H&M Group has set out a new nature- and materials-focused commitment, saying it intends to have all materials sourced sustainably by 2030 under an approach guided by the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN). The company framed the goal as part of a broader strategy to strengthen risk management, noting that nature loss and ecosystem degradation pose direct threats to the raw materials and production systems the fashion industry depends on.
The pledge, which applies across H&M Group’s global supply chain, is anchored by a set of targets that aim to reduce pressure on land and ecosystems while increasing circular material inputs. Under its plan, the retailer says it will work to avoid conversion of natural ecosystems, reduce its absolute agricultural land footprint by 3.85% by 2030 compared with a 2019 baseline, and raise the share of recycled materials used in its products to 50% within the same timeframe. H&M said these objectives were developed with SBTN guidance and have been “independently validated.”
The group also said it will concentrate efforts in priority landscapes—specific regions where interventions can be coordinated with partners and local stakeholders. H&M cited two current initiatives: the Regenerative, Ecologically and Economically Viable Agriculture project in Central India and the Regenerative Wool Project in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Drakensberg Grasslands. The company said it will continue providing financial support for these programmes through partnerships with WWF.
Alongside project-based work, H&M Group said it plans to tighten supplier requirements to ensure materials are deforestation-free and not linked to ecosystem conversion. It also intends to collaborate with local organisations to restore degraded land and expand the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices in selected areas—steps it says are essential to deliver H&M sustainable materials 2030 commitments at scale.
H&M Group chief sustainability officer Leyla Ertur said: “The threats and depletion of nature also impact the resources our industry relies on – soil health, water cycles, biodiversity. By committing to SBTN’s land targets, we anchor our decisions in science and strengthen our ability to safeguard ecosystems together with our supply chain, farmers, and communities.”
By connecting sourcing goals to land-use outcomes and nature risk, H&M is positioning H&M sustainable materials 2030 as both an environmental pledge and a supply resilience strategy—one that hinges on deeper engagement with suppliers, farmers and landscape-level partners over the rest of the decade.