How H&M is sustainably changing the fashion industry
In 2020, the ‘Fashion Transparency Index’, by Fashion Revolution, ranked H&M as being the top of 250 of the largest global retailers in being the most transparent on “a range of social and environmental sustainability issues”. Since then, H&M have stepped up their game by introducing the world’s first in-store recycling system. They claim that after a 5 hour 8 step process, an old, tired and worn out item of clothing can be re-made into a shiny new garment.
Innovated in Hong Kong by The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA), “Looop” is a one-of-a-kind recycling machine located in Stockholm, Sweden. This eight step process includes cleaning, shredding, filtering, carding, drawing, spinning twisting and finally knitting old fabrics until they become a wearable piece of clothing. The creators and innovators who designed “Looop” hope to see these types of recycling robots in retail stores across the world.
H&M have even said that, “To future-proof our fashion, we need to lighten the load on our planet” and one way of doing that is to recycle and restore old clothes.
But this is not all; H&M have alongside created a campaign currently running on their website, using the hashtag #JoinTheRecyclingRevolution. There is no doubt that the fashion industry is one of the main contributors when it comes to the climate crisis, so H&M have introduced “Let’s Clean Up” on their sustainability campaign, informing people about just how many fabrics used today contain chemicals and toxins. They’ve said that they also want to set new standards in regards to the usage of water when making fabrics, explaining that they are “cutting out unnecessary washes during dyeing, training our staff and suppliers on minimising water use, and encouraging farmers to use fewer chemicals.” Amongst this, some of their other campaigns include “Let’s Be Conscious”, “Let’s Be Fair” and “Let’s Innovate”.
It’s clear they want to build a new and improved reputation for themselves and the fashion industry and that through starting with this campaign they are able to do so.
Written by Evie Boreham
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