Category: Fast fashion

H&M beats lawsuit accusing it of greenwashing its fast fashion wares

Read the full story from The Fashion Law.

H&M has beaten a proposed class action lawsuit over its alleged scheme of greenwashing its fast fashion wares. By marketing its Conscious collection products as “sustainable” or “environmentally friendly” when they are not, the plaintiffs argued in the suit they filed last year that H&M was running afoul of California and Missouri state laws. In an order on May 12, Judge Rodney Sippel of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri disagreed and sided with the Swedish fast fashion giant, dismissing Mark Doten’s claims due to a lack of personal jurisdiction, and fellow Plaintiff Abraham Lizama’s causes of action for failure to adequately allege his claims against H&M. 

Environmental nonprofit Canopy secures $60M in funding

Read the full story at Fashion Dive.

Environmental nonprofit Canopy secured $60 million in funding from The Audacious Project to accelerate its commercial-scale production of low-impact and circular clothing solutions derived from what is usually put in a landfill or burned, per a news release.

Canopy focuses on protecting and preserving ancient and endangered forests by partnering with companies including H&M Group, Inditex and LVMH to remove pulp-based materials such as viscose from the supply chain.

The funding — its largest to date — marks a major boost to its campaign, which has seen massive growth as sustainability becomes a more public issue in the fashion space.

Resale’s big secret? It may need stores

Read the full story at Retail Dive.

To join the secondhand market boom, many apparel retailers and brands have turned to third-party platforms that struggle to sustain a profit.

An unglamorous solution to fashion’s sustainability problem: make less stuff

Read the full story at Fashion Dive.

Overproduction, greenwashing and unchecked growth have created a huge problem. Experts say strict regulations may be the only solution, but it won’t be easy or fast.

Textile recycling: The sorting challenge

Read the full story from Textile World.

Clothing is made of different fabrics, fixtures and accessories, such as buttons or zips, and they contain a variety of raw materials — combinations of natural and synthetic fibers, plastics and metals. This makes disposing of it sustainably a complicated matter.

H&M taps ThredUp for resale program

Read the full story at Retail Dive.

Indicating the continued rise of recommerce, H&M has teamed up with ThredUp to launch its first resale service, “H&M Pre-Loved,” according to a Tuesday press release. 

Starting Tuesday, the fast-fashion retailer will begin offering used items across various categories such as sport, denim and kids. Shoppers can also buy from a “collabs” section featuring items from H&M’s previous guest designer collections and collaborations. 

The program is part of the fast-fashion retailer’s efforts to extend the use of its products and establish a circular business model.

EEA report highlights urgent need for sustainable textile practices

Read the full story at Environment + Energy Leader.

The issue of textile waste is becoming more pressing as the global population grows, and consumerism expands. According to a report by the European Environment Agency (EEA), the amount of used textiles generated by households and other sources in the European Union (EU) has increased significantly over the past decade. In 2016, around 6.4 million tons of textiles were generated in the EU, compared to 5.8 million tons in 2012, an increase of almost 10%.

A ‘game changer’ for clothing recycling?

Read the full story from the University of Michigan.

Less than 15% of the 92 million tons of clothing and other textiles discarded annually are recycled—in part because they are so difficult to sort. Woven-in labels made with inexpensive photonic fibers, developed by a University of Michigan-led team, could change that.

Cleaning up fast fashion: Can it be done?

Read the full story at Circular.

The global textile industry has been identified as the second largest industrial polluter after the aviation sector, and consumers have become more aware of the damage that it is causing to the environment and communities in underdeveloped areas of the world.

Much of the problem stems from the popularity of fast fashion, which has led to consumers in Western countries buying more clothes more frequently, only to dispose of them after a couple of wears or at the end of the season.

A study by Aalto University has revealed that the fashion industry accounts for 10% of global pollution and textile production generates a staggering 92 million tonnes of waste per year.

Attitudes are changing however, and high-profile news reports have drawn attention to the social and environmental impact of textile waste, which is typically shipped in large quantities to countries in West Africa or South America to be “recycled” or “resold”.

Arriving in container loads, much of this textile waste reaches its destination in a damaged condition, so it can’t be reused. As a result, this waste is incinerated or ends up in landfill.

However, greater awareness of the problem is leading to a change of behaviour, with more Western consumers choosing to buy second-hand clothing and recycle or donate their used clothing. Some are also choosing to buy products made from textiles that are manufactured more sustainably and can be recycled more easily.

From design to landfill: The lifecycle of a $3 Shein shirt

Read the full story from WPIX.

That cute top you purchased for less than your morning coffee, wore twice, washed once, and threw away because it fell apart as soon as it hit the washing machine agitator will sit in a landfill, leeching pollutants for up to 200 years.

If fast fashion (and polyester) existed during Susan B. Anthony’s lifetime, the dresses she would have worn advocating for women’s rights would still be lingering in a landfill.