H&M Foundation joins forces with SEEDS for India initiative

Fashion brand H&M‘s non-profit organisation the H&M Foundation has joined forces with the Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society to launch an initiative in India to improve resilience in villages across the country. 

Focusing on the northern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Assam, the join initiative is designed to prepare villages that are at risk of natural disasters amplified by climate change so they have a better chance of survival. The H&M Foundation and SEEDS project will run over the course of three years with an investment of approximately $ 0.68 million, Apparel Resources reported. 

The community strengthening activities will include emergency response and relief efforts as well as rehabilitation and reconstruction following natural disasters. Along with promoting the effective use of available resources, the program will aim to foster community empowerment in rural areas and tailor solutions to the needs of specific groups and localities. 

“We need to transform the industry, we are doing a lot of good, but change is not happening fast enough,” said the H&M Foundation’s board member and H&M Group’s chairman Karl-Johan Persson at the Launch Summit of Global Change Award 2025, held in Mumbai’s Ice Factory in October 2024, the H&M Foundation announced in its website. “That’s why I want to thank you for coming together today, to collaborate in this room, but also for your collaborations with other stakeholders – a lot will come from that.”

The H&M Foundation’s investment is designed to benefit approximately 250,000 individuals across Assam and Uttar Pradesh. The project will also see collaboration from commercial stakeholders and government agencies to enable local insights.