The Whole Package
A global fashion brand pairs sustainability and growth.
The fashion industry exploded over the past two decades. Garment production has doubled since 2000, and plastics use has multiplied along with it. H&M, one of the largest apparel manufacturers in the world, wanted to grow more sustainably. One of its goals: eliminate plastic from its packaging. Together we developed a new paper packaging system that’s cutting thousands of tons of plastic from H&M’s operations, helping the company and its customers meet their sustainability goals.
100M
plastic-free packages shipped in 2022
2,000 tons
of plastic eliminated from H&M operations
Packaging accounts for 26% of plastics produced globally every year.
Fashion e-commerce is estimated to grow by 10% annually through 2024, requiring even more packaging.
Fast fashion keeps getting faster. But if the industry is to meet its climate commitments, its use of plastics has to slow down.
H&M chief executive Helena Helmersson set ambitious sustainability goals when she stepped into her role. She wanted to reduce the fashion giant’s impact on the environment and enable meaningful growth. But change is tough for any company, let alone one with eight brands operating across 74 markets. Together IDEO and the H&M Group created new plastic-free packaging, rallying around a more sustainable packaging solution that’s easily customizable.
By applying a design-led approach that went far beyond hiring a sustainability consultant, the H&M Group managed to reduce its use of plastic. But it didn’t stop there. A small team called Design Studio took what it learned and grew into an established strategic capability that pioneers new ways of working in the organization, tackling complex challenges in circularity, inclusion, supply chain, and customer experience. Sustainability isn’t a passing trend for H&M. It’s moving fashion forward.
Fast fashion keeps getting faster. But if the industry is to meet its climate commitments, its use of plastics has to slow down.
H&M chief executive Helena Helmersson set ambitious sustainability goals when she stepped into her role. She wanted to reduce the fashion giant’s impact on the environment and enable meaningful growth. But change is tough for any company, let alone one with eight brands operating across 74 markets. Together IDEO and the H&M Group created new plastic-free packaging, rallying around a more sustainable packaging solution that’s easily customizable.
By applying a design-led approach that went far beyond hiring a sustainability consultant, the H&M Group managed to reduce its use of plastic. But it didn’t stop there. A small team called Design Studio took what it learned and grew into an established strategic capability that pioneers new ways of working in the organization, tackling complex challenges in circularity, inclusion, supply chain, and customer experience. Sustainability isn’t a passing trend for H&M. It’s moving fashion forward.
“Sustainable packaging was our first beacon project for using a design-led approach to deliver on big shifts as a company. Today we’ve built a design capability tackling challenges in key strategic areas while unleashing human-centered ways of working across our organization.”
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