Sustainable Procurement News

Luxury fashion brand Burberry has agreed a £300m (US$410m) loan linked to its performance against its sustainability targets, including the company's headline goal of being climate positive by 2040.

Burberry refinanced its revolving credit facility (RCF), coordinated by Lloyds Bank, for the sustainable finance package which is linked to the achievement of key environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets.

These include accelerating emissions reductions across its extended supply chain (Scope 3) by 46 per cent by 2030 and becoming net zero by 2040, 10 years ahead of the 1.5°C pathway set out in the Paris Agreement.

Few industries tout their sustainability credentials more forcefully than the fashion industry. But the sad truth is that despite high-profile attempts at innovation, it’s failed to reduce its planetary impact in the past 25 years.  Most items are still produced using non-biodegradable petroleum-based synthetics and end up in a landfill. So what can be done? New ESG strategies such as the use of bio-based materials, recycling, and “rent-the-runway” concepts have failed. Instead, we must stop thinking about sustainability as existing on a spectrum. Less unstainable is not sustainable. And governments need to step in to force companies to pay for their negative impact on the planet. The idea of “win-win” and market-based solutions has failed even in one of the most “progressive” industries.

Rental fashion firm Rent the Runway (RTR) has launched a ‘Fast Fashion Free’ campaign to encourage consumers to donate “unwearable” garments.

The company has teamed up with Green Tree Textiles Recycling, which will recycle the stock collected into insulation for new buildings.

Rent the Runway says it planned the campaign’s launch to coincide with the new year as this is a time “when they [consumers] are already reassessing lifestyles on the whole”. 

A new report — co-authored by Fashion for Good and the Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) and sponsored by HSBC — for the first time charts a trajectory for the industry to meet the net-zero ambition, mapping the integral levers across existing solutions such as renewable energy, and emerging innovations such as next-generation materials and circular and other end-of-life solutions for textiles. Estimating an investment opportunity of $1 trillion to finance the transition, the report breaks down the funding needed by solution category and identifies the types of funders best placed to take advantage of the opportunity and benefit from the positive returns.

Looking beyond COP26, H&M says it envisions a fossil-free supply chain. The Swedish retailer revealed Friday that it has committed to halving its emissions every 10 years in alignment with the “carbon law,” a “rule of thumb” that Stockholm University’s Stockholm Resilience Centre says will give the planet a fighting chance of keeping global temperature…

“Climate is the existential crisis of our time—a threat to commerce and communities around the globe—and we all have a responsibility to act,” he said in the company’s first-ever standalone sustainability report.

One of the first companies to commit to emissions reductions consistent with the 1.5°C limit stated in the Paris Agreement, the company says its targets remain among the most ambitious in the apparel industry. By 2025, the parent company of Levi’s, Dockers and now Beyond Yoga, plans to reduce water usage in manufacturing areas of high water stress by 50 percent, reduce GHG emissions across its global supply chain by 40 percent and cut GHG emissions in all owned and operated facilities by 90 percent.

The vast majority of consumer fashion is stuck in a linear model with most used clothes perceived as having no value and being disposed of at an ever-increasing frequency. If the consumer attitude towards clothes purchasing changes sufficiently, it could encourage a huge shift in the fashion industry which would flow back through the supply chain and drive a step change towards putting the circular economy at the heart of the fashion industry’s approach.

Consumers using their purchasing power to demand progressive change and circular models that look to increase quality, reusability, recyclability, and recycled content, can drive greater awareness, understanding and transparency.

Building trust and collaboration throughout the supply chain will be necessary to meet the tough challenges presented by this complex sector and progress towards a more socio-economic and environmentally conscious fashion industry.

For apparel brands that don’t know where to begin tackling sustainability, starting small can be a great way to build out a more eco-friendly supply chain.

As brands prioritize using more sustainable raw materials, adopting circularity initiatives or setting science-based targets, they often overlook labeling as an area for quick improvement.

And while sustainable labels may be a cost-effective means to reduce waste, developing these labels also reflects a deeper, more holistic commitment to brand sustainability goals, according to Jimmy Christopher, group sustainability officer at apparel labeling and packaging solutions provider ITL Group.

Artistic Fabric Mills (AFM) is taking one step forward towards full transparency.

The Karachi, Pakistan-based vertically integrated denim manufacturer has partnered with Dutch clean-tech startup Aware to make its sustainable denim fabrics 100 percent traceable and easily verifiable for brands and partners.

Through Aware traceability technology, AFM can track the fiber, yarn and final garment through every step of the supply chain. This allows the company to “concretely prove to brands and consumers that their products are all made from the original sustainable materials.”

Before cotton crops can become a pair of jeans, they pass through numerous hands. And historically, this complex chain of custody has been challenging to track.

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“Transparency in cotton supply chains is long overdue and necessary basis for ethical supply chain management, environmental sustainability or circularity,” said Lukas Pünder, co-founder and CEO of blockchain platform Retraced. “Often, cotton from up to 1,000 farmers from different continents is mixed in one single pair of jeans. And little is known about who, where and what happens.”

Second-hand fashion marketplace The RealReal has launched a new upcycled apparel collection in partnership with some of fashion’s leading firms to offer luxury items a new life.  

The company has acquired unwanted stock from the likes of Stella McCartney, Balenciaga and Dries Van Noten to kick-start its new ‘ReCollection’ programme. 

Los Angeles-based circular business Atelier and Repairs has been recruited to undertake product repairs in a zero-waste process. The reclaimed luxury pieces will be resold on The RealReal’s online consignment store for prices ranging from US$195 to US$2,450, with a portion of the proceeds to be donated to reforestation initiative, One Tree Planted.   

Spanish fashion brand Mango has announced that 79 per cent of its garments now integrate more ‘sustainable’ fibres. 

These products now align with the principles of the brand’s Committed Collection, which it launched in 2017 with the ambition of offering sustainably-made clothing. At that time, just 44 per cent of the company’s portfolio comprised such materials.

“We have made the commitment to continue working to become a more sustainable company. This is why we are taking huge steps with very ambitious projects that will allow us to minimise our impact and achieve the strict sustainability targets we have set ourselves,” said Mango's CEO Toni Ruiz.

Swiss traceability solutions provider Haelixa has linked up with Soorty, one of Pakistan's largest vertically integrated denim manufacturers, to support claims relating to the use of recycled cotton in its denim products.

Haelixa uses a DNA marker which is embedded in the product and claims to provide forensic proof that cannot be tampered with of product origin and authenticity at all stages of the supply chain.

The company has developed a unique DNA marker to identify Soorty’s recycled cotton which is applied to textile waste before mechanical recycling takes place in the spinning mill in Pakistan.

Luxury fashion giant Prada has committed to collecting and distributing materials used in its annual catwalk events to circular businesses and academic institutes.

Since January 2020, the Italian brand has collected 1.6 tonnes of faux fur fit for reuse, as well as 70 tonnes of wood and 130 kilos of fibreboard which will be donated amongst a global network of businesses.

Looking ahead, components from installations and other materials used throughout Prada’s fashion shows will be collected by collection and waste recovery partners which will facilitate the re-distribution of products.

New legislation which would hold all major fashion brands accountable for human rights and environmental issues in their global supply chains is being proposed for the US state of New York.

The Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, which would apply to all brands with an annual turnover of more than US$100 million operating in the state, would be the first of its kind in the US.

The proposed bill would apply only to apparel and footwear brands and retailers which would be required to "identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address" the adverse impacts of their global production.

Created in partnership with Muirhead, the newest Mulberry bag collection features the world’s lowest carbon leather. The limited-edition capsule collection is touted as the brand's lowest carbon creation to date and it sustainably refreshes classic styles such as the Amberley Satchel.

The collection of bags was entirely made in the UK and Mulberry describes its approach as a "pioneering hyper-local, hyper-transparent ‘farm to finished product’ supply chain model" with a focus on transparency and traceability. The collection of farm-to-finished products was made possible thanks to collaborations with a network of regenerative and organic farms.

This Mulberry bag collection aligns with the brand's Made to Last manifesto and commitment to transforming into a regenerative and circular model by 2030.

The Turkish denim mill debuted a waterless denim dyeing process equipped with The Movement’s Aware traceability solution. The innovation combines Calik’s Dyepro technology—which uses no water and produces zero chemical waste during the dyeing process—with Aware’s supply chain tracking solution for verified, sustainable denim fabric.

Aware’s tracer particles are added to fiber in pre-production and then woven into fabric. Its technology creates a digital twin version of the recycled yarn that is registered into a secure blockchain to be completely fraud-free. Each garment with a tracer receives a unique fingerprint, which can be scanned for authentication, meaning a simple scan can distinguish false material from authentic Dyepro waterless dyed fabric.

European clothing retailer VIA Outlets has kick-started a new sustainability initiative with the launch of its first ‘Re.Love’ pop-up store in Lisbon, Portugal.

The company plans to establish several pop-ups throughout Europe which will champion ‘sustainable’ collections, secondhand fashion and rental.

Geert Paemen, group sustainability director at VIA Outlets, commented: “We are delighted to pioneer this new sustainability initiative, which complements the ambitious environmental targets we have set for our centres and highlights the important efforts being made by our brand partners in this field.”

International textile certifying body Oeko-Tex released its annual report on Monday, finding that sustainability certifications remain a top motivator among fashion. Noting how the past year upended the industry, “the rapid progress of digitalization and the increasing international focus on sustainability are having positive influences . ...

As Zero Waste Week approaches Delta Global’s Robert Lockyer argues that too many brands are ‘green-washing’ their messaging and outlines how fashion can take serious action regarding transparency and sustainability.

160 million children subjected to child labour globally in 2020

Bangladesh’s lucrative leather industry routinely employs children

Children forced to do hazardous work for a pittance, says study

The ongoing fast fashion trend means clothes consumption continues to rise year-on-year. In 2019, UK consumers were reported to have spent a huge £61bn on new outfits, and it’s estimated that 13 million items of clothing end up in landfill every week. This is the product of our throwaway culture.

New digital care label offers supply chain traceability

The current system has a complex and hugely wasteful supply chain and manufacturing process. As such, it’s one of the largest contributors to the rise of environmentally damaging emissions. It is estimated that the industry is responsible for 10 per cent of global carbon emissions and almost 20 per cent of wasteful water. On average 23 kg of greenhouse gases are produced per kilo of fabric, and according to the Project Fibersort report (March 2020), in North-West Europe alone, around 4,700 kilo tonnes of post-consumer textile (PCT) waste is generated every year. Yet less than one per cent of garments are recycled and the average Brit throws out 3.1kg of textiles every year.

The luxury firm has launched a diagnosis of its biodiversity footprint as part of efforts to protect its supply chain against the dangers of climate change.

Turkish denim mill Calik Denim is setting its sights on a more sustainable future. The company announced new targets for 2025 that include boosting raw material procurement, reducing its carbon footprint and facilitating innovation and thought leadership.