What is H&M’s Fashion Resell Program?

The first question to be asked: Is H&M fast fashion? 

According to Google, “H&M is the world’s second largest fast-fashion business, meaning it offers thousands of new items every week which encourages waste that ends up in landfill. The business model encourages the rotation of fashion trends and new garments, which in turn encourages the public to always want more” (Wear Next). 

H&M is one of the most successful fast fashion brands, thriving off their 52-season motto. However, the company has faced its own share of hatred due to the “promotion of ‘disposable’ fashion and constant rotations of new trends and products [which have] a huge environmental impact.” As a result, an increasing amount of cheap clothing ends up in landfill after only a few wears (“How Ethical is H&M?”). 

To fight critics regarding their unintentional lack of empathy toward environmental and humanitarian causes (a consequence of any fast fashion company)- H&M has decided to jumpstart a clothing reselling program. 

With the Resell Market growing, along with a fondness for thrifting and self-made clothing- H&M has started their ““H&M Rewear,” a “one-stop digital customer to customer (C2C) resell destination” powered by London-based Resale-as-a-Service (RaaS) technology company Reflaunt” (Fashion United).

The general idea of C2C is to demote fast fashion culture with the constant cycle of buying and disposing. Canadian customers are able to buy and sell previously-worn fashion items without any brand restrictions. Meaning, this resell motive, though created by H&M, allows items from any company to be resold. 

Frederic Tavoukdjian, country manager of H&M Canada, explains “[We] want to provide a destination for Canadians to become active participants in circularity and find new homes for garments from any brand in their closet.” Overall, he stresses the importance of being inclusive to all brands (Fashion United).

This resell program is the latest step in recommerce. With the launch date getting closer (set to release on September 7th), the company’s sustainable development goals are simultaneously being reached. The new system enabled a search engine for H&M products which works by entering the product number from care label; picture retouching for a “premium visual experience”; and a price recommendation algorithm to help sellers improve their chances of selling successfully.

“Although we offer garment collecting in our stores, we felt it was important to find a second way for our customers to recycle their clothing,” said Geraldine Maunier-Rossi, head of marketing for H&M Canada. (Fashion United).