LOOK GREAT, FEEL GOOD, BE CONSCIOUS

There is no such thing as throwing away, when you throw something ‘away’, it must go somewhere. Well, lucky for shoppers, one of the biggest fast-fashion clothing brands came up with a very ‘sustainable’ solution. The sustainability campaign by Hennes & Mauritz also known as H&M.?

H&M is a brand that dates back to 1947, headquartered in Stockholm, and as of 2019 throughout the world, it operates in 74 countries with more than 5000 stores. It did not have this sustainability campaign from the very beginning. This campaign was launched back in 2010 with a whole new collection named the “conscious” collection. To promote this campaign they offered customers a ￡5 discount voucher for every bag of clothes they take into stores. This campaign was not only for H&M exclusive clothes but it accepted clothes from any brand in any condition.

In 2021, H&M announced the joining of Maisie Williams as their global sustainability ambassador and to commemorate this collaboration, she also collaborated with a video game called Animal Crossing: New Horizons where she promotes recycling.? Named after H&M’s garment recycling machine Looop, which takes old clothes and recycles them into new ones, H&M Looop Island has been completely designed with a sustainable theme.

H&M has taken different measures to promote this campaign in different countries, for instance, in India, H&M promoted this campaign by collaborating with celebrities like Rajkumar Rao along with Sanjana Sanghi, Adarsh Gorav, and Ishwak Singh. Where they showcased garments made from recycled silk, plastic, and other recycled materials.

While in Japan, the way of promoting the campaign was a lot creative. The banners feature orange peels, grape skins, coffee grounds, plastic bottles, and fishing nets in the background. Surprisingly, all of these items are used in its garment production.

But no change comes without some eyebrows being raised at it, the question being raised here is H&M being a fast fashion brand, can it be sustainable in real or is it a scam and it has been trying to position itself as a brand that cares about the environment.

To quote Bente ?verli, Deputy Director of Norway’s Consumer Authority

“H&M is not being clear or specific enough in explaining how the clothes in the Conscious collection are more ‘sustainable’ than other products they sell.”?