Introduction

While reading other students’ posts, I saw a few people talking about greenwashing by H&M.  While their statement makes sense, I also wondered why H&M can not do better even though they are one of the first industrial giants to start a recycling program. Therefore in this post, I will discuss what H&M is doing now and what H&M can do to create more sustainable clothing.

Current analysis

Currently, H&M collected In 2022 around 1.4 kilotonnes of textile waste from their garment production factories. Moreover, they have collected more than 155,000 tonnes of textiles through the recycling program. Although despite their work, only 24% of H&M product was from recycled material. There are many reasons, such as mass production that significantly overwhelms the amount of recycled clothing and the lack of facilities to recycle cotton and polyester combined clothing. 

Recommendation

To solve this problem, some experts and industrial competitors claim to reduce production in the first place. Although their strategy makes sense, it does not align with the fast-fashion industries’ stream. Therefore, while reducing the amount of production is essential, I believe H&M should start using more sustainable materials for their clothing, such as Tencel Fibers. Tencel fiber is a 100% natural material derived from renewable raw wood. It has a significantly smaller environmental impact, requiring 10 to 20 times less water and no pesticides. Moreover, the solvents and water used to make Tencel fiber is reused more than 99% of the time through a closed-loop system. Furthermore, since the quality of clothing made from Tencel fiber is very similar to clothing made with cotton, it would not damage H&M brand quality.  

Although Tencel fiber brings significant advantages, there are some disadvantages for H&M. The disadvantages are the price and convenience. Clothing made from Tencel fibers is more expensive, and customers must be careful when washing.  To be more specific, customers need to use Natural detergent instead of chemical detergent.

I understand customers would not be likely to give up the convenience. Still, considering the environmental impact H&M is creating today, I believe H&M should start using more Tecel Fibers for their clothing.

. https://hmgroup.com/sustainability/circularity-and-climate/recycling/

 https://hmgroup.com/sustainability/circularity-and-climate/materials/

 https://www.houseofu.com/en/blog/what-is-tencel-qualities-of-tencel-fabric/

https://www.tencel.com/b2b/technologies/eco-clean-technology#:~:text=TENCEL%E2%84%A2%20Lyocell%20fibers%20have%20gained%20the%20reputation%20for,at%20a%20recovery%20rate%20of%20more%20than%2099%25.

https://www.tencel.com/sustainability

https://blog.tentree.com/what-is-tencel-heres-why-we-use-this-sustainable-new-fabric/#:~:text=TENCEL%20fabric%20is%20an%20extremely%20eco-friendly%20Lyocell%20produced