After a short article on the blog of my friends Quat’Rues, I thought I would also talk about H&M’s Conscious Collection.
First of all, I want to make it clear (hand on heart and all) that I used to be an H&M consumer – shameful, I know. I was deeply into low prices, fast fashion, all that. When I was a student, it was even worse; I’d go to the Part Dieu store almost every week to see the new collection… I’ve changed since then, but still…
So when I first heard that H&M was using organic cotton, I was happy, except it was GMO, not entirely but partly… so what should we think about this renewed experience?
Actually, I’m rather in favour. It’s true that big brands and retailers are getting into it, and I want to say it was about time. In lingerie, there’s Sloggi that does organic with elastane (yeah, I know), Huit, and that’s it. Not exactly a crowd, is it? So when major players come in, let’s not be stubborn and let’s be happy about it.
Except,
Regarding the quantity, even if for a small brand like ours it seems huge, for them it's nothing; it represents 1% of their current collection. So, is the rest perhaps GMO (I'm exaggerating, but let's remember that traces were found in H&M's last organic collection)?
Manufacturing, and yes, it's great to do organic, but if you don't pay your employees decently, what's the point? Organic is also an approach, not just the fabric. Buying an organic product made in a sweatshop is questionable.
Communication, like, "Hey guys, before H&M, organic was for hippies," seriously? Are you telling me I’ve been making hemp panties for 7 years? It’s like the press is just discovering organic, blogs are only talking about it, and deep down, yes, that annoys me because when you see small brands that don't have 1% of their budget trying to exist, it feels like we were just talking to ourselves before…
So let's not be fooled, H&M is an economic giant, a fast fashion magnate, and is not ready to fall in line to become green and sustainable, but if its collection can help even 10% (OK, 3 to 4%) of consumers ask THE question about whether they should change their habits, then I say maybe things can progress (yeah, I have a little hope sometimes)
Any thoughts?
