Lately, sustainable style is trending and I don't think anyone would argue that it's not a good thing. This month H&M released a collection made entirely from sustainable fabrics and focused on creating a more sustainable future in fashion. At the risk of sounding snobbish, I was once an avid H&M shopper, but as I've grown older, I've converted from a fast fashion addict to a conscious seeker of quality and substance. In my high school and college days, I would wander into an H&M or a Forever 21 and want everything in sight, but these days, everything on their racks screams "cheap, cheap, cheap!" rather than "chic, chic, chic!" As much as it pains me sometimes to shop in a higher price bracket, I think that if we value our money, when we spend it, we should ask what it's supporting and pause for a moment to question: "Where do my clothes come from?" To some it may be just a sweater, but is it ethical? Will it last? Fashion should not be disposable.
In H&M's new Conscious collection, the brand is making a respectable effort to utilize more sustainable textiles. Items in the collection (ranging in price from $7.95 for a jersey tank top to $199 for a pleated leather skirt) are crafted from organic cotton, Lyocell (cellulose-based), organic hemp, vegetable-tanned leather, organic mulberry silk and recycled polyester. Honestly, I'm not informed on the details of the sourcing and manufacturing of this collection to be able to call this collection 100% sustainable, but I do feel that H&M deserves to be applauded for moving fast fashion in this direction! (And can I say how much I'm dying for that leather skirt??)
Here are some of my other favorite items in the collection: