H&M, the Swedish clothing retail giant announced a launch of a vegan alternative to leather which will be made from wine by-products.
This alternative material will debut on the 26th of March with a large number of handbags and shoes made from it.
They’ll be released as part of their Conscious Collection. The vegan material was developed by the Italian tech company Vegea.
The items will also feature an innovative dye made from coffee grounds from Chinese H&M offices, as well as recycled polyester.
More Bio-Based Materials & More Recycling
Pascal Brun, the Sustainability Manager of the company said that going forward; they’ll be using more bio-based materials and by-products in their upcoming collections.
Brun further noted that it’s not only about materials, but also about how to design clothes that last and focus on their eventual recycling and how to motivate sustainable attitude in their customers.
In a way, they’re focused on a holistic approach to sustainability.
H&M’s Conscious Collection
Last year, their Conscious Collection included vegan leather from pineapple and silk from orange.
Ann-Sofie Johansson, the company’s creative advisor, said about the collection that it was an exploration of the beauty in nature which is shown through the prints and the flowing silhouettes, striking color palette, and attention to detail.
They’re even more excited to welcome new vegan and sustainable materials and make high performing, fashionable, and good-looking clothes that make a statement, yet are easy to wear.
Sustainable Clothes & Footwear Is Becoming more & more Popular
H&M isn’t the sole brand to improve their materials- recently, the sportswear giant Adidas pledged to use recycled polyester and plastic waste in more than 50 percent of their products.
They’ll also be releasing new products made from renewable bio-materials from cellulose and yam-based yeast.
Reebok, a subsidiary of Adidas, launched vegan shoes that don’t have petroleum plastics. They’re made of natural rubber, eucalyptus, and algae foam.
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