Today, 19 April, H&M launches its Conscious Exclusive 2018 collection in the Sandton City store in Johannesburg. It’s not cheap, and as an eco-conscious consumer you might be supporting local, ethical fashion brands rather than big international brands. But I suggest, if you’re interested in sustainability, take a look at this collection. You don’t often get an opportunity to feel and see the new generation of sustainable fabrics in the form of beautiful red carpet looks. The treatment of the Lyocell, for instance is fascinating. There are multiple Lyocell textures to experience. This fibre, made from a cellulose fibre from wood pulp, can be recycled and it is biodegradable. The recycled polyester is beautiful and silky to touch – who would have thought?
Many people are skeptical of big brands and their commitment to becoming sustainable. These skeptics say, and in many cases they’re right, that companies are greenwashing. But we all know or at least everyone who has been paying any attention to what’s happening on earth, that we have to do things a different way. In fact, watching how big companies, like H&M and Woolworths, are going to change their business models is going to be an interesting story to follow. Without a healthy planet, there will be no business.
If you do want to buy something, remember that as part of their recycling drive, you can take a bag of old or unused clothes to H&M and you’ll get 15% off one item of choice on your next purchase. We’re told by H&M that “you can take any old and unwanted textiles (not only H&M)… even your dog’s old blanket”.
The collection, inspired by the creative home of 19th and early 20th-century Swedish artists Karin and Carl Larsson, consists of designs made from:
Organic cotton: This should be GMO free, and no pesticides and fertilisers are used in the growing of organic cotton.
Organic linen: Linen, made from the flax plant, is organic when the plant is grown without the use of toxic pesticides and fertilisers.
Recycled polyamide: Recycled polyamide is a material made from recycled oil-based fibre waste, which may be old fishing nets and carpets. H&M also uses leftover waste from manufacturing to reduce what ends up in landfills.
Recycled polyester: Recycled polyester uses oil-based PET as the raw material, such as plastic bottles.
Lyocell: Lyocell is a fabric made from the fibre of trees that grow quickly, require little water and few pesticides to thrive, according to H&M.
Organic silk: Normal silk comes from silkworms living in mulberry trees. “Organic silk guarantees that the mulberry trees the silkworms live in are grown in an environmentally friendly way, using natural and sustainable farming techniques,” according to H&M.
Here are a few examples of what you’ll find at H&M worn by the celebrities at a celebration of the collection in Los Angeles, California earlier this month. From left to right:
Amanda Seyfried in a 100% recycled polyester dress;
Kate Bosworth in a 100% organic silk dress;
Christy Turlington Burns in a 71% Lyocell dress;
Mena Suvari in a dress made of recycled polyester, earrings and rings made of recycled silver;
Naomie Harris in another 71% Lyocell dress.
Go. Have a touch and a feel. (PS: If you’re wondering about the aftermath of H&M hoodiegate, read this.)
Photo credits: All images supplied by H&M. The 2018 print campaign was shot by fashion photographer Mikael Jansson and stars Aamito Lagum, Giedrė Dukauskaitė and Christy Turlington Burns, world-renowned model and founder of the maternal health organisation Every Mother Counts.
