Frequent H&M shoppers should be familiar with Garment Collecting Programme, a movement to encourage customers in donating their old clothes in exchange of discount for their next shopping crawl. Over 14,000 tons of donated clothing have been collected throughout the Swedish brand’s programme. H&M is utilising 20% of the donated items as recycled materials and working their way up to increase the percentage in the future.
One of the outcome of the brand’s effort is Close The Loop, a denim line under H&M that uses recycled materials as part of the collection. The first collection was introduced in February 2014. This year, 16 new denim styles will be added into the Close The Loop label. Expect distressed jeans, dark denim shirts and jackets in this eco-friendly collection which will be released in September.
The aim of the Close The Loop movement is to create fashion using less resources and to minimize the amount of textile waste that goes to the landfill. H&M is a leading high-street brand initiating a global movement of fashion recycling, but the pioneer was definitely Reformation, the Los Angeles based brand that Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss swear by. They reinvented stunning designs by using only eco-friendly materials and recycled fabric. So let’s wait and see if the collection proves to be a commercial success, but we can only salute the initiative.
Rasti Annisa Iwan
Photo credit: H&M
