H&M Sustainability Report

I’ve been waiting patiently since reading Lucy Siegle’s article in Sunday’s Observer for today. At last it is here: H&M have launched their 'Conscious' collection today, along with their Sustainability Report. I must admit I feel much the same as Siegle (‘Full marks for ambition. But do I buy H&M as an ethical paragon? Not quite yet.) upon reading the article so am happy to investigate.

The website welcomes you with beautiful garments and models (if not a little proud with hand on hip and head held high) shot in a make shift jungle; I'm sure to emphasise the new collection’s natural and sustainable credentials. From what I can see the prints on the garments are of plant-life, again I assume to further emphasise this point.



The website identifies the use of the following fabrics: organic cotton, recycled polyester, recycled polyamide, recycled plastic, organic linen, recycled cotton, recycled wool, Tencel® lyocell and organic hemp. All fabrics are described, followed by a list of benefits of use (except hemp, which is a surprise: it’s the fastest growing and most sustainable of them all) as well as links to GOTS and Global Recycling Standards. It’s a shame that H&M have forgotten about the possible energy saving benefits during the use/laundering phase here. Benefits highlighted tend to lean towards production only.



However, the Sustainability Report highlights the use phase, of which they do indicate the high energy consumption during laundering, within it’s map of a product’s lifecycle (pages 6-7). They have reluctantly left out the ‘Disposal’ stage disguising this within the use phase:

We are working to influence how our customers care for their H&M purchases and to promote the recycling of used garments (page 7)







The report is rather long (and so it should be, there’s a lot to cover: hitting 87 pages), so I have only briefly scanned it so far. The bulk of the report briefly highlights H&M’s ‘Conscious Actions’, which are many (and so there should….). They are clearly taking this move towards sustainable and ethical fashion much more seriously that what I originally expected. Below I have listed Actions that particularly caught my eye:

Use only sustainable cotton
Develop sustainability index labels for products
European standard for environmental product labelling
Introduce climate smart washing and care instructions (If anyone knows me, this really excites me – however I was disappointed that they only recommend reducing to 40 degrees.)
Sustainability training for designers and buyers
Supplier sustainability performance index
Integrate sustainability criteria into our order systems
Promote energy efficiency in our supply chain
Help to lead industry to zero discharge of hazardous chemicals
Ban fluorocarbons / Toluene

There is a wealth of information in the report as well as the website, there’s even a page on quality tests (nice to see us tech’s aren’t going unnoticed). However, I do feel this quality page to be a slight oxymoron, does anyone else consider H&M quality to be very poor?

I must say my viewpoint has changed towards H&M becoming the new home of ethical fashion, well at least slightly. They do appear to have covered a large perspective of the supply chain, but are they trying to take on too much at once? Their actions are briefly covered in simple paragraphs. The proof is in the pudding, or organic cotton dress, perhaps the recycled poly dress, but more likely in customer reaction. Is she/he (yes there is menswear) buying it? Let’s wait and see their reaction.


Source (all images): H&M

Woven Spider Silk

Just a quick blog post prior to viewing:

Spider Silk: one of the strongest, lightweight materials known has now been woven into fabric. On show at the V&A till 5 June.

I wonder how the projects to replicate spider silk are getting on..

Buy Nothing Day

Did anyone else know it was ‘Buy Nothing Day’? I had no idea, but I do remember reading about the campaign months ago in a book. I have to admit I went out this morning; brought some bits and even placed an order on HMV for Christmas presents. Ironically it was one of my buys that informed me! The Guide (The Guardian’s wonderful weekly guide) contains a humorous cartoon with a statement underneath:

You’ve brought the Guardian, now take a 24-hour holiday from consumerism for Buy Nothing Day

It’s a shame the campaign is not more widely advertised as I would have liked to try and take part. I have ultimately decided to try the challenge tomorrow, which should be easier as it’s Sunday – nice.

But, seriously I do think that Buy Nothing Day is a good effort to tackle consumerism. The underlying tactic is to make people think about what they need, over what they want. Generally what we want thus buy, we never actually need. Employing this method of thinking has certainly helped me to limit my spending over the last year. I urge you to give it a go, save your money for experiences. I promise you the feel good feeling will last much longer. Let’s roll out Buy Nothing Day to once a month, not a year.

Lets Clean Up Fashion 2011

Labour Behind the Label has released its 5th edition of The Let's Clean up Fashion 2011: The state of pay behind the UK high street. I remember reading the 1st edition (some years ago now) when I was studying for my BA Fashion degee. The report opened my eyes to the workings of the fashion industry and triggered something in me to research more.




The report focuses on the living wage and grades many UK fashion retailers from 0-5m for example 0=does not accept the principle of living wage and 5=sustained implementation of an effective living wage policy across entire supply base.

It's safe to say that no retailers researched for this study achieved a grade 5. M&S, Monsoon Accessorize and Next lead with a grade of 3.5, while reatailers such as French Connection, Gap, H&M and Levis Straus staddle behind with a grade 1. The most shocking results of the study are the reatilers graded 0: Hobbs, Paul Smith, Reiss and White Stuff all of which cover a higher price point within the market. However the flaw within this grading is obvious when looking at the Data collected for these retailers; all except one (I will let you read to discover who) states that the retailer 'did not respond to our request for information and makes no information available on their website'. I do not think this is sufficient evidence to tar these companies with a grade 0, but the argument for this could be they must be hiding something. However, hiding something does not mean they have to be hiding something bad. What do you think?

Future Fabrics Expo

I was so excited to receive an invite to the Future Fabrics Expo. It looks like a brilliant event and its free! Take a look:



The only problem, its on a working day. I printed the invite and presented it to my manager proudly, advertising it as a great opportunity to discover new developments for technologists and designers alike. 'Brilliant,' she said 'I'll send Mandy (name changed for legal reasons, but our fabric technologist).' I must admit I was miffed. I wanted to go. Everyone please wallow in my sadness, especially as I wont be able to cover it on my blog :(

Wales vs. Plastic Bags (err… or disposable bags)

I do love – no wait, maybe love is too strong a word – I do like my reusable bags:
a) they are strong and don’t break
b) I can fit quite a lot of stuff in them
c) some are small enough to tie up and keep in my handbag
and
d) they display pretty pictures and don’t advertise huge multinational companies.

I first heard about the Welsh plastic bag ban proposals on BBC Breakfast some days ago and was instantly impressed. Finally, a decision on this island has been made to try and prevent people from engaging with disposable products. Hurrah! However I’m not sure if charging 5p for a bag will stop people from using them or simply mean that people will use them but pay for them instead. But an outright ban could be too totalitarian… I guess.

So what’s wrong with plastic bags? Why have Wales taken this stance?

The Welsh first minister, Carwyn Jones as called plastic bags “a waste of natural resources” – agreed. Up to 273 bags per Welsh household were consumed last year from supermarkets alone, indicating a consumer reliance on the disposable carrier while also highlighting the major problem of waste. Ultimately the plastic bag is designed for single meaning that local authorities can spend up to £1m clearing them every year. By imposing this ban or charge Wales expect to reduce usage by 90%.


Source: The Guardian

So, any rules?

Well, firstly it’s not just plastic bags: paper and plant material bags are also included. They all waste energy is the argument – true. So the real ban is any form of disposable bag, something the headlines are missing out.

Secondly, plastic bags, or should I say disposable bags, can be freely given out for food products that are not already packaged.

Are they really that bad?

In the grand scale of things, perhaps not: according to George Monbiot in today’s Guardian carrier bags account for 3.2% of domestic waste – not a lot really. But this one small step for man could be the giant leap to protect the environment and other species with share this planet with. I have to admit; after hearing that oestrogen is released into the oceans when the bags breakdown ultimately entering the food chain I immediately felt ill. No-one wants to be fat, infertile or cause cancer. That should be an indicator for everyone that plastic bags should be phased out.

Now go and dig out that reusable bag you promised to use.


Source: Bag It Don't Bin It


Source: Eco Green Bags

Plenty more Fashion Articles, Please

Back in Janurary I emailed The Ecologist firstly to invite them to MA Fashion and the Environment's graduate showcase (2011) and secondly to encourage them to write more sustainable fashion articles along with possible stories. I received a lovely email back saying that the new editor was keen to cover more fashion and beauty stories on the website. I didnt see much for a while, but success: lots of fashion related articles have been posted on The Ecologist's website. Hurray I hear you cry (or I do anyway).

There are some really interesting articles that I think are worth a good read:

Safia Minney: fashion's impact on the earth - The People Tree founder discusses the environmental damage caused by fasion.

Inside the London College of Fashion's eco-hub - Celebrating the wonderful Centre for Sustainable Fashion.

The ecological guide to Estethica - celebrating it's fifth year at London Fashion Week.


Source: The Ecologist