Use it once, wear it again
H&M plans new push on recycling materials as critics slam "fast" fashion as being wasteful of resources
From next month on, Thai customers of H&M will be able to buy 10 new denim styles made using recycled cotton from textiles collected in the Garment Collecting initiative in H&M stores. The pieces for men, women and kids are the latest steps towards H&M’s goal of creating a closed loop for fashion, and will be available in all stores worldwide, as well as online.
The new denim pieces, made from recycled cotton and organic cotton, include for women three styles of jeans, from skinny to distressed “girlfriend” jeans, plus a denim jacket, flared dungarees and a denim jumpsuit. For men, there is a zip-up denim jacket, alongside two distressed slim leg styles, and a pair of joggers in coated denim. There are kids pieces too, including a zip-up hoodie with cute animal ears, along with stretch jeans sequinned at the knee, or a street style hooded shirt, with distressed jeans.
Since 2013, H&M customers worldwide have been able to bring unwanted clothes from any brand into its stores as part of its Garment Collecting Initiative. So far, over 14,000 tonnes have been collected globally. Right now, H&M is able to use 20-per-cent recycled cotton from collected clothes, and is investing in new technology to increase this share without losing quality. H&M has a target to increase the number of garments made with at least 20-per-cent recycled fabric by 300 per cent over 2014.
