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Animal Crossing is working with H&M, so that must mean some pretty fine merch, right? Wrong. As the two are collaborating on a sustainable fashion campaign, headlined by Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams.
Sorry, what?
To break it down. H&M has taken on Williams as its Global Sustainability Ambassador, and will be working with the star in order to “change the future of fashion.” The first step of that campaign is to take place in Animal Crossing – a fashion-savvy destination that doesn’t actually require anyone to make more clothes… pretty smart.
More specifically, this will all take place on H&M’s Loop Island. The Island will be designed around a “sustainable theme” and is named after H&M’s Loop garment recycling machine. Players will be allowed to recycle their game outfits into new ones using a clothing recycling station on the island.
UK creative agency Liquid Crimson collaborated to design and create Looop Isle, and accompanied Maisie for interviews and meet and greets on the island.
Williams, in her Animal Crossing form, will visit the island to meet visiting players, and visitors can leave notes for H&M on the notice board.
It’s a neat idea, and shows once again that game spaces are an ideal place for broader marketing activations, and not just during the pandemic, thanks to their democracy of access for anyone interested in taking part.
As to H&M’s sustainability credentials, we’re not expert enough to comment, though being on the fast fashion end of the spectrum we imagine the company needs to make big efforts in this area in order to offset its impact. While not targeted at this campaign specifically, as the industry star continues to rise, developers and publishers must be increasingly cautious about what campaigns they attach themselves to.
”I am excited to finally share the news of my partnership with H&M as Global Sustainability Ambassador and cannot wait for you all to see what we have been working on. In this role, I will be working closely with experts within H&M to drive sustainability initiatives and shape the path towards an accessible and circular fashion future. The long term goal is to use 100 percent recycled or other sustainably sourced materials for textiles across the full H&M Group brands by 2030. It’s time to take action and create more viable production circuits in fashion to protect our planet for the next generation”, says Maisie Williams.
“Being part of this initiative together with Maisie Williams to drive for change within the fashion industry by encouraging our customers and fans to reuse, remake and recycle unwanted garments, is something we at H&M are very ambitious about. We’ve employed the creative spaces found in Animal Crossing: New Horizons as an exciting way to create a unique showcase of our vision.The future of fashion needs to look different, and we want to be a part of this solution” says Pascal Brun, Global Sustainability Manager H&M.
