Fashion giant H&M is getting set to launch a vegan leather alternative made from the byproducts of wine as part of a new eco-friendly clothing range.
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Swedish fashion giant H&M has debuted a new eco-friendly clothing range that includes items made from a leather substitute crafted from the byproducts of grapes.
Unveiled as part of the brand’s new Conscious Collection, the soft vegan leather alternative, which is made by Italian tech company Vegea, is made from grape pomace, which H&M discovered in 2017 through its Global Change Award.
The innovative new bio-materials made its catwalk debut at last year’s Bare Fashion catwalk show when it was used to create a stylish two-piece leather-look dress.
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For now, the vegan leather alternative will be featured on a number of handbags as well as on shoes in the collection, which goes on sale worldwide on March 26.
As part of its drive towards sustainability, the company will also be using a new dye in the collection made from the coffee grounds in H&M’s offices in China.
“Going forward, we need to be using more bio-based materials and use more waste in our collections,” Pascal Brun, H&M’s Sustainability Manager told Vogue.
“It isn’t just about materials, though, it’s about how we can design clothes to last longer and to be eventually recycled, and how can we involve our customers to have more sustainable behavior. It’s a holistic approach.”
In 2019, the company debuted a brand new sustainable collection, Conscious Exclusive, that brought a number of fashion-forward materials to the forefront.
The collection introduced three new sustainable materials to the fashion world, including Piñatex®, a natural leather alternative made from cellulose fibers extracted from pineapple leaves; BLOOM™ Foam, a plant-based flexible foam using algae biomass; and Orange Fiber®, sustainable silk-like fabrics made from citrus juice by-products.
The collection will go on sale at H&M stores around the world on 26 March.
