Meet the changemakers

With our in-store recycling system Looop, currently installed at H&M Drottninggatan 56 in Stockholm, we're visualising how your throw-aways can turn into throw-ons.

To further highlight the importance of treating clothes as resources, not waste, we've asked four changemakers to donate something from their own wardrobes. Their loved-to-pieces garments will all be recycled by Looop. Proving that even the old or broken, can be given new life. And their textile love stories can carry on. 

Jane Goodall is a true icon, known for her ground-breaking work with chimpanzees that she started in 1960. Ever since then, the primatologist and anthropologist has been a global force for the ethical treatment of animals as well as the protection of our planet. Today, she's working with the Jane Goodall Institute, encouraging us all to take responsibility for our future.

Jane's been wearing her classic shirts for decades and the one she's remaking is rather special. It's the same kind of shirt she wore when she first arrived in what is now Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, to begin her important study of wild chimpanzees.

"I've worn the same type of shirt of over and over again for different occasions […] I just wish that I had fur or feathers so that I never had to buy new clothes at all."

Solána Imani Rowe, known as SZA, is the singer-songwriter bringing a fresh sound to R&B. But she's using her voice for more than just dropping tunes. By raising awareness of environmental issues and social injustices, SZA wants to reshape our future and make it a better one. She cares deeply about sustainability, which is why recycling, upcycling and repairing are all part of her fashion philosophy.

If you know SZA, you know she loves her mom and everything about her: from her mind to her style. That's why she's remaking her mother's knitted skirt from 1991.

“I feel really excited to have an opportunity to carry something of my mom's with me all the time that really has her resonance and is from that time period, without having to buy something completely new.”  

When hurricane Sandy hit New York in 2012, Vic Barrett experienced the effects of a changing climate first-hand. He believes climate change is about more than just the weather — it's a social justice issue. That's why he's one of 21 youth activists suing the US government to take action on climate change.

Vic has spent the last seven years fighting for our future. Now, he's remaking a shirt that's been with him for a big part of that journey.

“This shirt has been with me while my heart is beating, testifying in congress. This shirt has been with me when my palms get sweaty in meetings with important leaders […] I was born Afro-Latino, indigenous, and I spent my whole life understanding that some people are more vulnerable than others. And when I learned how the climate crisis disproportionately impacts people who look like me all over the world, it was something I just couldn't ignore."  

Whether it's raising her voice for sustainable development or speaking up about climate issues, model Andreea Diaconu is committed to positive change. She believes everyone can do something to make the world a bit better. Be that recycling, taking shorter showers or standing up for your beliefs.

By remaking her old karate outfit, Andreea hopes you'll also recycle something you haven't worn in ten years.

“This garment has had a pretty full life. We were together for many years and competed in a bunch of competitions, most of which I lost. I'm grateful for all the discipline and lessons that it's brought me and I'm super excited to let go of it. It was just occupying this huge box in my grandma's closet, and she has a very tiny closet.“