Apparel November 2019 Apparel November 2019 issue | Page 50

FEATURE
In Good Standing
In a time when consumers have become more vigilant than ever, Samir Alam highlights the
importance of reputation management for global brands.
H&M is one of the largest and most profitable
fast-fashion apparel retail brands in the world.
The reason for its immense popularity lies in its
ability to tap into consumer preferences and
deliver trendy, in-fashion products faster and with
greater variety than its competitors. With millions
of customers worldwide, the company maintains
a close eye on its customers’ preferences and
trends. This is why 2011 was a landmark year
for the brand as it took a hit under accusations
from Greenpeace.
The non-profit watchdog group released a
report titled ‘Dirty Laundry’, which alleged that
H&M’s China-based production centres were
responsible for polluting national waterways with
hazardous chemicals. H&M wasn’t alone in this
incident as many other international brands were
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November 2019
also accused of similar negligence. Companies
like Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, Bauer Hockey,
Calvin Klein, Converse, Cortefiel, Lacoste, Nike,
PVH Corp., and Puma were all mentioned in the
report. In this article, we will be looking at what
reputation management means for those in the
apparel industry and how they can adopt some
simple lessons to protect their brand’s value.
REPUTATION MATTERS
This incident proved to be a wake-up call for
the fast-fashion retail industry as a whole. In
the months following the report, most of these
brands initiated massive rebranding exercises
to clear their account books of the stink of the
scandal. But it is not just issues of environmental
protection that can lead to such incidents. Given