How one fast-fashion retailer is working to appeal to eco-friendly shoppers.
H&M is a clothing brand known for its fast-fashion approach in retailing. H&M is a shark in the fashion industry and is a direct competitor of other popular fast-fashion brands like Zara and Forever 21. The Swedish based brand is known for its affordable prices and having runway replicated styles directly on the sales floor just weeks after their initial release on the runway.
With sustainability becoming a major selling point for many millennial customers, H&M launched the Conscious Exclusive collection with an intent to offer a product line made out of recycled materials. H&M describes the selection as “sustainable fashion pieces that make you both look and feel good.” Aside from the originally released materials organic linen, cotton, silk, recycled polyester, and Tencel, H&M recently expanded its textile assortment to include two more materials. One being a recycled silver that can be made into jewelry and the other a textile called Econyl, which can make an intricate lace.
H&M is proving to fast-fashion shoppers that you no longer have to choose between glamourous fashion and sustainability. You can shop for eco-friendly items and still receive fast-fashion prices. H&M is also setting the bar higher for other fast-fashion retailers to be more eco-friendly in their production and distribution. According to Ann-Sofie Johansson, creative advisor at H&M, “It’s vital that H&M keeps pushing the boundaries of future-facing fashion, proving to the world that glamour and sustainability go hand-in-hand.”
H&M makes shopping sustainably easy by offering typical H&M products in a more eco-friendly manner. With nearly 500 shoppable “conscious” items on the website right now, shopping consciously has never been easier. The ease of use has become a win-win situation for both the brand and the consumer as it encourages more customers to shop sustainably.
Hailee Cerva 