H&M Reweaves Your Old Unwanted Clothes Into Brand New Pieces
Image via H&M
That long-worn shirt of yours that has gone out of style? You can give it a second lease of life in your wardrobe, courtesy of H&M.
The clothing brand is hoping to lengthen the fabric of sustainability by setting up a recycling machine called Looop, which aims to extend the use of fast-fashion wear, at its Drottninggatan store in Stockholm.
Customers can bring a garment they no longer want to use, and the equipment will revive it in the form of a sweater, scarf, blanket, and so on, Fast Company reports.
H&M describes in a press release that the machinery “dissembles and assembles old garments into new ones.” Old clothes are first cleaned, before being shredded and spun into new yarn for use as “new fashion finds.”
“Some sustainably-sourced virgin materials need to be added during the process, and we of course work to make this share as small as possible,” the brand disclaims. However, “the system uses no water and no chemicals, thus having a significantly lower environmental impact than when producing garments from scratch.”
Passersby will see firsthand how H&M’s eco-conscious process works. The Looop machine is actually a replica of the brand’s new recycling system, and the company hopes that by “miniaturizing” the procedure, customers will feel inspired to repurpose their clothing.
“For this, we really need the customer to be involved in the process,” explains Erik Bang, innovation lead at the H&M Foundation. “We’ve built this machine as a miniaturized version of a real process to show customers how crucial they are to the process,” he adds in a statement via Fast Company.
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 87-percent of the material in clothes is burnt or tossed in a landfill after its final use. H&M being one of the largest fast-fashion companies in the world, its role in keeping fashion sustainable and ethical is crucial.
Image via H&M
Image via H&M
[via Fast Company, images via H&M]
Also check out these recent news
