What is World Recycle Week and should you care?
Earlier this week H&M, one of the world's leading fast fashion corporations, launched a new campaign dedicated to collecting 1,000 tons of unwanted clothing. During this week H&M will be accepting clothing donations to its 3,600 stores around the world and continuing this all year long. The goal is to set a trend around recycled clothing to close the loop.
Who other than female artist M.I.A. to be the face of the campaign?
Her music video launched a few days ago and was shared amongst social media outlets. This was a wise branding move for H&M to choose her, as M.I.A.'s credibility as a female artist represents the non-Western culture and criticizes the impact western pop-culture has on the world.
On the other side, is the question of authenticity. Is all this just a marketing stunt for H&M to pose as "sustainable" to win over those people who don't give in to fast fashion? It seems that way because the action of walking into an H&M store to donate clothes might entice you to buy even more clothes - also known as greenwashing.
Fashion is the second largest pollutant in the world, and a huge contribution to that is waste management.
There is a reason companies, thrift shops, and donation centers already exist - for you to donate your unwanted clothes. Even in the mass market industry, Uniqlo has been recycling their clothing for years as part of their corporate social responsibility.