Over the past month H&M has taken some pretty hefty hits on the image front. To be fair, it doesn’t go without merit- I was completely shocked and appalled by their damaging their own goods of excess stock that they then threw into the dumpster. What a terrible waste of resources!

Now H&M is under the gun about GM (genetically modified) cotton that has been ‘mixed’ in with the organic cotton supply that they sourced for their new organic collection to be released this spring. I am not necessarily defending H&M, but what I want to stress is that this cross-contamination of GM cotton with certified 100% cotton is a new issue that the fiber producers are dealing with, and does not actually reflect the ‘unwholesome’ engagement of H&M in their attempt to become more eco-friendly with an organic line.

See, at the moment, certified organic cotton farmers are dispersed within the same growing areas as conventional cotton farmer who may use GM cotton seeds. So, if you are an organic cotton farmer sandwiched between two GM cotton growers, when the wind blows- those GM seeds have the possibility of being carried over into your organic turf. Therefore, your product becomes tainted, though you have passed off on all the regulation and standards to claim organic status. Is it making sense now… ?

So, although I am greatly disappointed by H&M’s previous action in their disposal of extra stock, I will stand up and say that this recent news is not entirely their fault. In fact, this is an area that clearly needs attention and perhaps from this a new system for regulating the distance between organic and conventional cotton growers will be established.