One of the big news during Paris Fashion Week was H&M's Autumn/Winter 2013 ready-to-wear show at the Rodin Museum. High street retailers showcasing in glamorous locations affordable clothes mainly produced by exploiting other countries is definitely not new in the history of contemporary fashion. Yet this post is not meant to focus on H&M's range for the next season or on the fact that it will probably feature pieces made employing more expensive fabrics, it is indeed about a fabric dilemma that comes from the label of an H&M garment from the S/S 13 collection of the Swedish giant.
The item in question is a pair of fluorescent pink pants in a light summery fabric that you will probably be able to find in any H&M store near you. Their label reads: “Warning! The colour of this garment may transfer onto light coloured materials.”
Now, the question is if the fabric releases something say on a white sofa on which the wearer of the above mentioned pants will be sitting, it is likely to release dyes also on the skin of the wearer. Consider also that these are summery pants and that sweating is likely to occur if you will be wearing them in very high temperatures, so you naturally wonder what will happen once the fabric absorbs sweat and if more dyes will be released in this case.
So the first question is: are the dyes released by garments that have this label toxic for the environment or dangerous for the wearer? If they are, in which ways does H&M comply with the Greenpeace call to reduce toxic materials in fabrics and textiles? (in the Toxic Threads report issued at the end of last year, Greenpeace stated H&M had committed to work with their suppliers to cut their toxic abuse signing the Detox Challenge)
Besides, why are consumers constantly taken around by retailers promising to comply with non toxic regulations but keeping on producing questionable garments? Do they expect us to keep on buying their products all the same, even when they put a label that may question the safety of that specific garment? H&M recently started collecting old or unwanted garments in some of their stores with the promise of recycling them, so why are they tarnishing their (already tarnished) reputation by selling something that may be potentially dangerous?
It would be great to receive clarifications and explanations not just by H&M but by all the retailers taking around consumers in this way or thinking we will buy all the same something that may be unsafe for our health just to follow a trend.
Ann-Sofie Johansson, head of design at H&M, told the press during a preview of the collection in Paris that the team behind it was inspired by a sort of modern drama. Though they had in mind a grunge and bohemian hip drama, high street affordability seems to be hinting once again at a very different kind of drama that implies health and safety risks for the consumers of fast trends all over the world.
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Comments