H&M’s “Looop” Initiative and Creating Sustainable Fast Fashion
Name: Tireni Odubiyi |Week: Term 2, Week 4|Theme: Fast Fashion & Sustainability
Fast Fashion, a business model which rapidly produces new styles of clothing and new fashion collections at low prices (McArthur Foundation, 2017) has become a dominant phenomenon in today’s fashion industry. The social and environmental costs of this model are deep and far-reaching, including the mass underutilisation of clothing, the depletion and pollution of water sources and the exploitation of workers in loosely regulated factories. As consumer awareness of the detrimental costs of fast fashion grows, retailers are facing more pressure to create durable, non-exploitative and sustainable clothing. One approach recently announced by H&M Thailand is the “Looop” initative that appears to disrupt the current linear production model of clothing which relies on the constant use of large amounts of resources to produce new clothing (Vijitkasemki, 2021; McArthur Foundation, 2017).
As described by H&M Thailand’s CEO Looop “works by taking apart old garments and reassembling them into new apparel — in-store in a matter of a few hours — while producing zero waste. The Looop system uses no water and no chemicals, giving the reimagined pieces a lower environmental impact than the originals when they were made” (Vijitkasemki, 2021). A key advantage of the Looop model is the transparency it affords consumers who are often unable to trace the true origin and working conditions involved in the production of their garments due to opaque supply chains. It is also a quick way of recycling pieces and transforming them to new garments which are still attractive to consumers and able to satisfy the insatiable desire of some consumers for the latest, on-trend products. However, it does this without straining resources and encourages designers to think and work innovatively with their products.
From the article in Thailand Tatler, it is not clear what the cost of using this Looop initiative will be or the state used clothing will have to be in for H&M to accept it in stores. Nevertheless, one can presume that the cost if there is any will be low and much more affordable for regular consumers of fast fashion who may buy from these retailers not because they overlook the environmental and social consequences of fast fashion but because they simply cannot afford anything else. Thus, when the initiative is rolled out in H&M stores internationally, it has a strong potential of contributing to a more circular textile economy (McArthur Foundation, 2017).
Although Looop is an initiative which deserves commendation, it is important to note that the initiative only applies to clothing that has already been purchased by consumers. It is a program that addresses clothing disposal towards the end of its life and repurposes it. A long-term solution is for businesses to think about sustainability from the design and material choice of products, similar to the company’s use of ‘vegan leather’ in some of its products (Vijitkasemki, 2021). This is particularly necessary due to the increase in online fast fashion retailers like Boohoo and Pretty Little thing which do not have physical outlets were consumers can recycle and repurpose their clothing.
Bibliography
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2017). A new textiles economy: Redesigning fashion’s future. Available from: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/publications/A-New-Textiles-Economy_Summary-of-Findings_Updated_1-12-17.pdf (Accessed 6 February 2021)
- Vijitkasemki, Shada (2021). Can Fast Fashion and Sustainability Co-Exist? We Ask H&M Thailand’s CEO. Thailand Tatler. Available from: https://www.thailandtatler.com/society/in-the-loop (Accessed 6 February 2021).
