When you buy a sweater from H&M, you might assume the wool inside it was sourced responsibly. H&M has made that easy to believe. The company publicly committed that by the end of 2025, all of its virgin wool would come from farms certified to a credible animal welfare standard — pointing to certifications like NATIVA and the Responsible Wool Standard as proof. That deadline has passed. A new undercover investigation shows those certifications are not delivering on their promises.

PETA Asia documented workers at a NATIVA-certified farm kicking sheep in the head, beating them with shearing equipment and pieces of wood, and dragging lambs away from their flock-mates by their legs. One worker pinned a ram's head to the floor with his knee. Investigators found a lamb with a maggot-infested wound and a sheep left limping after being roughly shorn. This is a farm that met H&M's stated animal welfare standard.

NATIVA markets itself as "the leading brand for responsibly sourced, 100% traceable natural fibers." But responsible and traceable are not the same as humane. When a certification can be awarded to a farm where this kind of abuse is documented, the label isn't protecting animals — it's protecting the brands that use them from scrutiny.

H&M made a public promise to its customers. Shoppers who chose H&M products believing they were making a more ethical choice deserve to know whether that promise holds up. Right now, the evidence suggests it doesn't.

We're calling on H&M to stop hiding behind certifications that have been shown to fall short, publicly respond to this investigation, and commit to a serious path toward animal-free materials. Sheep are social animals who form strong bonds, feel fear, and experience pain. They deserve more than a label. So do the customers who trusted it.