Sweden’s goal of being fossil-fuel free has led one power plant in Västerås burning excess clothing from H&M instead of coal. The clothing in question is burned because it is unsafe to use, and does not meet H&M’s quality control standards or the local standards for clothing donations. An H&M spokesperson revealed that the clothing may contain mould or traces of unsafe chemicals – which is the reason that they do not meet these standards. So far this year, the Västerås plant has burned approximately 15 tons of H&M garments and 400,000 tons of trash which are collected from neighbouring cities. The plant powers around 150,000 local households and will be entirely fossil-fuel free by 2020.
H&M FUELS THE FIRE
