Recycling fabrics is a popular production method to bring out the newest in fast fashion. Brands such as H&M and ZARA are meeting the public’s expectations - perfect for those who want to get a couple of pieces for their buck.
Why Fast Fashion Needs to Change
Fast fashion reflects consumer choices. Buyers want more selection, new styles, and convenient shopping. And the brands that do this well tend to be the ones thriving. But this high-speed, low-value clothing has now become a significant environmental issue. Documentaries like The True Cost (Netflix) have shed light on major issues with the modern supply chain.
On April 24, 2013, a commercial building in Bangladesh known as Rana Plana collapsed. Even though structural issues with the building were known and many other stores closed, the garment factories on the upper floors remained open, and managers ordered employees to come to work. 1,100 workers died when the building fell, while 2,500 injured people were rescued from the rubble.
This was one of the darkest days in fashion history - the factory-supplied clothes for brands including Benetton, Mango, Primark, and Bon Marche. And this incident was, for many, a wake-up call to show the need for stricter safety controls and better human rights for factory workers.
But workers’ safety isn’t the only problem for conscious consumers. Other key issues include:
This has led to a constant struggle between brands (and consumers) wanting new styles year-round, and other consumers and industry groups who feel that this can’t be achieved sustainably.
H and M Goals
The H&M Group launched its first Conscious Collection in spring 2011, which included materials like organic cotton and recycled polyester, followed by a garment-collecting initiative in 2013. The company has also experimented with combined deliveries, electric vans and packaging-free delivery in India to curb its e-commerce impact. These efforts have given the Swedish retailer a no. 4 places in the Fashion Revolution 2018 Transparency Index.
Its most recent project is a hydrothermal recycling system that solves one of garment recycling’s biggest obstacles: separating fiber blends. Occupying the space of a small conference room, the Green Machine could boost the amount of recycled material used by the H&M Group, which currently numbers approximately 0.018 percent. Once it reaches industrial capacity, the foundation hopes it will be adopted by the broader industry.
Zara and Inditex
Fast-fashion retailer Zara is going green. All of the cotton, linen, and polyester used by Zara will be organic, sustainable or recycled by 2025, parent company Inditex announced this week.
The Spanish retail conglomerate said the goal will extend to its other brands, including Zara Home, Pull & Bear and Bershka. Inditex made the sustainability pledge at its annual meeting this week. The use of those fibers, plus a semi-synthetic fiber called viscose, accounts for 90% of the raw materials used by the brands. Inditex said it will use all sustainable viscose by 2023.
Added up, Inditex chairman and CEO Pablo Isla said, it's "fair to say it's 100% of the raw materials that we use which will be fully sustainable. We need to be a force for change, not only in the company but in the whole sector," Isla said at the annual meeting. "Sustainability is a never-ending task in which everyone here at Inditex is involved and in which we are successfully engaging all of our suppliers."
The company has other green goals, too, including making all of Zara's stores "eco-efficient" by the end of 2019, which Inditex says allows it to reduce carbon emissions, save energy and minimize waste.