Investigative journalists from the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet have recently highlighted the environmental problems associated with the disposal of used garments by companies like H&M. The authors were contacted by an anonymous source who claimed that H&M collects used clothes but often sends them to poor countries, where they are dumped or burned without proper control.
The authors hid Apple Airtags on some H&M garments purchased from a second-hand store which were then delivered to H&M for recycling. The clothes were handed in at H&M stores in Stockholm and were supposed to be sorted at a facility outside Berlin, however, it was discovered that the clothes were actually sold to commercial companies in Germany that sort and export second-hand clothes. These companies compress the clothes into large bales, which were then shipped to West Africa where they were resold, destroyed, or discarded in a landfill.
This alarming investigation casts doubts on H&M’s promise to resell clothes that can be re-worn, and also raises concerns that the retail industry is still struggling to deal with end-of-life garments despite increasing pressure to end fast fashion.
What did the H&M recycling investigation find?
This 2023 PCIAW report summarises an Aftonbladet investigation in which journalists placed AirTags in selected garments handed to H&M’s collection scheme. The tracked items moved through commercial sorting and export channels, including to West Africa, raising questions about how clothing take-back schemes describe recycling, reuse and end-of-life outcomes.
The investigation did not establish the fate of every garment handed to H&M; it documented the routes of the selected tracked items. The original Aftonbladet reporting and H&M’s response are linked below.
Related PCIAW resources: explore sustainable textile regulations and circular textiles.
To read the full article, including the author’s reporting from Benin and a full breakdown of where these garments end up, visit Aftonbladet’s website.
Read H&M’s response here.
