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Sting operation alleges H&M burnt 60 tons of unsold apparel

Recently, Operation X journalists from a Danish TV program began investigating what H&M did with its new, unsold apparel which led them to Denmark-based waste disposal company KARA/NOVEREN where they allegedly witnessed H&M garments being delivered to the company prior to incineration.

The H&M Group is reported to have burnt approximately 60 tonnes of new, unsold garments since 2013. The retailer, however, has denied the allegations. “For H&M to send our products for incineration is very rare, it’s only done when they do not fulfil our safety regulations — if they are mould infested or do not fulfil our strict chemical requirements.”

Industry experts, note that H&M could be burning apparel due to overproduction. This is a common dilemma for fast fashion retailers, including H&M and Zara, who constantly bring out new styles.

The investigation revealed that H&M delivered these garments to the above mentioned facility about five times a year to be burned; items of clothing includes cowboy-themed trousers for children and dark blue women’s pants with price tags attached.

Earlier the investigating team managed to get two different pairs of pants sent to this agency, to be burned, and sent them to an independent laboratory. The team also bought two similar pairs of pants at an H&M store and also sent them to the lab to be tested, to find out if there were differences in the chemicals present in the trousers to be incinerated and the ones they purchased. Test results showed that the trousers sent to be burned didn’t possess any harmful chemicals and had normal amounts of bacteria.

H&M announced that most new and unsold apparel is donated to charity, or recycled and put back into the fashion sphere. The retailer said that it plans to have 100 per cent of its materials come from recycled or sustainable sources, including organic cotton, by 2030.

 
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