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Our packaging

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COS paper bag

The way we package our pieces has always been an important part of the COS experience. If you have shopped with us in one of our stores, you will have noticed the great care our team take to wrap your purchase in tissue paper before placing it in one of our signature COS carrier bags. Or if you’ve bought something online, it arriving securely boxed and bagged up ready for you to unbox. 

Taking a considered approach to our packaging protects your purchases from damage as they make their way to your wardrobe. The problem? It creates additional waste and we need to use valuable resources to make them. This is why we’re working to reduce the amount of overall packaging we use and to change our process too – from what we make our packaging with to providing solutions for after it has been used.

ALONGSIDE THE H&M GROUP, WE AIM TO ACHIEVE 100% RECYCLED, REUSABLE OR COMPOSTABLE PACKING BY 2025.


In partnership with the H&M Group, our design team has been working on improving our packaging in three main areas. 

White COS shopping bag and gift card
COS clothing tag
COS clothing tag

IN OUR STORES

We have been redesigning our signature COS carrier bag to be 100% recyclable. It’s now made from FSC-certified paper, including the handles, which means you can simply place the whole bag in your recycling after you’re finished with it. It also features less than 10% print coverage, using only water-based ink, and the material is used in its most natural form – meaning less resources are needed to produce it. The tissue paper we use to wrap our products in store is already recyclable. But our design team are taking this one step further by making it from 50% recycled paper. 

  

We have also made changes to some of the other complimentary items you receive in our stores. Our suit carriers are now made from 100% recycled polypropylene, with no additional hardware to make it fully recyclable. And our gift cards are made from an innovative recycled paper material that feels just as strong as the previous ones made from plastic. 

WITH YOUR ONLINE DELIVERY

One of our main focuses for improving our packing is to reduce the amount plastic we use. Previously we looked to plastic envelopes for their strength and versatility when shipping our online orders. Now, we have replaced these with unprinted pouches and boxes made from 100% FSC certified paper. This means they can be recycled easily after use. 

 

To reduce the number of things you receive with your order, we’re also changing the way our products are packed inside the box. Instead of placing each piece in a polybag for protection, our teams are now placing several pieces in one paper bag instead. And the delivery-note envelope is soon to be replaced with digital receipts and returns forms. 

ON OUR CLOTHING

To make it easier for you to shop our collection, we like to include labels and hangtags so you can find out more information about what you’re buying. These may seem like small, insignificant details but we want to make sure everything we do has less of an impact on the environment. 

 

One of the ways we are doing this is by updating the labels inside our garments to be made from 100% recycled polyester. We have changed the material that we use for the main hangtags too. These are now made from 100% recycled paper and have been reduced in thickness – which helps reduce our global shipping weight. Plus, we’ve introduced a new concertina format which means we can easily adapt the format to various messaging and translations. 

 

We’re also testing ways to remove more plastic, such as tagging the products electronically rather than using plastic tags. Watch this space... 

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