According to a recent report by CNN, fashion fast-moving consumer brand H&M will introduce the “Looop” clothing recycling system in its brand stores in Stockholm, Sweden, starting from October 12. The old clothing will be cleaned and chopped into fibers. New yarn is then spun and ultimately made into new fashion items.
△Picture source: CNN
The system uses no water and chemicals, so the environmental impact is much lower than producing garments from scratch.
△Picture source: CNN
As early as 2013, H&M Group launched a global clothing recycling plan. The brand’s goal is to reach Recycle all its materials or source them more sustainably by 2030. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 16.9 million tons of textile waste was generated in the United States in 2017, and the recycling rate was only 15.2%.
Sustainable｜Increasing green industry, 57% of H&M clothing is made of sustainable materials
Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection Business Manager of H&M Group Cecilia Brännsten says using recycled materials is a real win-win, preventing waste from entering landfill and reducing the use of raw materials.
On April 11, H&M released its 2018 sustainability report. The report shows that 57% of all materials used by the group are recycled or other sustainable sources, conveying the progress H&M Group has made in leading the fashion industry towards a closed cycle and renewable model, as well as in fairness and equality.
It is understood that this annual report covers progress towards the goal of using 100% recycled or other sustainably sourced materials. In 2018, the proportion of materials used by the group from recycled or other sustainable sources reached 57%, which is a step up from the 35% proportion in the previous year. At the same time, 95% of the group’s cotton is recycled or other sustainable sources. The goal is that by 2020, all cotton used by the group will be sustainably sourced.
Cecilia Brännsten, sustainable development and environmental protection manager of H&M Group, said that using recycled materials is a real win-win model, which can prevent waste from entering landfills and reduce the use of raw materials. However, for many types of textiles, viable recycling solutions either don’t exist or have yet to be commercialized at scale. So we’re working with scientists and innovators to address this challenge. At the same time, efforts are being made to increase the variety of materials from other sustainably sourced sources.
The report also shows that in late April, H&M and H&M Home will add more product information to the H&M official website (hm), so that consumers can understand which factory their favorite products come from and the materials used. and solutions for reusing or regenerating old damaged products.
In addition, the Group has reached a milestone in its strategy to achieve a fair living wage for textile workers. Now, the group is summarizing the work of the previous five years to decide on future plans. Regarding the wage levels of supplier workers, the group has disclosed relevant specific information on its official website. However, further development still requires industry solutions, and the group is also committed to establishing an industry collaboration mechanism. Therefore, 22 brands and IndustriALL, the global union representing textile workers, reached an agreement on the ACT cooperation platform to promote a labor-management agreement supported by purchasing behavior under brand responsibility and achieve breakthrough institutional changes to transform the textile industry. Brands under the ACT platform have signed a memorandum of understanding to commit and ensure that their purchasing practices are conducive to paying a living wage.
H&M Group Global Social Sustainability Manager Jenny Fagerlin said that 22 global brands have reached an agreement to work together to solve the wage problem in the textile industry, which makes ACT a truly breakthrough alliance. It is a real game-changer for the industry, paving the way for collective bargaining agreements and enabling time-tested solutions to be found at industry level. The agreement lays a solid foundation and is an important step towards achieving a fair living wage for textile workers.
As the world’s first fashion company to implement a used clothes recycling program, on April 2, 2019, H&M officially announced that it would launch a free door-to-door service for recycling used clothes in cooperation with Alibaba’s idle trading platform Xianyu APP. Since launching a used clothing recycling program in stores around the world in 2013, H&M has recycled more than 78,000 tons of textiles to achieve reuse and recycling and reduce the number of textiles sent to landfill. In 2018, H&M Group recycled a total of 20,649 tons of textiles through the used clothing recycling program, of which more than 450 tons of textiles were recycled in the Chinese market.
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