H&M could definitely be called the mover and shaker of fast fashion. These guys must offer energy drink mainlining in the breakroom. And with H&M Conscious Beauty soon to launch, they do not appear to be slowing down any time soon.
What began is a little Swedish women’s clothing shop in the ’40s has grown to include store locations worldwide, major designer collabs, controversial red carpet appearances (like the recent SJP Met Gala appearance), and huge online retail sales. Why did we not see H&M beauty coming?
That’s right, the brand is set to launch a massive 700 product beauty line next fall, including makeup, skincare, and hair care. True to its anyone-can-have-this image, products will range from $2.99 to $24.99.
Now, I know what you are thinking. How clean can these H&M cosmetics be? The brand’s concept designer, Sara Wallander, calls the line “fashion for the face.” But are we talking fast fashion, here?
Included in the collection are products aligned with the company’s Conscious collection, called Conscious Beauty. Terms like “organic”, “eco-friendly”, and “sustainable” are being used, and products are to be Ecocert-certified.
The French certification body requires the use of substantial amounts of natural and organic ingredients, environmentally-friendly processes, and prohibits the use of many synthetic ingredients. There are two Ecocert certifications, ECOCERT Natural (a minimum of 50 percent of all plant-based ingredients and a minimum of 5 percent of all ingredients by weight must be organically produced) and ECOCERT Natural and Organic (A minimum of 95 percent of the total product ingredients must be naturally derived and a minimum of 10 percent of all ingredients by weight (includes water) must be organically produced). A press release from the brand stated the beauty products will be “Ecocert-approved sustainable products.”
H&M has said that products from the Conscious Beauty line will be paraben-, silicone-, GMO-, synthetic fragrance-, and dye-free. As always, we will have to wait and read the labels to actually know what is in them. Fingers crossed, H&M’s website will include full ingredient listings.
What do think? Excited to see what the H&M Conscious Beauty line is all about? Or would you rather not support the brand even if the products are safe?
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Image of H&M logo via Vytautas Kielaitis / Shutterstock.com