Circular economy is one of the buzziest topics in fashion at the moment, as companies look to reuse old stock in a bid to reduce the environmental impact of a widely renowned wasteful industry.
Swedish high street giant H&M is the latest to try its hand at adopting this idea, with the news it will be opening pop-ups to sell "vintage" pieces.
The pieces on offer will be from the brand's more fashion-forward line – H&M Studio – rather than its normal stock. H&M Studio has long been the company’s experimental arm, creating out-there fashion collections aimed more at Paris Fashion Week crowds than the high street. It presents two see-now, buy-now collections a year as part of the Paris calendar.
Such avante-garde pieces are not to everyone’s taste, naturally, and those that did not sell were stored away. Now, realising it is better to reuse pieces rather than simply let them gather dust, the company is launching two shops to sell past collections.
At present, the stores will only be in Sweden's Stockholm and Berlin, German, but there are plans to hopefully expand. H&M is partnering with Swedish vintage store Selpy to offer a curated selection of past H&M Studio pieces in four more stores.
Trying to encourage the reusing of clothes among customers, Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s creative advisor, explained: “We need to be circular [and] we know that a big piece of that is reuse.
"It's a matter of seeing every garment as [if] it doesn't just have one life, [but] it has maybe nine lives—like a cat," she told Vogue.
Fast-fashion stores that offer items at rock-bottom prices have drawn heavy criticism for the pollution they are driving and for encouraging a 'throw-away' culture towards clothes.
In an effort to overturn that reputation, H&M has consistently been working on ways to reduce waste, pollution and the use of chemicals.
In October 2020 it launched Looop in one of its Stockholm stores. A machine the size of a shipping container, it enables customers to bring in an old garment and watch the machine turn it into something new. The machine cleans the items, cuts it into mulch and then spins it into new thread. The threads are then woven into a new garment.
Almost a completely closed system, it only needs a fraction of virgin fibres to make the new garment, and uses no water or chemicals.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Mountain%20Boy
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Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EDate%20started%3A%20January%202022%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Omar%20Abu%20Innab%2C%20Silvia%20Eldawi%2C%20Walid%20Shihabi%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20PropTech%20%2F%20investment%3Cbr%3EEmployees%3A%2040%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Seed%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Multiple%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')
Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')
Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The%20Crown%20season%205
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Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
