H&M Group has announced it will sell garments made from recycled polycotton blends as it seeks to boost circular fashion in the industry.

Through a partnership with Circ, a company specialising in textile recycling, the fashion brand said it will integrate fibres recycled from polycotton textile waste in its products before the end of the year.

Circ specialises in recovering polyester and cellulose from polycotton blends, a material that is notoriously difficult to recycle.

H&M said the first products will debut in autumn 2025, with a women's V-neck sweatshirt made from the recycled polyester available in its shops.

The range will expand to include men's jeans made from Circ Tencel fibres and developed using Refibra technology from the Lenzing Group, a specialist in regenerated cellulose fibres.

Lenzing's Refibra technology uses textile waste as raw material, in addition to wood sources from certified or controlled origins. Tencel Circ lyonel fibre is produced using Refibra technology and made with 30 per cent Circ sourced from recycled textile waste.

H&M and its suppliers in Bangladesh have previously tested Circ’s technology as part of a two-year pilot. The trial saw the retailer successfully recycle 2.6 tonnes of polycotton waste into Circ Lyocell and Circ Polyester.

Commenting on the partnership, Cecilia Strömblad Brännsten, head of resource use and circularity at H&M Group said: “Collaborating with key partners on projects like Circ is essential to our vision: to grow our business decoupled from resource use and extraction, with products and materials circulating at their highest value.”

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