Take Care: for the climate-conscious customer
There are many ways to limit the environmental impact of fashion. Here’s how H&M helps the climate-conscious customer to take good care of the garments they wear through their initiative Take Care.
How do you help to minimise fashion’s footprint and limit the environmental impact of your latest fashion purchase? You maximise its lifespan. And when it comes to clothing, this means caring for it in a climate-smart way.
At H&M, it’s all about fostering a culture of sustainable garment care and promoting climate-friendly washing practices. Why pick a 40° cycle, for example, when often — in the absence of any truly stubborn stains — a 30° wash will do the trick? Why not do your garments a favour and hang them out to dry and switch off your energy-munching, CO2-spewing, tumble dryer for good? Be kind to the planet and be kind to your clothes!
Such basic changes in behaviour are the things that make a difference, vastly reducing the overall footprint of the fashion items we wear, and increasing prolonging their life. A quick glance at the Clevercare label attached to any H&M garment will help to keep you on track.
For in this climate-conscious age, we can’t afford to keep buying and disposing of products as if there were no tomorrow; those days are well and truly over. That’s why H&M has long been offering customers opportunities to act smart and make informed sustainable choices.
“Many customers want to take care of their favourite wardrobe pieces, but often don’t know how. With Take Care, we can offer them guidance and provide the services and products to make it happen.”
Today, H&M has introduced the Take Care concept in several different markets to inspire and enable customers to care for their fashion favourites in just the right way — from the moment they leave the store to the time they bring them back for reuse and recycling. The brand also offer guidance on stain removal, smart repairs and easy modifications as well as hands-on support.
Here are a few of our more thought-provoking climate-conscious Take Care tips:
· Instead of washing jeans, store them in the freezer overnight to kill any bacteria.
· Soak your whites in hot water and lemon juice overnight to brighten them up.
· Air your clothes (especially woollen sweaters which have their own self-cleaning built-in antibacterial properties) outdoors instead of washing them, and let the wind do the work.
So far, several of the brands within the H&M Group are running Take Care initiatives tailored to their particular customers and aligned with their individual brand identity.
H&M ran an initial pilot of the Take Care concept in Germany to allow the first group of H&M lovers to give their garments a long, environmentally sound life. Since then, H&M have taken the concept to France, the UK, Sweden, and Norway, and this year they will be introducing it to an even broader range of markets.
Essentially, the idea is to love and wear your H&M pieces until the very end, then bring them back to life and wear them some more. And there are all sorts of ways to help you do that. H&M offer tips online on how to protect clothes from wear and tear in the wash, and they even have eco-friendly laundry detergents in the assortment as well as innovative washing bags that prevent the release of micro fibres into waterways.
When our fashion favourites become torn and tattered, we have a choice: yes, they might look like they belong in the bin. And yes, working on a revamp takes time. But there’s nothing like a bit of love and attention to breathe new life into your worn-out wardrobe. At H&M, you can purchase sewing kits and decorative patches to help you liven up your look. And remember, a stitch in time saves nine.
Johan Lindström, Take Care Group Manager at H&M, says: “Many customers want to take care of their favourite wardrobe pieces, but often don’t know how. With Take Care, we can offer them guidance and provide the services and products to make it happen.”