What happens to the clothes H&M can’t sell? They get burned. No, really.
A power plant in Stockholm is using clothes that don’t meet H&M’s quality standards in addition to recycled wood and trash from the surrounding area in one of its plants.
The plant has an ambitious plan to go fossil-fuel free by 2020, and so clothes that can’t be sold are the perfect addition to its burning material.
‘H&M does not burn any clothes that are safe to use,’ explained Johanna Dahl, head of communications for H&M in Sweden, in an email to Bloomberg, after the news broke of this unusual fuel source.
‘However it is our legal obligation to make sure that clothes that contain mold or do not comply with our strict restriction on chemicals are destroyed.’
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The Swedish plant has already burned through 15 tons of discarded H&M pieces so far this year, and it also burns rubbish from cities nearby and other waste imported from the UK.
H&M has always been hailed as an eco-friendly brand, their Conscious Exclusive 2017 Collection had a focus on ‘The Beauty of Sustainability’, and every piece was made from sustainable materials including a special kind of polyester made of plastics recycled from waste found on the shoreline.
Earrings made from recycled glass and plastic, fishnet bags made from ocean waste and organic unisex fragrances also featured in this year’s collection.
‘H&M's Conscious Exclusive collection shows how the best style can be mindful of the planet, to help protect it for the future,’ said Natalia Vodianova, the face of the campaign and founder of Elbi – a philanthropy digital platform connecting users with a global network of charities, said of the campaign earlier this year.
‘It's such a desirable collection, with pieces made in sustainable materials that you want to wear for seasons to come.’
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.