H&M Is Now Using Orange ‘Silk’ and Pineapple Leather

H&M just dropped its new Conscious Exclusive collection, featuring pieces made from vegan pineapple leather and orange silk.

Pieces include a Piñatex vegan leather jacket featuring animal print and silver pineapple leather details, which has matching boots and a bag. Flowy dresses made with Orange Fiber’s vegan citrus peel-derived silk and tops made with Tencel, a lyocell fiber made from tree pulp, are also featured in the collection. Other materials include recycled polyester, sequins, glass, metal, and plastic for a variety of clothing and accessories.

“For this collection, we explored the beauty in nature, which shows in the prints, as well as the flowy silhouettes, the striking color palette and the attention to detail. We’re thrilled to introduce new plant-based sustainable materials to create high-performing, beautiful and fashionable pieces that are statement-making yet so easy to wear,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, Creative Advisor at H&M.

Moving Toward Sustainable Fashion

This isn’t the first time the fast fashion retail giant has aimed to move toward a more eco-conscious future of fashion. According to a report released last April, H&M aims to use only recycled or sustainable materials by 2030.

The fashion industry is the third-largest polluter in the world behind oil. Americans throw away about 15 million tons of textiles per year, the majority of which can be recycled. Globally, the apparel industry accounts for 10 percent of carbon emissions, with much of it having to do with fast fashion. Burning unsold clothes is a common practice in the fashion industry, according to the Huffington Post.

H&M has made changes to how it deals with unsold clothing following a 2010 report that found the retailer cut up unsold clothing. As of earlier this month, 57 percent of the materials the company uses meet this criteria. Along with the new Conscious Exclusive collection using vegan pineapple leather, H&M has also highlighted wine leather.

Recycling textiles is one way that the industry can reduce waste, but it’s a double-edged sword. According to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Clean Production, avoiding production is potentially the best way the fashion industry can reduce its environmental impact.

H&M’s new Conscious Exclusive collection launches on April 11 in select stores worldwide and online.