H&M, Recover Partner to Scale Recycled Cotton Use

H&M Group has signed a multi-year agreement with Barcelona-based textile recycler Recover to integrate mechanically recycled cotton, branded as RCotton, into its global product lines. The deal formalizes a collaboration that began in early 2024 and enables H&M to scale the use of recycled fiber in mainstream collections.

Recover operates five recycling hubs in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, located near major textile production regions. Its vertically integrated system converts post-industrial and post-consumer textile waste into new cotton fiber while maintaining traceability, fiber consistency, and industrial-scale quality.

The partnership addresses a key challenge in the fashion industry: reliable, high-quality access to recycled fibers. For H&M, it supports the company’s long-term material transition strategy, which aims to decouple business growth from virgin resource extraction and meet its goal of sourcing 100% recycled or sustainably produced materials by 2030.

“Reliable access to recycled fibers at scale, with full traceability and quality consistency, is vital for the industry’s transformation. Our collaboration demonstrates how innovators and leading global brands can work together to make circular fashion available to all,” said Anders Sjöblom, CEO, Recover.

“To increase the availability and affordability of recycled and sustainably sourced materials, we invest in, test, and scale innovative solutions and infrastructure. Recover’s expertise and proven ability to deliver recycled cotton at commercial scale make them a valuable partner as we work toward our goal of using only recycled or sustainably sourced materials by 2030,” added Ulf Krigsman, Head of Material & Components, H&M.

The agreement moves H&M’s use of RCotton from pilot testing into full commercial deployment. Over the past year, both companies collaborated on product development and performance testing to ensure recycled fibers met the durability and quality standards required for mainstream collections. Recover’s mechanical recycling process re-spins discarded cotton textiles into new fiber blends while reducing energy and water use compared with virgin cotton production.

Beyond regulatory compliance, the collaboration has broader ESG implications. Cotton is a water and land-intensive crop, and substituting recycled fiber reduces environmental impact and provides traceable emissions benefits for Scope 3 accounting. Industry analysts project global demand for recycled textiles to triple by 2030, driven by regulation, investor scrutiny, and consumer preference for sustainable fashion.