H&M: Melbourne Store & Sustainability Review

One of the perks of being a Fashion Student is that you sometimes get told by your University lecturers that it is mandatory that you go to the city on a shopping tour instead of going to class.. Poor me right? 

It's been a while since I've shopped in the city and a lot has changed! New kids on the block H&M blew my mind. Over three levels, they occupy Bourke street's GPO (former General Post Office) The beautiful architecture is a nice change to the converted warehouse look that most Bricks & Mortar stores (physical stores) are adopting at the moment. To be honest, I assumed it would be very similar to Topshop and Zara, great and cheap overseas with inflated prices and selected stock in Australian Stores... I was wrong. The price point is ridiculously reasonable. If I only had money, I would have purchased this amazing faux fur jacket, it felt and looked incredible and it was only $39.95.. It was hard to walk away but a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do right?

From a professional stand point, I was totally blown away by the Visual Merchandising, the displays featured 5-8 mannequins all styled very cohesively, almost flawlessly so. Yes, there were a few that I wasn't all that fond of personally but you can't deny that a lot of love and thought goes into it. It's been my dream for a while now, to suspend mannequins for a VM display. H&M have done it and done it so well! Trees in store with mannequins suspended from swings, I mean wow! I managed to snap a few sneaky shots for you all to enjoy. 

What also impresses me is H&M's commitment to Sustainability. Going through their industry reports, I was impressed by the transparency, efficiency and dedication to reducing the impact they have on the environment because let's face it, the Fashion industry is wasteful as it currently stands. Fashion today is considered disposable and we're all after something for nothing. We generally don't like wearing the same outfit more than once, especially if photographed. If you care about the environment, planet and its people, we can at least choose to purchase from companies that are making steps towards improving sustainability. Check out the H&M website, click the link to view. H&M SUSTAINABILITY

That 90's vibe.. it's everywhere!

If you want to do more to reduce the effect that the Fashion Industry has on the planet and its people, you can start by thinking of how you get rid of the clothes or accessories that you no longer want. It is easier today more than any other time in history to sell your unwanted goods. You can sell via Ebay for free, set up swap meets, set up an etsy store, book a market stall and even sell via Facebook or Instagram. If you want to be really nice, you can also donate to your local charity store (op shop) or even friends and family. Making the right choice at the time of Fashion disposal will stop your unwanted garments going to massive textiles landfills, if you google this topic, it will mortify you, guaranteed. The long term environmental costs of clothing, footwear and accessories going into landfills has yet to be calculated but the decomposition of such materials, contribute to Global Warming, the dyes and chemicals used to treat fabrics can contaminate the soil and the ground water as well. For more info head to http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/01/textile-waste-be-banned-landfills/

image of textiles landfill in Syria

I hope you've enjoyed this more meaty post, I would love to know what your thoughts are on the topic, comment below or head to my Facebook page Rags to Riches

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Peace and love to you all.

xox