H&M has unveiled a new garment-to-garment recycling system, Looop, in Stockholm, Sweden.
As part of its sustainability mission, which includes the aim to be 100% recycled by 2030, Looop is the latest instalment of steps H&M has been taking towards this goal.
In 2016, the business collected 7,586.7kg of unwanted garments from Australian consumers in a sustainability drive, while in 2019 it launched its Conscious Collection in Australia.
The business' new Looop system cleans and shreds garments into fibres and then spins the fibres into new yarn.
Some virgin materials have to be used in the process, but H&M head of sustainability Pascal Brun states that it will minimise the use of these materials.
"We are constantly exploring new technology and innovations to help transform the fashion industry as we are working to reduce the dependency on virgin resources.
"Getting customers on board is key to achieve real change and we are so excited to see what Looop will inspire," he said.
The Looop process uses no water or chemicals, meaning that it has a far lower impact compared to making garments from scratch.
For 100 Swedish Kronor members of H&M's loyalty club will be able to use Looop to recycle their clothing, while non-members will have to pay 150 Kronor.
All proceeds of Looop will be donated to projects related to research of materials.
In 2019, 57% of H&M's materials used were either recycled or sourced in a more sustainable way.
Looop opened to the public in the one of H&M's Drottninggatan stores in Stockholm on October 12 and it is the first time this type of garment-to-garment recycling system is shown in store by a fashion retailer.