By: Briana Muller
I will be researching and writing five articles about fashion companies that are claiming to have sustainable and green practices. In this series of articles, I will expose the truth behind these claims to determine whether the business is truly as green and sustainable as they say they are. I am going to begin this series with H&M.
In their advertising, H&M markets themselves as being sustainable due to their usage of renewable energy. According to Textile Exchange, H&M ranks as the world’s second highest buyer of better cotton; recycled and organic cotton.
One may ask: Can a fast-fashion retailer truly be sustainable? Starting in 2013, H&M launched its global clothing collecting initiative. This recycling program encouraged customers to donate their unwanted clothing in return for a 15% discount on their purchase in-store. They extended this initiative with a campaign called “Close the Loop,” which is fashion on a circular lifeline. In this campaign, H&M placed bins with the slogan “Long Live Fashion,” in designated H&M stores. The purpose of this campaign is for customers to donate all their unwanted clothes instead of throwing them away. H&M ran many advertisements in support of their recycling program in order to get their customers attention and excitement for this initiative.
In an H&M store, there are select garments that have a green tag with the logo, “H&M Conscious.” These items are part of their Conscious Collection, which means, the garments are made of at least 50% sustainable materials. Sustainable materials may include organic cotton and recycled polyester. Additionally, there is a Conscious Denim Collection. The denim in this collection is made of 20% recycled cotton. What is important to make note of is the fact that the company does not share the exact percentage of Conscious Denim that actually integrates sustainable materials.
Along with recycled materials, the Conscious Collection entails other key commitments for a more sustainable future. These efforts include reducing their carbon footprint and using more ethically produced fabrics and fibers. Currently, H&M has no production requirements for the factories that produce their Conscious Collection garments. This is despite the fact that they stress these garments are being manufactured in energy efficient factories. Moreover, they do not disclose if the denim collection production method is more green than their normal denim manufacturing process.
As pictured, H&M presents the recycling of unwanted clothing into new clothing that is later sold in their stores. According to the UK and Ireland’s H&M’s sustainability manager, Catarina Midby, only 5-10% of the donated clothes from customers are turned into new garments. Additionally, only 0.7% of all H&M’s raw materials for garments are recycled. This proves their advertisements are misleading. H&M promotes the fact they are turning unwanted clothing into new garments, but in reality it is only 5-10% that is actually being recycled through the program.
By the year 2020, H&M promises to use 100% sustainable cotton in all of its collections. According to FashionUnited’s calculations, if H&M continues at the rate of current production, they will only reach 71.6% by 2020, reaching 100% by 2023. H&M is green washing themselves to deceive consumers into thinking they are a “green” business. Greenwashing is when a company makes misleading claims about the environmental benefits of their products, technology, and company practices. H&M is promoting their sales by appearing to be more environmentally friendly than they truly are in practice.
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