H&M’s Conscious Collection

Sustainability and fashion haven’t always gone hand in hand, especially at the lower end of the high-street. In the past, retailers have almost justified using dodgy production practices by the lower price points as an excuse, I mean that £8 Primark dress could never be produced in a nice clean environment with workers working fair hours for a decent pay right?! It’s a vicious circle of consumers demanding more reasonably priced fashion and retailers resorting to increasingly unethical manufacturing practises to produce clothing as cheaply as possible. I’m not going to pretend that I’ve never shopped in Primark and that I only buy from ethical sources. But I am becoming more and more aware of where and how my clothing is bought, like most of you. Slowly, brands have began to wise up to that and grow a conscience. For example, Topshop have been using fairtrade and organic cotton for years now and brands like People Tree solely producing ethical clothing. 

Until now though, the lower end of the high-street has really struggled to keep up, especially maintaining their low price points whilst the price of raw cotton continues to rise. H&M’s new Conscious Collection is set to raise the bar for other retailers to re-evaluate their social conscience and show that you can create a green, environmentally friendly AND affordable range. The range caters for men, woman and kids with organic cotton, Tencel and recycled polyester in a white hot minimalist yet romantic collection featuring lace, broderie anglaise and draping. 

“It’s not just about organic cotton any more, the possibilities for creating a complete fashion statement with eco smarter materials are huge now. By designing recurring Conscious Collections we have the opportunity to show in a variety of ways what’s possible using more sustainable fabrics,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M Head of design.