Sustainable Procurement News

Sportswear giant Adidas says this year it will use more than 60 per cent recycled polyester across its product range. 

The German outfit’s ambition is to only use recycled polyester by 2024 – a target it looks on course to meet after last year achieving the milestone of 50 per cent recycled polyester.

“Sustainability is an integral part of the Adidas business philosophy,” commented CEO Kasper Rorsted. “We have continued to invest in sustainability initiatives during the coronavirus pandemic and we will significantly expand our range of sustainable products by 2021.”

A new report by the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) reveals the progress made by brands and retailers on the 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment, introduced in 2017 to set circular supply chain targets.

Reflecting on the collective success of signatories – which include H&M, Kering, Inditex, Tommy Hilfiger and Target – the GFA reveals that 64 per cent of the 217 individual targets outlined have been met whilst it insists others may take longer due to the differing complexities of each project and the impact of COVID-19.

Looking ahead, the GFA has already announced a new 12-month project – called the Circular Fashion Partnership – which will vie to combat waste in Bangladesh by developing the country’s recycling infrastructure.

Hong Kong beauty packaging firm Meiyume has identified aluminium as a key material as it focuses its efforts on the development of recyclable packaging solutions.
The firm began working on sustainable packaging solutions 24 months ago. Since then, it has gradually increased its resources and is now focusing 90% of its innovation and incubation efforts on such projects.

“Within this strategy, one of our main pillars is focused on recyclable packaging solutions. Drawing from our knowledge and expertise of 20 years working with multi-materials, we have identified aluminium as a key material,” ​said Stephane Bulle, VP of primary packaging and innovation, Meiyume.

UK retailer Asda has announced that it has commenced a test run of its ‘sustainability store’ in Middleton, Leeds.

The outlet aims to help shoppers reduce, reuse and recycle with ease and the retailer expects to remove around one million pieces of plastic annually through this store.

Asda has partnered with some of the UK’s most popular household brands, such as PG Tips, Vimto, Kellogg’s, Radox and Persil, to offer sustainable versions of popular products.

The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is a knowledge-sharing platform and partnership for the entire cotton supply chain. It offers brands and retailers better access to the cotton data that they need to be more sustainable.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit as the global fashion industry seemed to be correcting its course towards a sustainable future.

Adidas, like many large firms, has invested heavily in sustainability practices across its supply chains and driven sustainability — and thus has seen a 52 percent reduction in CO2 emissions in 2019. Newer, smaller brands such as Reformation drive better industry practices by placing sustainability at the core of its business — committing that 75 percent of all materials are natural, renewable or recycled.

Global manufacturer Milliken & Company joined the new Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, a collaborative plastics industry effort that the Recycling Partnership established over the summer to boost polypropylene plastic recovery and recycling in the US.

Better recycled polypropylene quality and performance in the United States would be advantageous for Milliken & Company. Membership in the coalition supports the company’s goal of improving plastic circularity, according to Allen Jacoby, senior vice president of plastics additives for Milliken’s Chemical Division.

SodaStream-branded reverse vending machines are now being installed in retail stores across the European Union and the US, and machines are already in operation in Sweden and France.

CO2 canisters are utilised by SodaStream machines to make sparkling water or other carbonated beverages. The goal of the partnership is to make cylinder exchange more efficient for both retailers and SodaStream customers, and ultimately increase canister recycling for reuse.

The companies also claim that the solutions are ideal for retailers in a post-Covid world, as they aid social distancing protocols as customers no longer need to go to customer service points to return used CO2 cylinders.

Nestle has highlighted the tropical climate in many Asian countries as a major challenge in developing sustainable food packaging options for the region at the same pace as in other countries worldwide.
An example here was the firm’s recent launch of new recyclable paper packaging for its Maggi bouillon cubes in France earlier this month - but not in any Asian markets, even though ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia are traditionally key markets for this product.

Oliver Balch speaks to Pia Heidenmark Cook, chief sustainability officer for the world’s largest furniture retailer, about its ambition to achieve 100% recycled and renewable material in its products

“Low-cost”, “flat-pack”, ”Swedish”, “yellow”. Mention of the word “IKEA” and many word associations spring to mind. True aficionados of the world’s largest furniture retailer may think “Poäng chair” or “Billy bookcase”, or even “meatballs”. One term that is unlikely to crop up, however, is “circular”.

That could be set to change. In a major statement of intent, the global home-furnishing brand announced earlier this month that it is joining forces with circular economy champions, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The strategic partnership aims to put the home furnishing sector “on the global circular map” and to advance a wider transformation to a circular society.

Lowe’s Canada received recognition this week for its ongoing national household battery collection and recycling efforts. The home improvement retailer recovered more than 255,000 pounds of batteries in 2019 alone.

Adidas and H&M Group are among a host of fashion and textile firms to have teamed up for an EU-funded sustainable fashion project announced in late November, which aims to develop a circular economy for clothing that would result in old garments and fibers being recycled into new items for major high street brands.

Over three years, the New Cotton Project will see textile waste collected and sorted via consumer apparel take-back programs, then regenerated into cellulose-based textile fibers by Finnish biotechnology specialist Infinited Fiber Company, the 12 project partners confirmed.

The resulting fiber will be used to create different types of fabrics for clothing that are designed, manufactured and sold by global sportswear brand Adidas and retail companies in the H&M Group, they explained.

The "world first" project is being led by Infinited Fiber Company, alongside a consortium of 11 other companies and organizations spanning the entire supply chain, including manufacturers Inovafil, Tekstina and Kipas, which will use old garments to produce yarns, woven fabrics and denim, respectively.

The New Cotton Project was a direct response to major and growing environmental problems in the textile industry relating to the production of raw materials such as cotton, viscose and fossil-based fibers such as polyester.

Japanese personal care conglomerate Kao Corporation has developed a new pump for its film-type packaging to replace its use of plastic pump bottles.
The Raku-raku Switch is a spout that dispenses a fixed amount of liquid contents with one push of a button.

It can be used with the company’s film-type Raku-raku Eco Pack Refill, which will reduce plastic use by approximately 50% compared with plastic bottles with a pump dispenser.

According to Kao, the Raku-raku Eco Pack Refill itself can reduce plastic use and reduce the CO2 emissions produced from manufacturing and disposal by approximately 80%.

“Development and launch of the Raku-raku Switch is one of Kao's efforts to eliminate the use of plastic bottles as part of its priority actions aimed at Innovation in Reduction, aligned with its ESG Strategy, the Kirei Lifestyle Plan,” ​said the company.

Thanks to a growing demand for more earth-friendly packaging from concerned consumers, activists and regulators, manufacturers and retailers are on the verge of a packaging renaissance in which new recyclable and compostable containers will begin to permeate the market.

In recent years, one of the country's largest grocers, Kroger, has committed to eliminating single-use shopping bags from its stores, and other retailers are in the process of phasing out other single-use plastics from their supply chains, ranging from plastic straws to deli containers. Smaller regional players such as Giant Eagle have recently announced their intentions to do the same. At the same time, a growing number of companies are looking at how they can reduce packaging in general or use more post-consumer-recycled material in their designs.

Keurig Dr Pepper announced that its Snapple® and CORE® brands are transitioning to bottles made of 100% recycled (rPET) plastic, eliminating approximately 46.3 million pounds of virgin plastic used by KDP annually. Snapple is available now in 100% recycled plastic 16 oz. bottles in West Coast markets and will continue to roll out in phases across the country through early next year. In addition, with production underway, CORE bottles made from 100% recycled plastic will be on shelves beginning in early 2021.

Daymon has released a white paper entitled Sustainability Beyond the New Normal, which examines the impact of COVID-19 on sustainability, exploring challenges, initiatives and opportunities in the UK market.

From a retail perspective, sustainability is mostly focused on plastic reduction and initiatives around recycling and food waste.

Retailers must adapt and align with the changes as they have a significant role to play, with their Private Brands being the translation of their sustainable commitment.

Set to arrive in 2023, the bottle — which will biodegrade in 18 months — will replace 80M plastic bottles currently produced by Bacardi across its portfolio of brands every year.

Hot on the heels of the unveiling last month of Absolut’s fully recyclable paper bottle — set to hit shelves in 2021 — and amidst a flurry of industry innovation determined to rein in our global plastic pollution problem, Bacardi this week unveiled plans to put what it’s calling “the world’s most sustainable spirits bottle” on shelf by 2023.

The Kraft Heinz Company is making progress against goals related to improving packaging sustainability, according to their second-ever Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Report, which was published this week.

Kraft Heinz’s first ESG report came out in 2017, and included commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy and water usage, and waste to landfill. The company also vowed to improve sourcing throughout the value chain.

In 2018, Kraft Heinz set a goal to make 100% of their packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025. They reported forming a partnership with the environmental consultancy group Lorax EPI to understand how much of their packaging falls into those categories. The partners estimate that more than 70% of Kraft Heinz packaging does, as of 2019.

Weetabix has unveiled new 100% recyclable bottles for its Weetabix On the Go range of breakfast drinks, which will be introduced in the UK this month.

According to Weetabix, the new packaging took 18 months to develop, and the bottle, cap and sleeve can now all be recycled together.

The breakfast drink is now packaged in a clear PET bottle, which is made from 30% recycled plastic. A ‘100% recyclable logo’ will be displayed on the lid of the product to increase shopper awareness about the recyclability of the product.

A statement from the company claims that 92% Weetabix Food Company’s packaging is now recyclable thanks to the release of the new bottles, and the company aims to reach 100% recyclable packaging by 2025.

Today, Levi Strauss & Co launched Levi's®’ most sustainable jeans yet — made with organic cotton and Circulose®, a breakthrough material made from 20 percent recycled denim and 20 percent sustainably sourced viscose. 

Pharrell Williams’ creative collective I Am Other is upcycling CDs and food packaging into a reusable cutlery kit in partnership with the circular design and technology company Pentatonic.