H&M - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

H&M is Medium Risk.

H&M is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company elevates merit, excellence, and integrity ahead of race and identity-based policies. H&M occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Lower Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	Lower Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

H&M has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

H&M does not discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs. The H&M Foundation focuses on funding initiatives and research that “enable a socially inclusive and planet positive textile industry” (1)(2).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

H&M protects its employees against viewpoint discrimination (1).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

H&M opposed Florida’s HB7 (“Stop Woke Act”), which aims to prevent the proliferation of critical race theory in public education (1). The company opposed various state and local legislation intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (2)(3). H&M opposed legislation in Iowa intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (4). The company promoted unfettered abortion access as part of its commitment to “equal opportunity in the workplace” (5)(6). H&M opposed the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, which would prohibit teaching gender identity and sexual orientation to kids in K-3rd grade (7). The company is a member of the “Don’t Ban Equality” business coalition, which advocates against any abortion restrictions because they are “bad for business” (8). H&M’s President, Carlos Duarte, denounced various states’ legislative efforts to protect election integrity and security (9).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

H&M provides a benefits package for employees that covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion (1)(2). The company stated, “Not only is supporting access to comprehensive reproductive care for our colleagues pivotal in supporting our women-led work force, but also crucial to our commitment toward full gender parity and equal opportunity in the workplace and broader society” (3). The company is a Gold Tier corporate sponsor of the Trevor Project, an organization that advocates for controversial sex and gender ideology, including “gender transition” drugs and surgeries for minors, through legislation, litigation, advertising, and PR campaigns. The organization also hosts online chatrooms that allow adults to communicate with minors as young as 13 about sexually explicit topics. Adults in these chatrooms have encouraged minors to adopt transgender identities and withhold this information from their parents. The company’s subsidiary, COS, was a Silver Tier corporate sponsor of the Trevor Project (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9). H&M also partners with the Trevor Project to match donations 3 to 1 (10). H&M pledged $500,000 to Black Lives Matter and related causes (11)(12). The company is a corporate partner of the NGLCC (13). H&M’s Beyond the Rainbow campaign made a $100,000 donation to the United Nations Free & Equal campaign (14). H&M is a Bronze Sponsor of NYC Pride (15). H&M sponsored WorldPride 2025 (16). The company sponsored the following Pride events in 2026: NYC Pride and LA! Pride (17)(18). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of H&M using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (19).