On April 10th, H&M will launch its "CONSCIOUS COLLECTION" and "CONSCIOUS EXCLUSIVE," which use sustainable materials. Leading up to the launch, a party was held on April 8th at BATSU ART GALLERY in Omotesando, Tokyo, to celebrate the launch of the collection and the first anniversary of its secondhand clothing collection. The venue showcased new and archived items from CONSCIOUS EXCLUSIVE. Models including Jessica Michibata attended the event wearing the new items and enjoyed flower installations and live performances. Catarina Midby, spokesperson for the company's CONSCIOUS activities, also visited Japan for the occasion. "We've been working with factories to develop new materials, and this season we've adopted sustainable materials such as organic silk, organic leather, and MonoCell, a material made from bamboo fiber. Because people come to H&M looking for fashion, we didn't compromise on fashion and paid close attention to design," he said.

H&M bases its business on sustainability and has promoted numerous projects under the name "Conscious Action" to make the future of fashion more sustainable. Last year, the company became the first fashion company to launch a global used clothing collection program. To date, 3,000 tons of used clothing have been collected worldwide, covering not only H&M but all brands. Japan recorded 338 tons, one of the highest numbers, demonstrating the high level of recycling awareness among Japanese people.

H&M also strives to reduce the environmental impact throughout the entire clothing lifecycle, reducing its overall carbon footprint and implementing a global water strategy in collaboration with WWF. H&M discovered that the most energy is emitted from clothing during its lifecycle, from production to disposal, during the period after purchase when it is worn, including repeated washing and dry cleaning. Based on this finding, H&M collaborated with Swiss company Ginetex to introduce the "CleverCare" label, which provides environmentally friendly clothing care instructions. Currently, 30% of H&M products bear this label, with the goal of reaching 100% by the end of the year. "Since our founding in 1947, H&M has pursued business development with a long-term perspective that connects us to the next generation, and our conscious activities stem from this. The more we do, the more new challenges arise, but the people in our factories are passionate about helping us. Our goal is for all conscious activities to transcend the boundaries of companies and industries and become the norm for people all over the world," said Middby.