H&M to Begin Selling Clothes Made From Sustainable "Circulose" Fabric
The first retailer to bring the fabric to market.
H&M recently announced that it will begin selling garments made from Circulose, a sustainable fabric option made from up-cycled clothing and fashion waste, this spring. The fast fashion company will become the first retailer to sell clothes made from the fabric.
The Circulouse fabric to be used by H&M is produced by Re:newcell, a Swedish fashion company that H&M took a minority stake in just a few years ago in 2017. Since creating the first Circulose prototype in 2014, the company has raised over $20 million USD from backers like H&M’s investment arm, Co:Lab.
Circulose fabric is made from 100% cotton recycled clothing and garment production waste. In H&M’s case, the retailer will creating a Circulose/Viscose blend that utilizes 50% Circulose sourced from upcycled cotton jean fabric and 50% viscose sourced from FSC-certified wood.
H&M recently told WWD that it plans to use only recycled or sustainably sourced materials by 2030. Erik Karlsson, H&M’s investment manager for sustainable fashion at Co:Lab, noted that Co:Lab’s main purpose is to help companies like Re:newcell reach market at an increased pace. “With the investment group, we want to be speeding up innovation and helping these companies reach scale,”
H&M plans to roll out styles made with Circulose beginning sometime this spring.
In related news, Nordstrom recently launched a sustainable secondhand “See You Tomorrow” reselling initiative.
