H&M wants your clothes

H&M has launched a global clothing collecting initiative in a bid to reduce the environmental impact of clothes throughout their lifecycle, making it the first fashion brand to carry out such a project globally.From February 2013, customers will be able to hand in used garments in H&M stores in all 48 markets. In Malaysia, the initiative will kick start on Saturday, 23 February 2013."Our sustainability efforts are rooted in a dedication to social and environmental responsibility. We want to do good for the environment, which is why we are now offering our customers a convenient solution: to be able to leave their worn out or defective garments with H&M, " says Karl-Johan Persson, CEO H&M.H&M will be the first fashion company to roll out clothes collecting in selected stores worldwide.Through the global initiative, H&M's customers can save natural resources and contribute to reduced environmental impact by avoiding textile waste. Any pieces of clothing, from any brand and in any condition are accepted.In return, the customer will receive a voucher (15% discount on one item) for each bag brought.The collected clothes are then handled by H&M's partner, I:Collect, which provides the infrastructure in which consumer goods are repeatedly reprocessed and made available for new use.Every year tonnes of textiles are thrown out with domestic waste and end up in landfill. As much as 95% of these clothes could be used again; re-worn, reused or recycled - depending on the state of the garment.Long-term, H&M wants to reduce the environmental impact of garments throughout the lifecycle and create a closed loop for textile fibres.H&M has also set up the Conscious Foundation to find technical solutions to reuse and recycle textile fibres on a larger scale, in order to close the loop on textiles and social projects along H&M's value chain.