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Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Ellqvist, Felix LU ; Kisling, Nicholas-Joel LU and Junge, Katharina Nadine LU (2023) In LBMG Corporate Brand Management and Reputation - Masters Case Series BUSN35 20231
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
“(Un)sustainable fashion: H&M breaks promise.”
“H&M sued for greenwashing claims, again.”
“H&M under fire!”

Helena Holgersson is sitting in her office on the top floor of H&M’s Stockholm Headquarters staring at the headlines flickering on her computer screen. It has been a week of intensive media coverage on the latest greenwashing accusations towards the company she has been in charge of since she was appointed CEO two years ago. Or shall we say: another week? Throughout her quarter-century at H&M, the company had faced repeated criticism over environmental pollution, exploitation and customer delusion. Meanwhile, H&M had taken numerous initiatives to make the company a sustainable industry leader, setting up ambitious environmental... (More)
“(Un)sustainable fashion: H&M breaks promise.”
“H&M sued for greenwashing claims, again.”
“H&M under fire!”

Helena Holgersson is sitting in her office on the top floor of H&M’s Stockholm Headquarters staring at the headlines flickering on her computer screen. It has been a week of intensive media coverage on the latest greenwashing accusations towards the company she has been in charge of since she was appointed CEO two years ago. Or shall we say: another week? Throughout her quarter-century at H&M, the company had faced repeated criticism over environmental pollution, exploitation and customer delusion. Meanwhile, H&M had taken numerous initiatives to make the company a sustainable industry leader, setting up ambitious environmental goals and a circular mission, reporting yearly, taking measures to strengthen workers' rights, and innovating textile production processes for the better. Damned if we do good, damned if we don’t, Holgersson murmurs and turns away from her computer. Is the criticism ever going to stop? Every measure taken seems to only make the media more eager to find flaws in H&M’s operations and with every negative headline the company risks losing trust among their stakeholders. Torn, the CEO turns back to her computer and starts writing an email to the executive team:

Subject: Should H&M continue to be vocal about their sustainability efforts? (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Ellqvist, Felix LU ; Kisling, Nicholas-Joel LU and Junge, Katharina Nadine LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
H&M's challenge in establishing a sustainable reputation
course
BUSN35 20231
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
H&M, sustainability, case, brand image, brand reputation, vocal, brand management, strategy
publication/series
LBMG Corporate Brand Management and Reputation - Masters Case Series
language
English
id
9112224
date added to LUP
2023-03-13 18:03:31
date last changed
2023-03-13 18:03:31
@misc{9112224,
  abstract     = {{“(Un)sustainable fashion: H&M breaks promise.”
“H&M sued for greenwashing claims, again.”
“H&M under fire!”

Helena Holgersson is sitting in her office on the top floor of H&M’s Stockholm Headquarters staring at the headlines flickering on her computer screen. It has been a week of intensive media coverage on the latest greenwashing accusations towards the company she has been in charge of since she was appointed CEO two years ago. Or shall we say: another week? Throughout her quarter-century at H&M, the company had faced repeated criticism over environmental pollution, exploitation and customer delusion. Meanwhile, H&M had taken numerous initiatives to make the company a sustainable industry leader, setting up ambitious environmental goals and a circular mission, reporting yearly, taking measures to strengthen workers' rights, and innovating textile production processes for the better. Damned if we do good, damned if we don’t, Holgersson murmurs and turns away from her computer. Is the criticism ever going to stop? Every measure taken seems to only make the media more eager to find flaws in H&M’s operations and with every negative headline the company risks losing trust among their stakeholders. Torn, the CEO turns back to her computer and starts writing an email to the executive team:

Subject: Should H&M continue to be vocal about their sustainability efforts?}},
  author       = {{Ellqvist, Felix and Kisling, Nicholas-Joel and Junge, Katharina Nadine}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{LBMG Corporate Brand Management and Reputation - Masters Case Series}},
  title        = {{Damned if you do, damned if you don't.}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}