Waste isn't waste until you waste it. Say hello to the recycled denim collection.

THE COLLECTION AND H&M'S GOALS

At H&M, we want to make better denim by reducing the use of virgin materials and reusing what already exists. Our goal is that all of the raw materials used for our products will consist of 30% recycled materials by 2025.

WHAT'S RECYCLED AND NOT

This collection contains the most amount of recycled materials yet at H&M, with 100% recycled fabrics, threads, labels and pocketing. Even the hangtags are made from recycled paper! The metal zips, buttons, rivets and trims are partly recycled.

THE FABRICS

The fabrics are a mix of pre-consumer recycled cotton (meaning manufacturing waste cuttings that never made it to customers), and post-consumer recycled cotton (textiles that have been worn and recycled). The accessories are patchworked entirely from fabrics that have been cut and reused from production rejections.

WATER

When making denim that's kinder to the planet, you've got to think about water. Water is crucial for growing the cotton fibres that make up a pair of jeans. It's also used for dyeing and for treating fabrics with any washes. Every single process using water in this collection has been chosen to be more sustainable, including low-impact washes with verified green EIM (Environmental Impact) scores and dyes that save water compared to conventional dyes. The denim fabrics for the accessories were washed during previous production, so they only needed a simple rinse (a low-impact wash) to prepare them for this collection. The used fabric dyes save at least 65% and up to 95% water versus conventional dyes and are all aniline-free (a potentially hazardous chemical precursor which can be found in denim wastewater).

LCA

For this collection, we're also sharing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data. It's an assessment that looks at the different environmental impacts of a garment throughout the various stages of its life. The LCA analysis and data that we're providing for the products in this collection focus on water, energy and CO2 impacts from raw material to final production. We'll be sharing this LCA data on each garment in this collection on hm.com.