why fashion take-back programs are problematic (also H&M got busted)

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• THE IMPACT OF FAST FAS... (the impact of fast fashion)
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• ENVIRONMENTALIST REACT... (greenwashing reaction)
• ENVIRONMENTALIST REACT... (greenwashing reaction)
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[@Reiko29DBS]

As someone who dumpster dives at universities, I can correct you. Most people would throw away a perfectly good piece of clothing. I frequently dive at the end of every semester and donate most of the clothes I find.

[@itsamilkshake]

Universities are a great place to dumpster dive. I once found an outdated natural science textbook with minor water damage. They were throwing away a ton of outdated textbooks. And the students dump everything when they go back to home for the summer. It’s a great way to get free stuff off the curb.

[@electriclilies2642]

When I was at college I did throw out a bunch of stuff at the end of the semester. I had no storage at college and had to move thousands of miles for the summer. There was nowhere to donate or recycle nearby, no public transit and I didn’t have a car so I couldn’t drive my stuff to a donation center. Since most other students were leaving as well there was a limited market for reselling to other students at the end of the year. If you could store until the fall then you could sell to other students. It was a sucky situation

[@karobythell4425]

Youre awesome to be such an eco warrior as it takes time , but ultimately everyone benefits . The person who maybe cant take their things 100s of miles home with them , & only has public transport , the thrift shops who onsell to fund their community based ventures , you as the finder , the cool things & a great sense of doing the right thing ... and the person who walks into the thrift shop hoping to avoid fast fashion buys .

[@humwengus1204]

I'm surprised that more universities don't have circular economy projects. At Lancaster Uni they have a donation project where people sort through donations and give to charity and resell items later in the year for new coming students. Just think about how much waste could be prevented if every uni had something like this🤯

[@MsJosiejo32]

I'm getting endless adverts for temu, no matter how often I block them. It breaks my heart knowing that people are buying things for pennies, wearing them a couple of times, then chucking/donating, even though they wont get reworn because of the terrible quality. Items which were likely made by severely underpaid and poorly treated workers, in the countries which will get polluted by these plastic pieces of crap getting shipped back to them a year later. It should be criminal!!

[@rikkemeek1506]

So true. They are just as bad as WISH and SHEIN. People rather buy cheap than spending a bit more to get prober clothes that can last for years.

[@jeantienhelder4534]

This!! I have been bombarded with these adverts and it really grinds my gears.. And you are right , these kinda companies should be illegal.

[@denisemarie485]

Tired of Google giving me these as my main or only options when I am searching for anything on the internet. Google can shove Amazon, Temu and others where the sun don't shine! People are materialistic and will purchase any junk no matter the cost to workers or the planet. Makes me sick 🤢

[@enidan_]

I got a Temu ad before this video, I get these ads all the time, and it enrages me so much for the same reasons you stated. It's just awful

[@ecofriendlyadventures5154]

Oh, I am literally losing my shit with Temu. I don't use anything like it, I don't visit any sites like it, and yet I am bombarded with ads for them! I keep clicking to flag it as irrelevant, but they have sooooo many f-ing ads, that they just keep coming! I can't even block them in anyway, and I am so at the end of my tether with it. I even gave Google feedback about it, telling them to just let me block advertisers that I don't want to see content from. I have even started to ping them as inappropriate to try to get rid of them.

[@kat_thefruitbat]

I am 100% not surprised, but I am so glad this terrible company has been officially caught in the act and exposed. I hope everyone who does believe in this scam will hear the evident truth about it very soon. Thank you for helping to spread the word! ❤

[@laurennightshade]

This is why all my clothes are second hand. The weird thing is people constantly ask where my clothes are from. A unique fashion sense can't be bought and I live in a small home with a small wardrobe. I think most people don't understand what suits them and buy many things they won't wear again. I wear 4 colours and know what siloutes flatter my body. I don't deviate from that even though it hasn't changed in 20 years sometimes what works, works .

[@laurennightshade]

Having watched the video further. I am mad that so many usable clothes are destroyed. I previously lived in Africa which is actually a textile dumping ground for the west but I saw so many people without appropriate clothing or footwear. Why? Because they were being 'donated' things that were unusable and had to bear the expense and environmental impact of disposing of said items.

[@denisemarie485]

I agree! I buy most of my clothes secondhand and run with my own fashion. I don't let trends dictate what I should or should not wear. Trendy seasonal colors are just a scam. Every person has a set of colors they can wear that goes well with their skin tone and age to look their best.

[@TranquilityChiba]

I think the part of the tracking that frustrated me is in German (or at least Heidelberg) second hand stores are very curated. So if you aren't looking for hipster or on trend you can't find the out of trend stuff people brought back. Also I have major beef with Goodwill in America. Their prices are rising so much but we know they still are hardly paying their disabled employees.

[@lesliehyde]

I live in a state where Goodwill is freaking HUGE. Of all the times I've been to the at least 5 (could be 8) in my county, I've never seen an employee that could be considered disabled (the type that I am talking about are visibly disabled, the very type that they claim to look to hire). (I'm not saying that the people who I've seen aren't invisibly disabled but as a person who is with several invisible disabilities, there are a few quite SUBTLE sort of not able to notice unless you know the signs, but I haven't seen anyone unless they are hired to be non-customer facing which is deplorable at minimum.) But, yeah, I haven't seen any customer facing employees at any of the Goodwill stores with visible disabilities in any of the stores in my area.

[@TranquilityChiba]

@@lesliehyde from what I understand of the company they don't hire disabled people for customer facing jobs, generally. The jobs mostly talked about it putting clothes on hangers and tagging items. I remember one interview with a blind woman talking about how she was payed so little it cost more to get to work than her pay. I believe there was also reports of Goodwill lobbying to not have to pay disabled employees more. But I will admit I'm fuzzy on those details.

[@itsamilkshake]

Thank you for sharing that article. Hey, you can tell H&M is a waste just by going in the store - piles and piles of fabric everywhere. A baffling amount of “stuff”! Aside, I saw a company online that recycled plastic into socks. Why the hell make a wear item out of plastic? We don’t need anymore tiny plastics everywhere!

[@kelleenbrx6649]

It's been really interesting following Pattie Gonia- a drag queen in the US with a focus on. sustainability in drag shows, as well as getting more involved in the outdoors. There's been great collaborations with the Audubon Society and Northface.

[@Gittemary]

I follow Pattie Gonia as well 🌿🤙😎

[@TheGPFilmMaker]

The only "Take back" programs I like are ones where the company will refurbish the item and send it back to you. Those are really cool!

[@squidleyskidley]

Any suggestions for these?

[@TheGPFilmMaker]

@@squidleyskidley I believe Vivobarefoot does it and I know Patagonia does too!

[@simoneclarke5104]

I would love to see you do an impact video on cremation vs standard burial (I realize how wonderful green burial is, but so unattainable for most families). Thank you for all your hard work researching 🥰

[@Gittemary]

I already posted that, it’s called the environmental impact of death 🤙

[@amandaglynn3840]

We have a bill being worked on right now in California for textile recovery! It would require the creation of a textile EPR program to ensure producers of textiles are recycling textiles responsibly. It passed the state senate and is now in the assembly. I'm hoping it passes there, because the governor is sure to sign it. I actually work for the state recycling dept (we manage basically all non-toxic waste, not just recycling) but for the packaging EPR program that was established after we passed the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act last year.

[@sustainfem]

This is heartbreaking. I do love when you expose these terrible companies for what they are. And their solution is to just produce even more clothing! Oh, that makes sense (in what universe?)!! Please make more of these videos.

[@JBaxter-pi8oj]

Rage and hope. I think that's a good title for a book about this era! And yes, these companies certainly need to be held accountable.

[@denisemarie485]

Thanks for updating us on H&M with their greenwashing ❤ Can't stand this terrible company with a passion! 😡🤬

[@antarktiida]

some changes should be coming soon, at least in the EU where separate textile collection systems will be mandatory from 2025. this should force clothing companies to finance the collection efforts. hopefully we also see more focus on real textiles recycling, not just incineration

[@ufoparkinginc.8782]

Thank you for making this type of content! It always helps to keep in mind how many greenwashing is out there going on and it also reminds to always be critical about shopping decisions🧐 Hope you get better soon!🤗🤗🤗

[@rikkemeek1506]

You are so right about being more critical about what and how we buy stuff( Clothes, food etc) We have become lazy because you can buy the world by the click of a botton.

[@Kx____]

i have been (mostly) buying second-hand clothes for a long time now and it's crazy how many perfectly beautiful pieces of clothes people get rid of

[@nurobot]

Thank you for talking about this ❤ have you ever thought of doing a colab with Fashion Revolution? I think that would be cool. I have worked with them before to organise a mending workshop and panel discussion about fast fashion impact on the environment and people!

[@gracewaterlilly8023]

When the recycle boxes first appeared at my local H&M I wanted to put a bag with "mixed" clothes in there (H&M and other brands) The employee told me I could only put the H&M clothes in there I was really confused so I took everything back home

[@pulpostr123]

I haven't bought clothes in over 5 years! My friends and family just give me their clothing, often times unused, lots of it, I don't know what to do with so much.

[@PhysicsLaure]

Education plays a big role. Most people struggle to judge whether a garment will hold after 20 washes, even when more expensive. It feels like a crapshoot so we don't feel like risking money on a gamble. I bought several more expensive pieces (especially shoes), that collapsed as fast as cheaper ones 😢

[@samanthatheminimalist]

I love secondhand clothes for that reason, you can often tell if it’s held up through some use! I’ve had many fast fashion pieces I bought secondhand last a few years!

[@joyruppert4710]

Oh the shoes.. I still get mad about it. Once I bought a pair of timberlands. On sale but expensive. They weren't the originals but a sneaker version of them, but whatever. Two weeks later, I walked through a city in the rain, and the soles just fell off! The glue wasn't waterproof enough to handle some rain for a day! I hated timberlands ever since and distrust every "midrange brands". Like, you know Shein is crap, but I used to expect more from expensive brands. I had a similar experience with a Calvin Klein coat. A summer trench coat made of one layer of lyocel, so no wool or padding or interfacing that wouldn't be able to handle washing, right!?. It got dirty so I washed it carefully in a delicate cycle and hang dried it. But then it turned out the colour of the fabric was completely ruined in a weird marbled pattern (sadly not in a cool way)! How can an expensive coat not even handle a delicate wash 😢 Same with their underwear btw, after one cold wash they looked shoddy AF. I now only buy second hand or from ethical/sustainable companies that advertise they make clothes to actually last.

[@karolinakuc4783]

True. But Bonprix has very good quality. Still fast fashion but good quality clothes. Colours never fade when you use good washing tabs, dyes don't make your skin itchy, but wash a piece before wearing. They give you 100% cotton. Still you gotta be careful to read what lace and etc. is made of

[@diamondzieman5508]

I love this! Thank you for the amazing content. I looked at your channel because this video is the topic I have been searching for and I looked at your playlist and it just all has all the good sustainable, informational and environmental things I love. New subscriber and I'm gong to be binge watching you for days now

[@thabbyr]

On top of all these, let's not forget the innumerous issues with labor H&M (and other companies such as The Gap, Walmart, Zara, etc.) have faced over the years, mostly regarding the conditions workers are subjected in their factories. I hate these brands so much that I don't even buy them second hand.

[@Gittemary]

Completely separate issue, a shitter issue one could argue. But yeah, and I have covered this in both the greenwashing vids as well as in the impact of fast fashion video. There is no sustainable supply chain without workers’ rights

[@user-ym1dh689]

The thing is textile is so hard to recycle. They can't separate polyester from cotton and other materials when breaking down clothes into fabric. So all these recycle programs in these fast fashion stores are almost always big fat lies

[@AlexS-oj8qf]

I bought HnM at the fraction of the in-store cost. It's an "export reject" and the only issue is that I found is that they misplace the tags (it's a bit off-centered) . I rarely bought clothes but this time I splurge on the things I want because the last time I buy is 2012 😆 Good investment on the price.

[@sustainablegremlin]

I know donated clothing often ends up in landfills, but do you know anything about clothing dropped into the for-profit bins? I'm not sure if it's specific to the USA, but it's those big metal bins you find in parking lots. I have always figured that if they're selling the clothing, there's a better chance of it actually getting used. (Although now that I think of it, thrift stores sell the clothing too, so maybe that doesn't make sense.)

[@geode9512]

Imagine being one of the top managers or shareholders of hm. Like how on earth do they live and sleep at night knowingly destroying the planet.

[@spannajupiter]

Just makes me think were i can take my cloths. Like i knew not everything is recycled bit for ripped torn clothing has best chance. Is there a better option. Yes we have used some as rags repaired etc

[@rikkemeek1506]

Would it be possible in your area to donate to a design/ fashion school?

[@spannajupiter]

@@rikkemeek1506 dont think so but ill ask

[@kristinaherrmann898]

My sister just hired a stylist. She told her what colours and forms fit to her und unfortunately most of her clothes don't fit. My sister will donate almost everything, some pieces will be sold on Vinted. Now she needs a few new clothes. I begged her to shop second hand and shared this video with her. Although she would not bu fast fashion, you share generel informations about the fashion industrie. I really hope, she follows my advice....

[@trudie5284]

Thankyou so much for this video, i just hope more people will opt out of fast fashion. Second hand & slow, ethical made fashion all the way!

[@Gittemary]

and reposting, and using what we already have 🌿💚

[@sir9integra9jr]

My local thrift stores are 90% filled with disposable crap from shein/temu/amazon. It's really a bummer because the quality of these items barely justifies even the thrift store price. I can only image how much stuff goes unsold and gets chucked from these stores now because nobody wants to buy these junk items that constitute most of the store's inventory

[@karobythell4425]

Wow ! In NZ and the first to comment ! Hope your throat gets better soon dearheart : )

[@LittleRedTeaCake]

I remember looking into the program, probably 10 years ago when they started it and I just, was not impressed at all and opted not to.

[@maudesills-neron4698]

As somebody who works in the media, I would be very interested to dive further in the subject. I'll try to get the article in english. As somebody who wants to do the least pollution with textiles, I'm really disappointed. We don't have textile recycling programs where I live, so my strategy was, I something doesn't fit me anymore, but is still in excellent condition, I sale the item; If something doesn't fit me anymore, but is in good condition, I donate it to a second hand shop; If something is no longer usable, I try to see if I can make something out of it AND THEN, if all of those are not possible, I would bring it to the H&M take back program (a long walk from home), because it is the only recycling program around me...

[@lauracanna2201]

Thanks for this beautiful, honest video ❤

[@nicolapepi1590]

Love love love for this video, thank you!!

[@carlausai4554]

Hi Gittemary, thanks for this video. I was wondering if you have any information about what happens with other "recycling" programs. I've seen (and dropped old clothes in) collection boxes at Mango and Uniqlo, for example. Thanks!

[@karolinakuc4783]

Uniqlo repairs clothes but if itis an open tear of a few centimeters they will not repair Patagonia as well. Skilled tailor could repair even a tear as nasty as that but it would take as much of time as making a new piece and sews would be visible and hence unaesthetic

[@YasamanJoaquin]

Really interesting! And sad 😢😢

[@bittertea]

Great Sources. :D

[@Ella-wq9tq]

yes yes yes. as always your videos are really great, thank you for the work you're doing :)

[@megantorri1711]

Love when you get on a rage girl!! Keep it up.❤

[@Gittemary]

that rage gets me up in the morning 🔥

[@asagne]

This wasn't surprising. I was dumping bag of old, worn out, holy, dirty clothes to HM bin, at first I was taking a cupon and buying socks or underwear, but last time I just left it here. I don't know better place to leave textile trash where I live. I saw a donations bins in town, but I don't want to clog donations with unwearable items, so I was hoping that HM will take some responsibility or will be forced by laws and consumers to do it.

[@rikkemeek1506]

I love it when GitteMary litteraly brings the tea😁🫖 Hope you feel better soon.

[@akoscsonka6802]

What should I do with those clothes which are in bad condition like holes and no one would wear it again. Moreover, i cannot even sew them well. What should I do? Does anyone have suggestion?

[@anamariastrat1101]

I did the take back to H&M in Romania as I really believed that are honest and they gave a voucher of 2£ each time .

[@designereyebags]

i’m a seasonal employee at h&m right now 😭 the greenwashing stuff is literally in the training material for sales advisors; literal gaslighting

[@leandracooper1534]

There's a few documentaries out there regarding this. They're kind of hard to find but it does actually show where they end up. It doesn't strictly just say H and M but there are other companies involved. They end up in like the poorest of 3rd world countries in giant bundles and these bundles. They don't know what's gonna be in them if they're gonna be good or bad. then the people buy and try to sell what they can. Most the people don't even break even.😢

[@akoscsonka6802]

Then what would be the best solution? I use to take my clothes into charity what I never wear again and has great quailty.

[@saskiauiterwaal9588]

I just put a bag in the H&M recycling box today 🙈 I repair my clothes if it’s possible. But I use the H&M-box for clothes and beddingsheets etc that are really too torn to fix. It would be so great if the cotton will be recycled, is there an better option than H&M that does this? (And/or is it better to put the clothes maybe directly in the garbage instead of shipping it to third world countries?)

[@ReactiveDogDiaries]

Not that it matters I guess, but fact check. Airplanes are the #1 problem for global CO2 emissions, I would know this because I’m an aviation major. 😊 12% actually.

[@claytonelofgren]

H&M is good at spotting trends and what clothes should look like but there clothes have a short life

[@IamaDanish]

At the end of the day, H&M is a business though and expecting them to singlehandedly end capitalism is a bit unfair imo. None of these businesses will change their ways unless forced to - and as long as consumers and politicians support capitalism I don't really blame them. If we want to change things, we need to put people in power who are willing to enforce rules that might make big businesses throw some severe tantrums - and technically we need to do it on a worldwide basis so they don't just move their businesses to other parts of the world with lesser restrictions...

[@karolinakuc4783]

Nah the best is to be creative yourself. Try to sew, design open a small company.

[@miraggg]

I don't understand why H&M doesn't just open a chain of thrift stores re-selling the stuff people dump in the boxes. They have the money for the infrastructure and can still make a profit on the clothes considering they got it for free.....

[@AlexHider]

Because they have a brand to upkeep. Running thrift store with their own clothes is a massive hit to their brand association.

[@mgb5170]

Sounds like you are exposing "Green Washing" -- when companies purport to have "green" initiatives that don't do anything at all.