Truth be told, I’m not one for making New Year’s resolutions—I always find a way to slip up. But for 2021, there is one goal that I’m determined to keep: shop more sustainably. I want to feel good about my wardrobe, and for me, that means doing a little homework on environmentally friendly materials and how things are made. When H&M announced its latest collaboration with the iconic denim brand, Lee, would have sustainability at its core, I knew I had to check it out immediately.
The collab is an ode to the ’90’s—hello, dreamy, loose wide-leg jeans—with an on-trend, contemporary twist à la H&M. And since COVID-19 has sadly put my days of thrifting on hold, these vintage-inspired pieces are just what my wardrobe needed. Not only are the pieces the exact vibe every fashion girl is going for right now, but it’s also H&M’s most sustainable collection to date. From the design process and production, all the way down to the recycled boxes used for shipping, the brand has committed to its mission to make this line as eco-conscious as possible. In fact, H&M is even sharing Life Cycle Assessment data on the site to track the water, C02 emissions, and energy impact of all the pieces so customers can see the environmental efforts put into the items they’re buying. You could definitely say this is exactly what I was looking for this year. Want to learn about the five specific sustainable details H&M is focusing on, and shop the uber-cute pieces? Keep scrolling.
H&M got innovative with a brand new approach to constructing its fibers. The collection features the brand’s first-ever 100% recycled-cotton jeans, and the rest of the pieces in the collection are made from mainly recycled or low-impact materials like hemp with less reliance on virgin fibers.
I’m really into the accents of lavender and white that make appearances in the collection, but it’s the wide range of blue denim washes that have me most excited. The indigo fabrics are made using water-saving dye without any harmful chemicals, so you can feel good about what you’re wearing all day.
Each piece has that cool, looks-like-you’ve-already-worn-these-100-times look (in a good way!), and it’s totally on purpose. H&M follows the low-impact EIM guidelines, meaning the worn looks are achieved by ozone-friendly laser techniques.
The super-iconic Lee logo—you know, the one every girl rocked in the ’90s—on each garment is digitally printed using water-based inks for a lower impact.
Here’s where I get really impressed: All the metal hardware you see is made sustainably through a process that’s sludge-free and non-toxic. Recycled materials make up all sorts of the garment details, from the zippers to the woven labels and right down to the threads made from recycled polyester. Even the pocketing is made from organic cotton. Yeah, I feel good about that.
