H&M celebrates pride across the Americas
June is Pride Month and H&M is showing its colors.
The fashion giant said it was reaffirming its year-round dedication to the LGBTQIA+ community with the relaunch of its "My Chosen Family" campaign, which focuses on the concept of non-biological families that play an essential role for many people in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Additionally, H&M is undertaking a series of initiatives and support across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Columbia and Ecuador. The brand will also be featured prominently in the Pride marches of cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Mexico City, Bogotá and Quito.
"For H&M, Pride is something we celebrate and endorse 365 days a year, but in June we raise our voices even louder," said Carlos Duarte, president of H&M Region Americas. "We support our colleagues and customers who are members or allies of the LGBTQIA+ community as well as our various partner organizations who have a crucial impact on people's lives across the Americas."
In the U.S., H&M has long been an advocate of the LGBTQIA+ community and is proud of its ongoing support of groups such as the ACLU and The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ young people. On June 11, H&M will sponsor the ACLU's Pride Reception NYC to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ work of the NYCLU and ACLU.
H&M is marking it its fifth year of partnership with The Trevor Project. The company will be matching donations made between June 12 to 14 up to $150,000 to further their mission. Last year, H&M's support during Pride 2023 helped the project’s trained counselors serve over 500,000 LGBTQ+ youths. Since the partnership's inception, H&M has donated over $1 million to The Trevor Project’s life-saving mission.
H&M will this year expand its support of the Trevor Project to Mexico with a donation. This new arm of partnership also includes a brand-new volunteering program between H&M employees in Mexico and TTP which will provide life-saving services for LGBTQIA+ youth struggling with mental health.
In Canada, H&M continues its steadfast support for the Rainbow Railroad, a global nonprofit aiding at-risk LGBTQIA+ individuals in finding safety worldwide. For the second year in a row, H&M is sponsoring the Freedom Party Toronto, an iconic fundraising event organized by the group, showcasing its commitment to championing LGBTQI+ rights and community initiatives.
Internally, H&M will engage its partnership with the ACLU through a speaker series aimed at educating and empowering the brands “colleague resource groups," with the first installment beginning this June. The aim of the series is to empower employees with information to make educated voting decisions and provide support on how to navigate the voter registration process.