Multinational clothing company H&M is coming out with a new line of baby clothes that can be recycled in an unexpected way once they’re worn out – composting.
The 12-piece organic cotton collection for newborns (priced from $4.99 to $17.99) will be launched in May and includes tops, bottoms with adjustable waistbands and cuffs, jackets, hats, and blankets.
Abigail Kammerzell, Head of Sustainability – US, H&M said that all items are 100 percent biodegradable, including the pigments used to print designs on the clothing. She said the pieces are also deliberately absent of buttons or any metal trim.
The company informed that this is to ensure that each piece can be composted when it’s at its end of use, even by just putting them in an at-home compost pile.
Going forward, H&M is launching a new collection of baby clothes in May made with 100 percent organic cotton that is compostable once they’re completely worn out.
Kammerzell said the collection is certified by the non-profit organization Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute for using materials free of chemicals that are harmful to humans and the environment and producing the items with 100 percent recycled water and renewable energy.
Given H&M’s global scale, with over 4,000 stores worldwide, she said the company is in a position to “enable big changes in the fashion industry and we hope to be a leader in sustainability and keep clothes out of landfills.”
In fact, in 2013, H&M launched a global garment collecting program and has set a goal of having all clothing sold in its stores be made from recycled or sustainably sourced materials by 2030. That figure currently stands at 80 percent, according to the company.
