H&M "rethinks" denim design with Ellen MacArthur Foundation

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 2, 2020

H&M said on Friday that it’s focused on transforming the way jeans are made as it puts the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular initiative principles into practice.

The company is a strategic partner of the Foundation and it’s launching what it calls “a remarkable” men’s denim collection under the Jeans Redesign banner, “inspired by natural simplicity”.

The three jeans styles, two jackets, an overshirt, tote bag and bucket hat “rethink the design and production of denim products, furthering our aim of becoming fully circular in all our processes,” the company said.

The denim fabric used throughout is made from a mix of organic cotton, up to 35% recycled cotton (from post-consumer waste), and dyes that considerably reduce water waste and energy consumption compared to conventional alternatives.

The company also said that “going beyond the specific requirements set in the Jeans Redesign guideline, we also used the Screened Chemistry method for selecting safer chemicals. Only low-impact finishes were used”.

And no conventional plating was used on the metal trims, thereby reducing the environmental impact. Additionally, the company used Tencel threads so the products can be recycled easily at the end of their life.

H&M designer Jon Loman said: “Sustainability and circularity should be seen as the parameters that designers move within. It’s a new set of borders and limitations, if you like. Being a designer is also about finding new opportunities and connecting more with the technical side of how a pair of jeans are made. This project went back to the foundations and what was taken for granted before was now seen with new eyes. With this collection we hope that we can take another great step towards making more sustainable products.”