Sustainability - the way forward, H&M Trend Coordinator

20 Mar '10

5 min read

“It's hard to imagine living without clean water,” says Caroline Whatley of WaterAid, “but that's the reality for many of the world's poorest people, and 4,000 children die every day from water-related diseases. Every time someone buys a product from H&M's WaterAid collection, they will be helping WaterAid to save lives by providing safe water, sanitation and hygiene education for people living in poverty.” Since 2002, H&M is proud to have raised over £1million for the charity WaterAid, to provide clean water and sanitation in some of the poorest communities around the world, including areas of Bangladesh where some of H&M's clothing is produced.

Caring for our planet is not a trend - it is the way forward. “We definitely take a long-term perspective, and aim to offer our customers products with sustainable materials and look at how we can run our entire business in a more sustainable way,” says Catarina Midby, trend coordinator at H&M. One of H&M's spring collections - the Garden Collection - is made entirely from organic and recycled materials. H&M has already introduced organic cotton - first in its baby and children's range in 2004 and then in its fashion collections from 2007.

Since 2008, H&M has committed to increasing its use of organic cotton by 50% a year until 2013. “We thought about what we could do, and decided to set a goal for our work,” says Catarina. Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) is also actively exploring other organic and recycled fabrics, as well as new materials that can contribute towards more environmentally friendly products. “Our design team is very committed to this issue,” says Catarina.

"Many of our fashion basics are made with organic cotton, as well as some of the most trend-driven products. Fashion should be about building a wardrobe of essentials that can be worn over many years and mixed with selected seasonal trends. Some of our collections here at H&M consist of fashion essentials that will last a long time. Clothes don't have to be made from sustainable materials in order to have a sustainability value,” says Catarina.

These moves towards sustainability at H&M reflect the individual concerns of those who work for the company, and mirror the growing environmental awareness of its customers. “It's an education process for us and for our customers,” says Catarina. "We all have to learn about new materials and about how to care for our clothes in a more energy-efficient way. We can wash clothes at lower temperatures, avoid tumble drying and air our clothes instead of always throwing them in the washing machine."

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB

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