Co-Exist Story, the 100% vegan ready-to-wear and cruelty free makeup collection from the Swedish brand H&M, using innovative materials such as FLWRDWN and Vegea, as alternatives to down and leather from animal exploitation, comes out this Thursday.

By Ludmilla Intravaia

After the cactus alter-leather Desserto in its Science Story collection (more info in this Boudoir Numérique article), H&M is launching its first fully vegan collection Co-Exist Story, approved by the animal rights association PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

H&M's Co-Exist Story collection, unveiled on October 26, 2021 by the Swedish brand (© H&M)

Each item of this ready-to-wear collection for men, women and children is certified PETA-Approved Vegan because it is designed using innovative alternatives to animal based-materials, without resorting to the exploitation of non-humans. Starting with an alternative to down, these small, light goose and duck feathers that are used to make certain clothes such as down jackets for instance, generating animal sufferings in the process, as explained by Peta here.

This alternative to down but also to synthetic materials derived from petroleum chosen by H&M for the two down jackets below is, coupled with recycled nylon, FLWRDWN (Flower Down).

This innovative material is the result of the patented FLWRDWN technology from the eco-responsible brand Pangaia, a collective of scientists and designers, based around the world in London, Florence, New York, keen to create products that are more respectful of the environment and of sentient beings. FLWRDWN is made from wild flowers, harvested from agricultural fields, then dried, to be combined with a compostable corn biopolymer and cellulose gel which will increase, respectively, the thermal-warming capacity and the strength of the material.

Also made with FLWRDWN, the pants, the skirt and the shorts below.

Below, the accessories whit FLWRDWN from the Co-Exist Story collection.

H&M’s vegan collection also offers an alternative to animal leather, the cruelty of which PETA denounces on its website here.

It’s the material Vegea from the Italian company of the same name, founded in 2016 in Milan by the industrial chemistry specialist Francesco Merlino and the architect Gianpiero Tessitore. The innovative Vegea material is made from the unused residue of grapes (seeds, skin and stems), after extracting the juice from the bunch to produce wine for instance.

Below, the items of the Co-Exist Story collection made from Vegea.

It’s not the first time that H&M uses Vegea alter-leather. The grape vegan leather was featured in a pair of shoes and a bag in the Spring 2020 Conscious Exclusive collection. Vegea was also honored in 2017 with the Global Change Award from the H&M Foundation, which promotes sustainable innovation.

The Swedish brand has also collaborated with the British-Nigerian actor John Boyega for a more sustainable men's collection called Edition by John Boyega, including a puffer jacket in Vegea, available since November 10, 2021.

Moreover, the Co-Exist Story collection includes vegan makeup, certified by the Vegan Society, the world's first charity promoting veganism, created in 1944 in England.

The collection was immortalized, under the supervision of PETA, at Hillside Animal Sanctuary, dedicated to animals rescued from intensive breeding farms in England.

* H&M’s Co-Exist Story collection will be available on the brand website and in selected stores from November 4, 2021.

* Continue your research on the topic of this article with these website : PETA, Vegan Society, Hillside Animal Sanctuary, Vegea and Pangaia.

* Le Boudoir Numérique devotes a special feature to innovative vegan and cruelty free fashion and beauty, bringing together, on an ongoing basis, articles and interviews on alternatives to products derived from the exploitation of non-human animals. Discover it there.