Meet Helena Helmersson

Helena Helmersson has had a remarkable career spanning leadership and sustainability within one of the world’s largest fashion companies, H&M Group. Starting as a business controller, she quickly moved into roles that shaped the company’s trajectory, including a pivotal tenure as Head of Sustainability and later as Group CEO. Now she is taking on the crucial task of introducing a circular economy to the fashion industry as Chairperson of the textile recycling company Circulose.

How did you enter the fashion industry, and what drew you to it?

It started almost straight out of school for me. I studied international economics in Umeå, and the one thing I knew was that I wanted to work for a global company. During a career day, I met H&M and was struck by the culture and energy of the people I spoke with. It felt different, inspiring. When I moved from northern Sweden to Stockholm, I went straight to H&M, handed in my CV at the reception desk, and ended up having my first interview on the spot.

After four interviews, I started as business controller. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was the beginning of a journey that connected my interests in people, culture, and impact.

Sustainability stands out as a key topic throughout your career. When did it first become central for you?

My husband and I moved to Bangladesh with our five-month-old baby as an adventure and I worked at H&M’s local sourcing office there. Seeing the impact we had was eye-opening. Factories employing women who, for the first time, had predictable incomes, clean and safe workplaces, and a sense of structure. My time in Bangladesh deepened my passion for sustainability and ignited my interest in how a positive impact can align with building a strong business.

 

When people think of sustainability, it’s often limited to environmental issues. What is your view?

Sustainability is so much broader. In the fashion industry there is also a need to focus on social sustainability — working conditions, living wages, and social dialogue in countries where those structures are lacking. These have been key focuses for decades.

Environmental sustainability is complex. It requires systemic changes and infrastructure to make real progress. For example, the fashion industry needs scalable solutions for circularity — like sorting and recycling textiles into new fibers. While the ambition is there, the infrastructure is fragmented, and the technology isn’t yet fully automated or scalable.

Sustainability is often misunderstood as being only about the planet or human rights, but it’s also about business. Without profitability, you can’t invest in sustainable initiatives. People, planet, and profit must go hand in hand.

You mentioned circularity. What are the biggest challenges for shaking up the fashion industry and making it truly circular?

Circularity is a key topic for all consumer industries right now and I know fashion brands all over the world are trying to address this. A major challenge is the lack of a cohesive infrastructure to enable circularity on a large scale. Building this infrastructure will require a lot of capital. Companies will need the right financing to scale—moving from successful lab prototypes to full-scale factories that are needed to supply the industry with circular solutions. If a customer finishes using a garment, where does it go? Ideally, it would be returned, sorted, and turned into new fibers. While some systems exist, they’re not yet scaled or efficient enough to handle the industry’s volume. This is where Circulose comes in, we have a clear mission, and our job cut out for us.

The value chain is also fragmented. Recycling technologies need to improve, and sorting must become more automated to keep pace. It’s a massive challenge, but progress is being made, especially as legislation like the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan pushes the industry forward.

 

Is customer demand driving sustainability, or does it have to come from within the company?

It’s a mix, much of the push has to come internally. Companies in the fashion industry need to act ethically and take responsibility.

That said, customer interest in sustainability has grown significantly. While price and style often remain decisive factors, sustainability is becoming a value-add that resonates with more people. The challenge is integrating it seamlessly into the product offering, so it feels natural and desirable — not a trade-off.

What will it take for circularity to become the norm?

I don’t think we can wait for customers to demand it — it will take regulation to drive systemic change. The EU is already moving in that direction, and companies need to prepare now to stay ahead in the future. Voluntary efforts alone won’t be enough. I believe legislation, combined with collaboration, will be what truly moves the needle.