Mass-market retailer H&M made the news last weekend when the New York Times reported that the 34th Street H&M store threw away clothing that went unsold. But they don’t just throw it in the trash, which was bad enough; employees were slashing the garments to make them unwearable. Between the massive amounts of waste and the fact that these perfectly good items could be recycled make this entire practice shameful.

As a result of the article, H&M quickly came out and said that they would stop mutilating and throwing away unsold items at the New York store. The store said their policy is to donate the clothing to charity.

affordable sustainability

With all the news about the slashed clothing, not much attention was paid to another bit of H&M news. Last week they announced that with their spring line they would introduce items made from sustainable fabrics. The company’s new eco-friendly Garden Collection will have dresses, shirts, and other offerings made from organic cotton or linen, recycled plastic bottles and Tencel.

Clothing made from sustainable fabrics is often quite expensive, but H&M’s Garden Collection is keeping in line with the store’s “affordable fashion” pricing. The most expensive item are two spring dresses that go for $49.95. Many of the items are under $20.00. For example, the tunic above is only $14.95.

We think this is a great start–a major retailer offering eco-friendly fashion for a great price. Of course, we’d like to see H&M review the entire life cycle of their clothing to ensure they are only making as many garments as will sell, implementing water- and energy-saving processes, and then properly managing unsold inventory to ensure it’s reused or recycled.

While we’re at it, the entire fashion industry should consider their sustainability practices.  And as consumers, we must vote with our checkbook and buy from retailers who are making an effort to create a more sustainable world.

Will you buy any of H&M’s Garden Collection?

photo credit: h&m

The Costello Tagliapietra Spring 2010 show during New York’s Fashion Week was a sell out.  Behind the scenes, our team was delighted to see how, in just four weeks, Jeffery Costello’s photographs of sunsets and lakes were reinterpreted into rich multidimensional designs.

After the show, the media also thought the new collection was a hit. Here’s a sample of what they had to say:

Costello Tagliapietra “went back to their roots with a marked focus on lovely drapes and lush color—with an added dollop of Earth-friendly fashion technology this time around.”
-Style.com

“Comfortable, gorgeous, eco-friendly designs? If that’s not beautiful, we don’t know what is.”
-Vogue

“The comfortable yet form fitting dresses — inspired by colors found in the natural environment — were breathtaking; reminiscent of grecian goddesses, curve-complimenting, and the idyllic attire for a warm Summer night.”
-Treehugger.com

“Everyone’s trying to do their part to ‘go green,’ but this season Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra turned out a collection of eco-friendly clothes, without sacrificing beauty and design…”
-Womens Wear Daily (WWD.com)

“The color palette was dazzling…CT used sun-bleached shades of orange, mustard, violet, moss green and taupe to spectacular effect — the colors grab one’s attention, but it is the dresses’ construction that keeps it….But perhaps the coolest element of many of the dresses was their fabric. In an enviromental-friendly choice, CT used exclusive fabrics from AirDye, a new technology that dyes and prints textiles without using any water.
”
-The Plain Dealer

Overall a small, simple collection, but the lush palette was entirely unique.
-NBC New York

“The colors were organic and intense. The innovative fabric of this season is AirDye”
-Second City Style

“…at Milk, Costello Tagliapietra, known for its gentle silhouettes and masterful draping techniques, thought about sustainability by debuting the ingenious AirDye technology which allows fabrics to be dyed without water.
”
-The National Newspaper, U.A.E.

“The sunset-hued fabrics, gorgeous and dyed with a special technique that uses no water and creates no toxins / waste.
”
-NylonMag.com

“Jeffrey Costello took photos of the lake and sunset in Brooklyn, and then he and design partner Robert Tagliapietra worked with Air-Dye to print the digital artwork on fabric without using water. The result? Absolutely stunning, colorful, earth-friendly fashion.”
-ThinkThruFashion

Now that we know what the media and the bloggers have to say, what you think of the collection?

While there are seemingly endless choices for sustainable fabrics, from organic cotton to bamboo to hemp, recycled PET is arguably the most sustainable—but may be the most misunderstood as well. Today’s glossary entry is dedicated to giving this rising star its due and clarifying misconceptions about the process from bottle to your closet.

Most plastic bottles we consume are made from a material called PET (polyethylene terephthalate). You likely have several iterations of PET in your home now: from water and soda bottles to detergent containers. In fact, any bottle marked “1” for recycling is PET, making it the most recycled plastic in the world.

Given the abundance and cost effectiveness of raw materials, using recycled PET for clothing is becoming increasingly popular in the green textile industry. But how do old bottles become clothing? The process is relatively simple: Once a PET bottle is recycled, it’s sent to a processing plant where it’s washed and shredded into flakes. The cleaned flakes are melted down and shaped into long, thin fibers. The fiber is then spun into yarn. The end product is 100 percent recycled polyester. By using recycled polyester instead of new petroleum, energy consumption is reduced by 60 percent, without causing additional harm to the environment.

No other fabric in the world is produced with less environmental impact.

Recycled polyester can be manufactured into a myriad of different fabrics, but because of its antimicrobial properties, wicking power, and breathability, recycled PET is most often made into active wear or t-shirts. Patagonia and Nau are leading the charge in recycled PET active wear. Our friends at A Lot to Say proudly adopted recycled PET for their all of t-shirts, and added AirDye to the process to further reduce their environmental impact.

photo credit: holeymoon/flickr

One of our sister companies, Transprint, has just released a groovy new collection: Love 60’s. The designs speak right to the message of love, peace and happiness with newly imagined peace signs, butterflies, and paisleys. Perfect for a night out to see the upcoming Woodstock movie or the revival of Hair on Broadway.

I spoke to the lead designer, Acharee Apibunyopas, about her inspiration for the new collection. Acharee said that the world we are living in now reminds her of the 1960s. The U.S. is engaged in unpopular wars, there’s a social movement (this time it’s about the environment instead of civil rights), and the recession has everyone feeling down. At the same time, she says, “We want something bright and to feel like a free spirit again. The fashion and design industry can provide that outlet. When you are wearing a swim suit or shirt from this collection, you can’t help but feel happy.”

Naturally, these designs can be used in a variety of fabrics and applications. Of course, we’d love to see brands use AirDye® technology so the color and designs last forever.

T-shirt purveyors A Lot to Say—a company that already leads the industry in environmental sustainability, socially aware messaging, and general awesomeness (okay, that last one is just my opinion)—has gotten even greener as of late.

They already use 100 percent recycled plastic bottles (rPET) to make their shirts, which reduces energy consumption by 80 percent. Plus, they are a completely American-made line—no sweatshops or monster carbon footprint from shipping tees across the ocean. So how did they attain even greener credentials? As a continued commitment to sustainability, the company recently adopted AirDye® technology for all of their clothing. AirDye doesn’t use any water in the dyeing phase—a step that currently costs the world’s resources 2.4 trillion gallons of water a year.

Last week, the non-profit National Green Energy Council bestowed its first ever green apparel endorsement to A Lot to Say.

Congrats to a well-deserving company. Keep up the good work.