H&M has committed itself to the use of 100% recycled or other sustainably sourced materials by 2030.
As exclusively reported in Ragtrader, H&M Australia collected 7,586.7kg of unwanted garments from local consumers in a sustainability drive last year.
H&M has now outlined a new growth path in its latest sustainability report.
The fast fashion retailer has initiated a research project with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.
The aim is to find out what a circular system for producing and using textiles, which is less dependent on scarce natural resources, would look like.
Last year, 45% of the company's cotton was sourced from sustainable alternatives. H&M's plan is to only use this cotton by 2020.
The company will also complete a scale up of the fair living wages and improve its industrial relations programs, with 140 supplier factories implementing improved wage management systems covering 250,000 workers.
H&M has vowed to become climate positive throughout its entire value chain by 2040.
The company will work to reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than its value chain emits. This plan includes a commitment to a climate neutral supply chain for tier 1–2 by 2030.
Focus will also remain on moving toward the use of 100% renewable energy in the company's own operations, with the share currently at 96% renewable energy in 2016 compared to 47% in 2015.
H&M head of sustainability Anna Gedda said the company's new sustainability strategy was part of its plan to lead the change toward circular and renewable fashion.
“We want to lead by example, pave the way and try new things – both when it comes to the environmental and social side – to ultimately make fashion sustainable and sustainability fashionable. Our climate positive strategy is one way of doing this.”