Fashion & footwear · review
H&M
H&M is fast fashion at genuine global scale: thousands of stores across dozens of markets, new stock landing constantly, and price points built for volume rather than durability. The free H&M Member programme is worth joining before you buy anything, since non-members pay a return fee that Members get waived. The bigger issue for a skeptical buyer is the paper trail: H&M has been formally warned by a national regulator over its environmental marketing, and an independent investigation found some of its “recycled” garments ending up as waste abroad.
Last reviewed 24 August 2026 · scored 4.0/5 by our editors
- Founded
- 1947, Sweden
- Markets
- 70+ markets, 4,000+ stores
- Loyalty
- Free H&M Member programme
- Returns
- Fee unless you are a Member
About H&M
H&M was founded in Sweden in 1947 and has grown into one of the largest fast-fashion retailers in the world, trading through thousands of stores across more than 70 markets alongside online sales in around 60. The H&M Group now runs a portfolio of sister brands too — COS, & Other Stories, ARKET, Weekday, Monki and Sellpy among them — each pitched at a slightly different price point and aesthetic, though H&M itself remains the mass-market flagship most shoppers actually mean when they say the name.
The free H&M Member programme is the account worth having: it earns points on every purchase, in store and online, unlocks personalised discounts, and — critically — waives the fee non-members pay when they mail an order back. New members also get a one-time discount on their first purchase. None of this changes the core proposition, which is volume and turnover rather than considered buying: new stock arrives constantly, and prices are built for a garment worn a handful of times, not for years.
H&M’s environmental marketing has drawn real regulatory attention. Norway’s Consumer Authority formally warned H&M Group in 2022 that its use of the Higg Materials Sustainability Index to market garments as sustainable was misleading, since the index measures only raw-material impact, not the finished product; H&M subsequently agreed to a €500,000 donation and to stop using that framing. Separately, a joint Aftonbladet/Bild investigation tracked garments dropped into H&M’s in-store collecting bins and found them exported abroad rather than recycled locally, undercutting the “close the loop” pitch behind the scheme.
How H&M pricing and the Member programme fit together
Shopping as a guest
Standard listed prices
No account needed to buy, but you pay any return fee in full and miss out on points, personalised offers and early sale access.
H&M Member (free)
Free to join
Earns points toward discount vouchers, unlocks personalised offers, and waives the mail-return fee that guests pay.
Returning by post
A flat fee is deducted from non-Member refunds
Members get this waived; guests do not. Returning to a physical store avoids the fee entirely, regardless of membership.
The return fee and its Member waiver are the one recurring cost most shoppers do not budget for — the exact figure is set per market and is not the same everywhere.
What works
A loyalty programme that actually saves real money
The free Member programme waives the return-by-post fee entirely, on top of points and personalised discounts. For anyone who orders online and returns even occasionally, joining costs nothing and clearly pays for itself.
A sister-brand range for different budgets
COS, & Other Stories and ARKET sit above H&M on price and design, while Weekday and Monki skew younger, so a shopper who outgrows H&M’s own aisles has somewhere else to go within the same corporate group.
Strong, high-volume app ratings
The H&M app carries a 4.8-star rating on Apple’s App Store from more than 230,000 ratings — a genuinely large sample, not a handful of five-star plants padding out the number.
Scale means stock actually turns over
New designs land constantly rather than on a seasonal cycle, and with thousands of stores across more than 70 markets, availability and trying items on in person are realistic options most online-only rivals cannot match.
What doesn’t
Warned by regulators over sustainability marketing
Norway’s Consumer Authority told H&M Group in 2022 that using the Higg Index to call garments sustainable was misleading, since the index only measures raw materials, not the finished product. H&M agreed to a €500,000 donation and dropped the claim.
The garment-collecting bins do not fully deliver on the pitch
A joint Aftonbladet/Bild investigation tracked donated clothes with hidden trackers and found garments from H&M’s in-store collection scheme exported abroad rather than recycled locally — the opposite of what the “close the loop” framing implies.
A return fee non-members do not expect
Mail a return back without a Member account and a flat fee is deducted from the refund. It is a small amount per order, but it adds up for anyone who orders several sizes to try at home.
How it scores elsewhere
Aggregate public scores, with the source named. We do not publish individual testimonials — we have no way to verify them.
App Store (iOS)
237,000+ ratings — an unusually high, verifiable volume for a fashion app
4.8ReviewKong editorial score
wide catalogue and genuinely useful loyalty perks weighed against real regulatory and greenwashing findings
4.0
Buy it if
- Shoppers who want current trends at low prices and do not expect longevity
- Anyone who orders online regularly — the free Member account pays for itself
- Buyers who want a sister-brand range (COS, ARKET, Weekday) under one group
- People happy to buy in-store, where the return-fee issue does not apply
Skip it if
- Buyers who weigh a retailer’s sustainability claims and want a clean record
- Anyone who returns online orders often and will not create a Member account
- Shoppers expecting durability — H&M is priced for turnover, not longevity
H&M: common questions
Does H&M charge a fee to return an order?
Yes, if you post it back without a Member account — a flat fee is deducted from the refund. Free H&M Members get that fee waived entirely, and returning to a physical store avoids it altogether, regardless of membership status or how you paid.
Has H&M actually been penalised over its sustainability claims?
Norway’s Consumer Authority found H&M Group’s use of the Higg Index to market garments as sustainable misleading in 2022, since the index covers only raw materials, not the finished item. H&M agreed to a €500,000 donation and stopped using that specific claim — a regulatory warning and settlement, not a court fine.
What happens to clothes I drop in H&M’s in-store collection bins?
H&M has promised to recycle donated garments, but a joint Aftonbladet/Bild investigation using hidden trackers found clothing dropped at H&M stores in Sweden ending up exported abroad rather than recycled locally. Treat the “close the loop” pitch with some skepticism.
Is the H&M app rating trustworthy?
The iOS App Store rating (4.8 from over 230,000 ratings) is a large enough sample to mean something, and it is independently checkable on Apple’s own store page — more than can be said for some retailers’ quoted review counts elsewhere online.
Ready to try H&M?
Free Member loyalty programme with published terms · Formal regulatory settlement disclosed after the Norwegian warning · Large, verifiable App Store review volume