Sweden’s one of the multinational clothing and retail company H&M has recently launched their new collection titled “Recycled Denim Collection” on 9th September 2021, introducing a sustainable fashion trend in the world. Hence, it is commenced as a very sensible act towards the environment as the company’s tag line is to rewind, reuse and renew the old materials into new products. Therefore, zero waste would be seen which contributes to saving nature and having less or no clothes ending up in the landfills.
The new denim collection has been completed made from 100% recycled materials, containing 5 main salvageable materials such as recycled fabrics, threads, labels, pocketing, and metal zippers & trims. Initially, only 10 pieces of clothing have been inaugurated for now, which are a hat, a tote, shirts, jackets, and jeans (baggy & loose straight leg). In addition, these products require low-impact washing techniques as said by the H&M company, as well as, they are free from harmful chemicals making the product line more sustainable than ever before.
A more interesting fact is that the product line consists of recycled fabrics that are pre-consumer recycled cotton which is actually the waste cuttings from other textile industries, and post-consumer recycled cotton from the garments that have been collected beforehand. Also, some recycled polyester materials are being used in the manufacturing of recycled denim. The accessories (hat & tote) are made completely from the fabrics that are rejected from the production of clothes, which are “cut and re-used” items. These recycled denim collections even give the customer a variety of color choices, so that the denim lovers are more attracted towards the clothing and stay more aware about being using environment-friendly products. The color palette includes vintage blacks, cool grey, vintage light blue, normcore mid-blues, and dark vintage blues.
H&M’s main goal is to use sustainable materials only to produce their clothing lines for men, women, and teenagers by 2030, therefore they are working towards achieving it. Like they have already set up garment collecting boxes, where people drop their old used clothes or the discarded textiles, which then are sorted into 3 groups – re-wear, reuse, and recycle.
For the new upgoing recycled denim collection, only 20% recycled cotton is used plus these are inspired by the 90’s fashion trend. The products however are made in such a way so that they have less impact on the environment, being affordable and easily accessible to the people.
To give a more detailed idea about the price range, we can see the recycled denim jackets are only appraised at $40 whereas, the jeans have been marked at $30 and $40, and the hats are priced at $25. The products are mostly available on the H&M website for online purchase, also selected pieces can be bought from the stores.
To conclude, H&M company has set an example in the fashion sector to be more conscious about nature and what we give them back. They are trying to give the message not to harm mother nature, rather encouraging the people to be more creative and wiser to tackle such situations and recycle as much as possible. Furthermore, this reusing of materials and clothes concept of H&M also inspiring the other clothing, textile, and apparel brands to produce environment-friendly garments in order to save our planet preserving its green nature and valuable resources.
Reference
- Kristopher Fraser, “H&M reveals most recycled denim collection to date”, Fashion United, 3RD September 2021.
- Kylie Fuller, “Everything You Should Know About H&M’s Recycled Denim Collection”, Brightly, 15th September 2021.
Written by Anaynna Mahjebin
