H&M launches Fashion Recycling Week

Fashion retailer H&M is joining forces with London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion to launch its first nationwide Fashion Recycling Week from August 31 to September 6.

To celebrate the sustainable fashion scheme, H&M has challenged LCF’s second-year students to create window installations inspired by top UK cities for eight H&M stores across the UK. Each installation has to be built using clothes donated through H&M’s garment collecting initiative, a project set up to reduce waste in the fashion industry by giving an extended life to unwanted clothes.

“It has been an incredible opportunity for the students to explore sustainability from both a conceptual and industry perspective” said Renée Cuoco, Centre for Sustainable Fashion manager. “The students’ work showcases creative approaches in encouraging people to value their clothes as the precious resources they are.”

The aim of the project is to engage with customers while raising awareness about sustainability and the extended life clothes have after they’ve been donated.

As part of the campaign a giant garment collecting box will be located in Covent Garden’s piazza, from September 2-5, where customers can donate their fashion cast-offs and redeem discount vouchers for their next purchase. Garment bins will also be located inside H&M stores.

Catarina Midby, sustainability manager H&M UK & IE added: “We recycle no less than 97% of the clothes and textiles we collect into new products like clothes, insulation for cars and most importantly into new garments, closing the loop in fashion.”