It doesn't involve them changing their production model at all.' 'The reason why H&M is focusing on textile recycling is because it's an easy sustainability win for them. (CBC)Ĭline is also skeptical about H&M's motivations for its take-back program. Critics like Cline say they produce inexpensive trendy clothing that's meant to be bought, worn and then quickly discarded for something new. Of all of the material used to make its estimated half a billion garments a year, only 0.7 per cent is recycled material.Īuthor and environmentalist Elizabeth Cline is no fan of so-called fast-fashion retailers. H&M's own sustainability reports acknowledge the challenge. 'It weakens the cotton and wool strand and gives you a lesser product.' When you recycle cotton and wool, for example, it diminishes the quality of the material, she says. That's because many of our clothes are made of blended fibres, so they don't break down easily.

Join the conversation about recycling in our Facebook group.Read more stories in our recycling series.I:Collect, the company that handles the donations for H&M and several other major retailers, says about 35 per cent of what it collects is recycled and used for products like carpet padding, painters' cloths or insulation.Ĭline says it's not a matter of simply turning 'your old clothes into new garments,' as another of H&M's ads suggests. Not so easyĪuthor and environmentalist Elizabeth Cline says less than one per cent of clothing is recycled to make new clothing. That's because actually recycling clothes into other textiles, particularly new clothes, is costly and difficult. More often than not though, that new purpose doesn't mean being transformed into a new piece of clothing, but rather being resold - often in a country thousands of kilometres away from the point of sale. Customers are urged to donate 'any clothes or home textiles that are no longer wanted or needed' so they can be 'given a new purpose.'

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