H&M will recycle clothes, donate part of the proceeds to charities

Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) is following suit of Spanish group Inditex. The Swedish fashion retailer reported that it is planning to recycle clothes and donate part of the resulting proceeds to philanthropic organizations such as Unicef, the Red Cross, 'Action contre la Faim', 'Save the Children' or 'Make a wish'.

Collected items will be sold - provided that they are in good condition, in various countries, as second-hand clothing. Clothes whose condition is not good enough to be commercialized will be transformed into other products such as cleaning clothes, or even into fibers for the textile industry or for the production of insulation material, according to the company's website.

H&M stressed out that the objective is to "reduce the impact on the environment of the fashion industry."

For every kilogram of textile collected, H&M will donate 0.02 euros to local charities, and customers will receive 5 euros for each bag of clothes.

Inditex announced during its last shareholder's meeting in July that it is planning various programs aiming at educating customers about the adequate care of their clothes, in order to increase their life span.