Inhabitat » SUSTAINABLE STYLE: H&M Pushes Organic for Fall!

September 30, 2007

SUSTAINABLE STYLE: H&M Pushes Organic for Fall!

by Jill Danyelle

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Following the successful launch of their 100% organic line this spring, we are excited to announce that H&M is expanding its organic cotton range this fall! We frequently receive comments about ’sustainable style’ not being stylish, affordable or easy to find, so we are hoping this news will please the thrifty eco-fashionistas out there. Additionally, we are happy to see a fashion retailer as big as H&M making a real commitment to organic cotton. To support this initiative and help kickstart the organic fashion movement, get yourself to an H&M and bundle up in cozy organic cotton this fall.

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We love the cute dresses and striped separates for tots shown above, but there are plenty of great options for adult men and women too. (Inhabitat’s own Jill Fehrenbacher is showing off her own recently purchased H&M Organic clothes in the picture below.) The collection, which now includes everything from underwear to outer garments, is on sale in all departments at stores in all H&M markets. The organic cotton garments carry a special hang tag enabling you to spot them easily and get on board the organic movement.

+ H&M

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5 Responses to “SUSTAINABLE STYLE: H&M Pushes Organic for Fall!”

William Says:

September 30th, 2007 at 7:47 pm

boo! organic, yes, but what about fair-trade? if it’s not fair-trade the effects of this clothing manufacture is worse for whoever made it than it is for us not buying organic. i’m telling you inhabitat, if you don’t account for everything that corporations do wrong then you will be the site that highlights the environmentally friendly and not the directly human friendly. greening is an attempt at insuring that human rights aren’t abused. that’s why people care (or want to care). if such things like workers rights aren’t taken in to account you will be left behind. institution! so, if you only list that it’s organic and don’t explain whether it is or isn’t made in sweat shops it seems a little like you’re ignoring the overall problems associated with industry and doing in the name of “green.” the definition of which is becoming more pigeonholed because of it’s corporate assimilation (yeah, like the borg.)

Jill Danyelle Says:

September 30th, 2007 at 11:06 pm

William,

We addressed this issue our first post on H&M:

H&M has 700 suppliers and 2,000 production units. 60% of their suppliers are in Asia, the rest are in Europe. The Asian suppliers were reviewed 1,387 times. 33% of the visits were unannounced. Factory employees were interviewed in 200 factories. Additional targeted factory visits were made off hours. They have focused on improving conditions for legal, yet juvenile workers. They found one under age employee and convinced the family the child should be in school and paid the family a monthly fee while the child was in school.

Additionally, in 2005, H&M was accepted as a participating company in the Fair Labor Association (FLA), effective 1 January 2006. The FLA is a multi-stakeholder coalition of companies, universities and NGOs dedicated to protecting workers’ rights and improving working conditions.

I have not read H&M’s entire CSR report, but what I have looked at seems pretty transparent. They seem open about improvements they would like to make and obstacles to those improvements. I encourage you to read not only their report, but also look into all of the companies you will be purchasing from, as I did here. (By the way, I never did hear back from the company in that post and have not bought any of their shoes.)

For transparency on a personal level, I have never bought anything from H&M. However, just as with Wal-Mart, Nike and Levi’s, I do not have a problem with the company supporting the organic cotton market by either launching specific lines or blending the cotton across their lines. The volume that these companies produce and sell make it a significant contribution. I also feel that, for many people, eco-fashion is in a limiting price point, so I support diversity within the sustainable apparel marketplace, not only in style, but also in price. To me this is a sign of true growth in the industry. I have supported the industry by buying organic cotton items from smaller companies, but I also will not have a problem sending a message to H&M by having my first purchase at their store be from this line.

Alisa Says:

October 1st, 2007 at 12:19 am

This is great to hear…the FLA lists its affiliated companies and CSR’s for each on their website…great to hear about H&M!

William Says:

October 1st, 2007 at 7:16 pm

thank you, jill. i question the decision to not highlight it even minimally in this post. it seems to downplay additional, but equally important, facets of the process. ~high-heels

Inhabitat » Baumm’s Recycled Billboard Bags at District Cotton Says:

October 28th, 2007 at 3:52 pm

[…] Bags are the perfect addition to District Cotton’s line which is filled with edgy organic apparel. Founded on the belief that fashion and conscience are intertwined, District Cotton holds labor and […]

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