H&M is trying to bring sustainable innovation to scale. And though some might argue the fast fashion purveyor has been a leader in the movement toward the very throwaway clothes the industry is now trying to save from landfills, it’s also been a leader in finding new ways for fashion to do less damage.
There are four major trends driving H&M’s sustainability efforts, Helena Helmersson, the company’s global head of production said at a talk at the Textile Exchange Sustainability Conference Tuesday: the fact that the world is consuming more than the planet can handle, demographic and sociocultural shifts, economic and political systems under pressure, and technology-driven changes.
“These macro forces are influencing a business like H&M,” Helmersson said. “We have to change our business model.”
But what’s making changing that business model even more challenging than it already is? Consumers.
“Consumers today are moving from offline to online, they prefer platforms, they want nicer products faster and they also need technology to make it more convenient for them—and if possible, they don’t really want to pay for it,” Helmersson explained. “We have to move away from a linear business model to a circular one just to stay competitive.”
Read more at Sourcing Journal.
