Right as marketers think they've seen it all when it comes to online backlash, H&M has found out the hard way that they've only hit the tip of the iceberg when it comes to negative campaigns on the social media website Twitter. Shortly after the New York Times article came out about H&M destroying end-of-life clothing removed off of its shelves, the retailer found themselves in the middle of a social firestorm as end consumers reacted to the news.
In the article dated January 5th, reporter Jim Dwyer reports on how New York's poor and homeless regularly go to the back of H&M stores looking for thrown-out clothing that hasn't been mutilated or destroyed in some fashion, rendering it unwearable without major alterations. Mega-retailer Wal-Mart was also found doing much of the same thing with its unwanted, unsold goods as well, with one of their stores in the city also nearly destroying clothing items before throwing them out.
Twitter users have used the power of the social media site to respond to the findings in the New York Times articles. Hundreds of tweets about H&M were registering by the minute, and as of 5:00 PM on Wednesday, the term "H&M" was the number two trending topic by tweeters, according to Twitter.com.
Tweeters have been weighing in on the findings with shock and outrage that the destroyed clothing weren't going to the needy during this brutally cold winter season. Toronto user "katlangdon" retweeted another user's message, and added her own commentary to the findings: "This has CSR project written all over it #humberpr...hate that I just thought of that RT @casiestewart Shame on you H&M..." User "ryanzhelp" summed his understanding of the situation very simply: "H&M Destroys and Throws Out Perfectly Good Unworn Clothing...:-("Other Twitter users were more vocal about the findings. Poignant fashion magazine Vanity Fair weighed in on the situation with a pointed comment on their Twitter account: "Dear H&M & Wal-Mart: These 13 Charities Accept Donated Clothes..." followed by a link to the charities, and the hashtag #fashionfail. User "TheworldofJesse" also found the news hard to believe as well: "Definately upsetting that H&M is throwing out unsold clothes when needy people could wear them. Especially during winter."
After trending (and continuing to trend) on Twitter, H&M used their own Twitter account to answer to the claims in the New York Times article. Their first response read: "H&M is currently investigating why our 34th St store has thrown away unsold garments. This is not a representative example of our policy. RT" Another response, sent 45 minutes later, asked people to retweet the following message: "This incident is not a representative example of H&M policy. Full statement at facebook.com/hm. We are investigating." Many of the faithful to the brand elected to retweet their official statement, while others were less understanding, like user "_ABN," who tweeted: "They say they cant open H&M everywhere becasues they dont have enough for every state but they have enough to cut up and destroy."
Twitter has been used as a vehicle for social movements and social justice before - for instance, the Iranian elections drove people out on Twitter to constantly talk about the elections online, to changing their avatars green in support of a free Iran. And when news breaks on Twitter, it goes viral in a hurry. This situation seems to be the nexus of both a wired community who is able to speak about things they are passionate about in a hurry, combined with the ability to spurn change by popular demand in a hurry. Regardless of what H&M finds out and responds with online, the company will have a lot of explaining to do - both online and offline - in the near future.
What is your take on this? And how does the use of Twitter make this an even bigger problem for H&M? Conversely, how does this affect you & your shopping habits? Leave me a comment with your thoughts!
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