H&M finds way to recycle fabric blends

Since the 2013 launch of its Garment Collecting Initiative, which paved the way for the company's Close-The-Loop Collection, Sweden-based fast fashion giant H&M has been finding ways to further reduce its ecological footprint. A tough task, given that the fast fashion industry is among the biggest contributors to environmental degradation.

Recently, the brand's charity and investment arm H&M Foundation in collaboration with the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles announced a major breakthrough in textile recycling - recycling fabric blends into fibers that can used for new textile production.

According to H&M, the new process "uses a combination of heat, water and 5 percent biodegradable agent to separate cotton from polyester into high-quality reusable materials."

At present, textile recycling is mostly done mechanically, where materials are churned and cut down. The method does not work well with fabric blends as it results in poor quality fibers that need to be blended with new materials in order to be suited for production. But due to reasons relating to costs, comfort and design, the vast majority of textiles used in production today are blends.

H&M hopes the technology will be commercialized and available to the entire fashion industry by 2020. The company has invested 6 million euros or more than $7 million in the project while the Hong Kong government has spent 24 million euro or about $28 million.