H&M launches unisex denim collection with sustainability focus

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 9, 2017

H&M is continuing to be one of the most interesting retailers in the sustainability and gender-neutral fashion space and has announced that it will launch Denim United later this month.

The new collection, which will be available in-store and online, is a unisex denim collection that it says taps into ‘normcore’ style and also makes use of sustainable fabrics.

Launching on March 23, the company said that the new offer means “his and hers clothing are one in the same, blurring borders and challenging norms. Traditional style is revisited with menswear and womenswear, borrowing both materials and silhouettes from one another. The result is a sustainable, modern collection for everyone.”

H&M Spokesperson Marybeth Schmitt added: ”It is very natural for us to launch a unisex collection as fashion is constantly evolving and intersecting and today we see there are no boundaries in democratic style. Fashion should always be inclusive.”

What that means in practice is a series of oversized silhouettes and casual mix-and-match pieces such as workwear jackets, overalls, and slouchy shorts in a range of washes.

And the company said the garments in the Denim United collection are all being made with more sustainable materials such as organic cotton and recycled cotton.

H&M is perhaps the most prominent among the big retail chains to take a  pro-active approach to sustainability. Its Conscious Collection, for instance, has embraced a sustainable supply chain for several years and last year also moved into areas such as evening and bridalwear with Conscious Exclusive.

So far this year, the company has added an extra element to Conscious Exclusive with the use of pioneering sustainable material Bionic. As the debate around recycling and sustainability has moved to ocean plastic with both fashion and beauty brands working to reduce such waste, the company said last month that it is using a recycled polyester made from plastic shoreline waste in the latest collection.