H&M gives 20 million euros to Unicef, WaterAid and Care

The H&M Conscious Foundation will donate 20.35 million euros (180 miilion SEK)

to Unicef, WaterAid and Care over the next three years. The Swedish fashion retailer aims to bring around long-lasting improvements in education, clean water and empowering women with three separate global programs.

The three different projects are set to begin this month and hope to bring around positive changes by supporting new policies. The education program, which will be led by Unicef, aims to focus on early childhood development on a global scale and hopes that by 2017, 73,600 children from the most vulnerable areas of the world will have a preschool education.

The international program for clean water, driven by WaterAid, is set to alter the lives of 250,000 schoolchildren by making sure they have access to clean and safe water, sanitation and hygiene by 2017. The clean water program also hopes to influence policies at a national level and fight for universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation in the new global development framework.

The project with Care aims to focus on strengthening women in vulnerable communities economically and offer advice on policy changes needed worldwide to allow women to fully participate in all areas of life. By 2017, the project hopes to give 100,000 women in developing countries access to tools, education, skills or seed capital, allowing them the freedom to start or expand small businesses to empower themselves economically.

"I congratulate the H&M Conscious Foundation for choosing to support programs in three areas that are critical to sustainable development. The donation can contribute to big breakthroughs in each area", commented Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, director, Earth Institute, Columbia University and special advisor to United Nations Secretary-General on the Millennium development goals.

The H&M Conscious Foundation was founded last year. Stefan Persson, former CEO of H&M and father of the company's current leader Karl-Johan Persson alongside with his family donated 56.6 million euros to the foundation. Last October, H&M asked their employees and customers to vote online for the charities they thought needed the most support. They selected education, clean water and strengthening women around the world.