H&M is on trend with its sustainable Roblox launch

Roblox is quickly becoming the go-to platform for fashion brands looking to find immersive ways to connect with audiences, and H&M is the latest retailer to try the platform on for size.

2023 is the year of immersive fashion, and one week into the new year H&M launched ‘Loootopia’ on Roblox, an all-new digital realm and gaming experience with interactivity at its heart. Players can design virtual garments and interact with fellow designers, play mini-games, attend runway shows and gather materials to create clothing items for their individual avatars. The experience also lets players trade their digital garments with friends or recycle them.

The Swedish retailer has been open about its growing focus on sustainability, and Loootopia has been designed as an extension of their green ethos. Players can experiment with virtual fashion while simultaneously learning about circularity – recycling clothes and thereby cutting back on the considerable waste mainstream fashion brands have become notorious for.

Roblox is currently used by over 58 million people daily, and there is a growing wave of interest in virtual fashion, with Morgan Stanley predicting the digital fashion industry will be worth $50 billion by 2030. A recent study from Vice’s agency Virtue found 65% of people are prepared to pay the same or more for a virtual fashion item versus its physical equivalent – we’re not just talking Gen Z; the sample included an equal mix of millennials and Gen X, too.

With H&M being hit with several lawsuits of greenwashing complaints, whether or not Loootopia is a success is integral to the brand’s position in the market.