PRODUCT SUSTAINABILITY

What does it mean?

When we talk about the sustainability of a product, we’re talking about the impact it has on the environment, and the people who make it, handle it, transport it, sell it — and buy it! It’s important to us to make sure that all our products are made with care and responsibility for our planet, and for the people involved in the product’s life cycle.

We’re constantly striving to improve the sustainability of our products. We want to lead the change towards a more sustainable fashion future — and we want to tell you how we’re doing this.

Why is transparency important to H&M?

We believe being transparent — clear and open — about how and where our products are made, is an important part of helping us become more sustainable. The more we share, the more we learn, and the more we can identify the areas to focus on. It’s also really important for you to know as much as possible about the products you buy, so you can make informed decisions, and feel confident that the items you own were made with responsibility and sustainability in mind. This is why we were one of the first brands to start publishing our supplier list on our website back in 2013.

Where can I learn more about the sustainability of a product?

Working towards a sustainable fashion future is a big challenge and a long-term commitment for us.

As a step towards being more transparent we began publishing our supplier list on our website in 2013 so that customers could see where and who made our products. But now we are extending the information that we share with our customers via our new ‘Product Sustainability’ section which is available on all our product pages. This means that every time you click on an H&M product you will be able to see:

• The materials used to make the product — and the sustainability of the materials
• The country in which the product was made
• The supplier we partnered with to manufacture the product
• The factory that made the product
• Information about how you can recycle your unwanted clothes with H&M

Once we’ve designed a product, we partner with a supplier, who handles the manufacturing process of the product. A factory is where this product is made. The H&M group collaborates with over 800 independent suppliers who usually own their own factories, but they may also use other factories that they don't own. We work closely with our suppliers to support them in their efforts to become more sustainable. We only work with suppliers and factories who sign our strict Sustainability Commitment, which includes requirements for fair wages and good working conditions. We employ dedicated sustainability staff in our worldwide production offices to make sure the commitment is followed.
We’re getting there! Some of the products that are currently available to buy on our website were produced and listed before we started to use our new transparency system. As such we cannot display all the details of these products. We’re working hard to make sure that all details will be available for all our products in the near future.

We’re continuously adding extra information about the sustainability of our materials, but for now we’re focusing on our most commonly used materials. You can, however, always see all the materials used to make a product in the composition details on the product page.

It’s not unusual for the same product to be produced in several countries to achieve a more sustainable distribution over the world. That’s why the list you see could include more than one country, supplier and factory. When you purchase a product, you’ll see the specific country of production for that item printed on the label. It will be one of the countries listed on the Product Sustainability page.
Once you've put your old clothes and textiles into the garment-collecting box, our business partner I:CO takes over. They collect the boxes, and then sort the contents into three categories:

REWEAR — Clothing that can be worn again is marketed worldwide as second-hand goods.

REUSE — Clothes that are no longer wearable are made into other products, such as remake collections or cleaning cloths.

RECYCLE — Clothing that can’t be reused is recycled into textile fibres and used to make new materials and products such as insulation for cars.

All funds generated from H&M's garment collecting programme are donated to local charities and research on textile recycling.

PRODUCT SUSTAINABILITY

Where can I find the details in a physical store?

What is the difference between a factory and a supplier?

Why can’t I find the full list of materials, suppliers and factories for all products?

Why can’t I see one specific country of production (instead of a list)?

Where can I learn more about H&M's materials, policies and sustainability efforts?

Where can I recycle my clothes?

What happens to the collected garments?