H&M launches its seventh Conscious Exclusive collection [Photo by He Qi/China Daily]

Swedish retail giant H&M, known for its fast-fashion clothing for men, women, teenagers and children, launched its seventh Conscious Exclusive collection which uses renewable, recycled and sustainable materials to encourage environmental protection.

The collection, which launched on April 19, includes women's clothing, underwear, shoes and accessories and draws inspiration from the work of prominent 20th century Swedish artist and designer, Karin Larsson.

Using elements from Larsson's handmade tapestries and embroidery, the collection also reflects her love of interior design.

The color palette for the collection is predominantly green, white and black, with elements of dusky blue and powder pink and, alongside organic cottons, linens and silks, as well as Tencel and recycled polyester, H&M has introduced a new material: Econyl - a 100 percent regenerated nylon fiber made from recycled fishing nets and other nylon waste, which will be used to craft intricate pieces of lace.

Some of the most eye-catching offerings include a long sleeveless white dress, made with cotton and Econyl, and a gold and silver silk jacquard green floral dress constructed from recycled polyester.

"For this collection, we want to show how beautiful sustainable fashion can look," says Ann-Sofie Johansson, the creative adviser of H&M. She believes that there are still a lot of misconceptions about sustainable fashion and people still think it's about beige or unbleached fabrics.

"With this collection we want to show that you can create high-end fashion," she added, "really beautiful and pleasurable to wear, while at the same time still being sustainable."

H&M is one of the world's leading fashion retailers that insist on delivering sustainable fashion and design. In 2013, about 11 percent of their products were created using regenerated or other sustainably-sourced materials. By 2017, that number had jumped to 35 percent and the company recycled 17,771 tons of clothes.

"Our goal is to only use regenerated or other sustainable sources by 2030," explains Cecilia Stromblad Brannsten, the acting environmental sustainability manager of H&M. "We are using this method to provide environmentally-friendly clothing to more people and to promote these materials and manufacturing techniques."

Aside from the new clothing materials, in a bid to lower the impact of pollution caused by mining, H&M has also introduced jewelry and accessories using recycled silver. The precious metal is extracted and refined from old candlesticks, sterling silver flatware, coins and scrap jewelry.

According to Ann, any product that wants to carry the Conscious Exclusive label must contain at least 50 percent sustainable fabric.

One hundred percent is not always possible, concedes Johansson, because the fashion part has to be guaranteed.

"We want the pieces to be good and to be beautiful, because we are a fashion company first and foremost, then we add the sustainability," she notes.

Even though the company is trying to achieve a goal, it still faces difficulties and challenges, mostly with the limitations of recycling technology and techniques. The biggest challenge is the decomposition of the recycled materials.

"The techniques are not matured yet for the whole industry, and current process makes the lifetime of the resultant fabric short and nondurable," Johansson laments, adding that many recycled clothes are only good for one regeneration.

However, she remains positive about the future of sustainable clothing and recycling because the company is experimenting with new techniques and there is a growing demand for it.

"Our Conscious Exclusive collection is very popular, people want to buy sustainable fashion products, and we want to provide it for them in affordable and more accessible ways," she concludes, "and our next collection in 2019 will include men's clothing as well."