factory disaster, H&M agreed today to the terms of a new international legal agreement that promises to overt future disasters in Bangladesh.  This moved seemed like a noble decision from a disgraced brand.  Not to excuse the role global apparel brands have played in violating human rights, but I commend them for stepping up to the plate when many of their major competitors like Gap and Walmart have remained silent on the issue.

So, H&M should be proud.  They stood up and took a responsible move in defense of what they thought was right.  But if you go to their website’s homepage, nothing is mentioned of this bold action. 

What you will see is a full frontal Beyonce bikini shot taking up most the page.  If you click it, give it a second to load, and once fully loaded (this is some high quality video), watch two tantalizingly hypnotic minutes of Beyonce warbling about in the new Summer line. 

Press back.  Continue looking for mention of the Rana Plaza factory collapse.

The next thing you see: Fashion Finds from $5 Dollars.

And the next: H&M loves Music

And: David Beckham Body Ware (Oh my)

And then.  On the bottom right.  A call to action: H&M loves Boston. 

A nod to consumer social responsibility. In a dystopic Zizekian sort of way. 

After saving boston, I searched the site without finding one mention of the Bangledesh garment factory collapse or any news of H&M’s agreement to join progressive retailers in paying for change in Bangledesh. 

So, H&M executives believe this:

Consumers are influenced more by Beyonce than Bangledesh.  Ethical alignment with customers is valuable, but shallow.   Slap a picture of Boston on the screen.  Say we love them.  And make it easy, harmless, and safe. 

I think this:  

It’s not that consumer values don’t matter in the marketplace.  They do.  However, the desire for our money to go to ethically responsible companies leads us to demand little from these companies.  As long as we can convince ourselves that they are full of good people acting responsibly, that is enough.  Anything more, so it is thought, will get in the way of Beyonce.