In 2013, Hennes & Mauritz, or popularly known as H&M, launched a clothing recycling program. They asked their shoppers to donate unwanted and unused clothes in the boutique stores. Two years later, the recycling incentive has come to fruition. H&M is now launching the new denim line called Close the Loop.
In an effort to “create a closed loop for its textiles,” H&M hopes to reduce the impact fast-fashion has on our planet by recycling old fabrics into new ones.
H&M on Closing the loop
Livia Firth: Fast Fashion is an “Evil Machine” of Exploitation (via ecouterre)
“Over the past two decades fashion has changed thanks to this new phenomenon called ‘fast fashion’ and now we have a situation where, as consumers, we are caught in an absurd circle of micro-trends. Think about it. Around two mini-seasons a week in stores. Disposable clothes that stay in a woman’s closet for an average of just five weeks, before being thrown out—all in the name of the democratization of fashion.
“In reality, this evil machine is exploiting everyone and everything: the consumer, the planet’s resources and the people who produce them. Each year across the world, 1.5 billion garments are sewn by an estimated 40 million people, working in 250,000 factories. These are predominantly made in countries described by the [United Nations] as the world’s least developed.
“All in all, the garment and textile industry is estimated to be worth some $3 trillion. And the bulk of that goes into the pockets of the owners of those fast fashion brands. It’s a complicated mess we are in.”
—Livia Firth, creative director of Eco-Age and co-founder of the Green Carpet Challenge, speaking to The True Cost director Andrew Morgan about why we need a new system of consumption.
Like any good product design, clothing production can be accomplished in a better, smarter, and more socially and environmentally sustainable way.
Ecouterre seeks to change people’s minds about what “fashion” design entails beyond fleeting fads and mindless consumerism. Like any good product design, clothing production can be accomplished in a better, smarter, and more socially and environmentally sustainable way. And we’re not the only ones who think so. Organic clothing, produced without toxic pesticides and dipped in low-impact dyes, is gaining popularity across the globe. In 2006, retail sales of organic cotton products reached $1.1 billion globally—85 percent higher than the year before, according to the Organic Exchange. Organic cotton is by no means alone on the playing field. With improved technology, other strange and wonderful eco-fabrics have entered the fray, from salmon leather to fiber derived from milk.
