H&M is combining eco-conscious materials, performance capabilities and fashionable design to take consumers’ activewear wardrobes to the next level.
The fast fashion retailer recently launched a new activewear collection that it says highlights nature, femininity and functionality.
Channeling the theme “In it for the long run,” H&M’s activewear line features a robust range of sports, bras, hoodies, tops and tights for running, strength training and yoga. The collection’s beige, black and green color palette culls inspiration from the outdoors, its use of recycled polyester nods to its sustainable side. Functional details, including built-in support, ventilation holes and contrast paneling, allow consumers to stay comfortable during their workouts.
[Read more about how retailers are fostering fashion circularity: A New Circularity Roadmap Charts a More Sustainable Path Forward for Apparel]
“By bringing together the functional and feminine, the aim is to give customers a stylish, conscious sports collection. And not just through the fabrics–we utilized a new knitting technique that creates seamless garments while using less yarn or fabric waste,” H&M head designer of sportswear Petra Smeds said. “Blending function with sustainable thinking and fashion in this way is the way forward.”
The activewear collection comes on the heels of H&M’s ongoing sustainability commitments, including becoming 100 percent circular in the future. Last month, the H&M Foundation and The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) unveiled an innovative apparel recycling system—which involves global garment collecting programs and advanced textile waste management methods. In the fall, H&M also shared its overarching environmental goals at the Textile Exchange Sustainability Conference—including having all of its cotton come from sustainable sources by 2020 and having 100 percent of its apparel materials come from recycled sources by 2030. Over the next few years, H&M wants to establish a closed loop for textiles, where unwanted apparel can be recycled into new products.
H&M introduced the eco active line in stores last week and the collection will make its debut on hm.com Thursday. Retailing from $10 to $35, the collection brings together sustainability, style and performance at an affordable price.