Sweden's H&M reports 80% sustainable material usage in 2021

04 Apr '22

3 min read

Pic: H&M Group

Swedish multinational clothing brand Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) has reported that 80 per cent of its resources are either recycled or sourced in more sustainable ways. The brand has tripled the share of recycled materials from 5.8 per cent to 17.9 per cent in 2021 and aims to reach 30 per cent by 2025. Its scope 1 and 2 emissions decreased by 22 per cent compared to its 2019 baseline (–34 per cent compared to last year), and scope 3 emissions decreased by 9 per cent compared to 2019 baseline (+6 per cent compared to last year).

H&M has introduced a new goal to reduce its absolute scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions to achieve net-zero standards, by 56 per cent until 2030, from a 2019 baseline. Moreover, in 2021, the company has reported a reduction in its plastic packaging by 27.8 per cent, aiming to reduce the use of packaging throughout the value chain by 25 per cent by 2025, H&M stated in its Annual and Sustainability Report 2021.

The company also launched our innovative circular design tool 'Circulator', underlining our ambition to have all our products designed for circularity by 2025. The new circular business models will enable its customers to enjoy fashion in a more sustainable way by expanding the second hand platform Sellpy into 22 new European markets, amongst other examples.

From January 1, 2022, the brand will not onboard any new suppliers or supplier factories into its supply chain if they have on-site coal boilers in their factories — as part of a longer-term aim to phase out coal from its supply chain.

H&M has also collaborated with policymakers to catalyse systemic change, including joining the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Race to Zero and engaging in COP26.

In H&M’s annual anonymised supplier survey, 98 per cent said they consider H&M Group to be a fair business partner (96 per cent in 2020). H&M has also contributed SEK 180.4 million to community investment initiatives, reaching 368,000 beneficiaries, the report added.

“This year, H&M accelerated its net-zero ambitions and made progress in key areas such as material sourcing, inclusion and diversity, and circular design. H&M has partnered with others to test and scale circular materials, processes, and business models, and to progress social protection and dialogue within its supply chain,” Leyla Ertur, head of sustainability, H&M Group, said.

“We at H&M are proud that its strong recovery continued in 2021 with much-appreciated collections and products, continued customer focus and strong relations with our partners,” Helena Helmersson CEO, H&M Group, said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SF)

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