H&M’s latest innovation lets you love sequins–and the environment

The fast fashion brand’s latest collection incorporates recycled-content trimmings made from 100 per cent post-consumer waste

Your attraction to disco-ball dressing is down to a science—according to some studies when humans see something shiny and reflective, our brains release dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure. But if you thought a healthy serving of sequins couldn’t hurt anyone, think again. 

Sequins, embellishments and beads are the leading cause of microplastics in the ocean. Made out of polyethene terephthalate (PET), not only do they take hundreds of years to decompose but when sequins are washed, small pieces of plastic end up being ingested by marine animals, potentially causing their death.

The fashion industry, in no small part, contributes to our magpie-like attraction to all things glitter. But in the past few years, technological advances are helping brands and designers curb environmental damage by way of using recycled plastic and biodegradable sequins.

H&M is the latest to create a collection that questions the use of sequins and embellishments. The fast fashion house has gradually worked its way from using 50 per cent recycled-content sequins in their Conscious Exclusive collection from 2015 to their latest ’60s-inspired collection that incorporates recycled-content trimmings made from 100 per cent post-consumer waste. “We’re really proud to have reached this important milestone with a glittering, 1960s-inflected collection featuring 100 per cent recycled-content embellishments, along with other innovations such as Livaeco by Birla Cellulose™ viscose sourced from certified sustainable forests, which is used for a linen-viscose mix dress, and recycled brass used in the jewellery,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, creative advisor, H&M. In an attempt to be more circular, several pieces from the collection will be available to rent, in addition to being sold online. The Established catches up with Johansson to find out more.

How has H&M's Innovation Stories platform evolved over time, and how has this latest collection built on previous themes to further promote sustainability? What lessons can be learned from the company's efforts to promote more sustainable practices and materials?

I think the main lesson we’ve learnt as a design team is about maintaining a long-term perspective. As we’ve seen with the recycled-content embellishments in this collection, sustainable innovations don’t just happen overnight. You have to keep working hard at them. In that sense, we always intended Innovation Stories to be an experimental platform because we’re learning all the time, tracking innovations all the time, and waiting until the moment when they meet the strict quality controls we have in place for our products.

In terms of the evolution of Innovation Stories, it’s been such an exciting journey. Each collection has a specific focus or theme; at the same time we want to maintain our overall focus on circularity, and have set ourselves tough targets on that front. We aim to use 100 per cent recycled or more sustainably sourced materials by 2030.

What steps has H&M taken to ensure that the materials used in this collection are fully traceable and ethically sourced? How do these efforts reflect broader trends in the fashion industry? 

In recent years, every brand has woken up to the challenges the industry faces in terms of traceability and sustainability. But as I mentioned earlier, this isn’t new at H&M–we’ve been working on these issues for over two decades. Transparency, in particular, has always been a key component of our sustainability strategy, and something that we are committed to level up. H&M was one of the first big brands to make its supplier list public in 2013. Information about the name, address and location of the manufacturing facility, as well as material composition of our products, is available on our website. While we have more work to do, we are committed to sharing as much information as possible with our customers. 

What are the potential implications of the H&M Innovation Re-Enchantment Design Story collection for the wider fashion industry, particularly with regard to the increasing demand for ethically produced clothing? 

We know that we have a unique opportunity to educate and excite when it comes to sustainability, and we hope that collections like this will continue to inspire our customers. Moreover, as a business, H&M is always looking to collaborate with other companies, industry bodies and governments to make positive changes. So if we can inspire other stakeholders to follow our example and work with us on new innovations, we know we can achieve our goals. 

How do you think the rental service of this collection will contribute to the company's broader sustainability goals? What impact will it have on consumer behaviour?

We’re always talking about approaching sustainability with a holistic mindset. Circularity doesn’t just mean wearing a dress made out of 100 per cent recycled-content sequins. It’s also about sharing and renting clothes for a really special party rather than purchasing them. The rental service is something we initially had trial runs of at our flagship store in Stockholm, and it’s been so popular that we’ve rolled it out across stores in Berlin, Amsterdam and London. Now, more than ever, our customers are so educated about and engaged with environmental issues, and hence we want to be able to provide them with innovative solutions that suit their lifestyles. 

Recycled polyester is a controversial fabric that comes with its pros and cons in terms of its impact on the environment. Would you like to tell us why this fabric is a good option for this collection? 

Our goal at H&M is to move towards circular fabrics that eliminate waste and can then be recycled once they reach the end of their lifespan. As a design team, we are constantly debating the merits of one fabric over another, using the Circulator tool which we developed to help our designers determine what might be a more circular option for production (we’ve also made this tool available to the industry at large). On a very basic level, considering a garment’s life cycle, and thinking strategically about their versatility and longevity from the very beginning of the design process, is incredibly important for our teams. We know not every fabric we use is perfect, but we’re committed to improving and exploring alternatives.

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