H&M launched its Fashion Against AIDS campaign with Designers Against AIDS in 2008.
The campaign used limited-edition fashion products to raise awareness and funds related to HIV and AIDS prevention. It combined celebrity participation, music and retail fashion to reach a younger international audience.
Fashion Against AIDS was part of a wider period when major clothing companies used special collections to support social and health-related causes. H&M donated a share of the campaign’s sales to organizations working in HIV and AIDS education and prevention.
The initiative is sometimes confused with H&M’s later sustainability campaigns because both used special collections and cause-related marketing. Fashion Against AIDS focused on public health and awareness, while H&M’s Conscious lines focused on materials and environmental messaging.