As summer draws to a close we ask our community of brands on what aspect of their sustainability strategy they will be focusing on for the rest of the year and why.
“We are going to take this crisis as an opportunity and take full advantage of the fact that hotels now have less reserve saturation to deepen the implementation of measures focused on improving the sustainability of hotel accommodations. For example, we will continue to introduce solid toiletries. We are also going to collaborate with the Secretary of State for Tourism to continue promoting measures to promote sustainable tourism in Spain.”
“Our main sustainability focus for the rest of 2020 is our supply chain, we want to consider every stage and identify the key areas for improvement to reduce our environmental impact and become more streamline, this includes our production and purchasing of fabrics. We believe there is a lot of work to be done to help suppliers to become more sustainable and we’re curious in helping them find alternative fibres/fabrics for all of their customers.”
Monica Magdas Miller, Founder of Santicler
“Our sustainability focus for Fall is the introduction of our recycled cashmere. This has taken a lot of research and we are very excited to have settled for an Italian quality that is a blend of post-consumer fibre, pre-consumer recycled cashmere and virgin Mongolian cashmere. The result is a gorgeous yarn that does not compromise hand or appearance but helps us reach our goal of constantly improving our supply chain and reducing our environmental impact.”
“Having produced some garments for orders that were unfortunately dropped due to the effects of COVID on the retail industry, our number one goal for the latter part of 2020 is to sell this stock in keeping with our zero-waste policy. We are thus in the process of altering our business model to incorporate DTC, in addition to linking up with other retailers. Thankfully our brand is seasonless, so this is a feasible goal.”
“2020 has been a tumultuous year. Given this, our focus for the latter part of 2020 will be on UN Goal 3 “Good Health and Well-being”. We built our business around the values we share as a family. Honesty, loyalty and being together are important to us. Our suppliers are also family businesses. Staying connected and supporting each other will be key to our life and work plans. Kia kaha.”
Joanne Milner, Chief Executive of Garrard
“I believe now is the perfect time to focus on a holistic approach to sustainability – as a direct result of the ways in which our world has changed since the start of the year. We all have a responsibility to step up, and to go above and beyond what has been seen as the more traditional expectations of sustainability, both professionally and personally. At Garrard, we will be looking at more ways to give back to society in a tangible way. Finding the best ways to do that will be my focus for the remainder of the year – and beyond.”
“The global pandemic has highlighted the urgency for us to shift our relationship with the earth from one of consuming to one of reciprocating. We hope to provide a platform for the quieter voices in the growing conversations around the clothing and beauty industries – the artisans whose livelihoods are centred around its crafts; the farmers who work the land that provides for it; and the soil that gives life to the resources we use.”
“For the latter part of 2020 we are focusing on the re-use of the sloe berries that we use for the production of our Elephant Sloe Gin. This delicious and high-quality remainder is made for more. You’ll see what we mean on 24th September, keep your eyes peeled.”
Caroline Nègre, Beauty Scientific Director at YSL Beauty
“YSL Beauty Ourika Community Gardens is an innovative and socially responsible project connected to the earth since its creation in 2013. In 2020, the brand decided to go a step further by committing to an organic certification process. The goal for tomorrow is to further develop the virtuous cycle, by growing more species to increase the women cooperative’s income, thus empowering them.”
Nidhi S. Dangayach, Co-founder of Verlas
“Every-Angle-View, Try-at-Home and a highly personalised concierge service have driven confident purchases for Verlas’ clients, keeping returns under 2%. Viewing jewellery in 3D delivers a high-quality in-store experience, opting for replicas keeps a check on manufacturing processes, and low returns minimise packaging and shipping wastage. As a digitally native D2C brand, our goal is to continue enhancing our online experience to bring more confidence to our customers’ purchases, from the comfort of their homes.”
The team at Skiim
“At Skiim, we’ve seen the Covid-19 crisis open up an immense opportunity for the fashion industry as a whole to become a more sustainable industry. We see an opportunity to examine where exactly this industry’s faults and weaknesses lie throughout the whole of the supply chain, where we can strengthen human experience and our environmental credentials. We see this as the moment to rise as a leader in sustainability. Being a leather brand, we have a unique perspective, and we wish to share our knowledge about how leather can actually be a healthy climate material. Cows, for example, have been demonised for decades when it comes to the conversation of climate change. We want to show people that it is not cows that are bad for the climate but in fact the process of factory farming cows that is causing the real harm to our planet. It might come as a surprise to many that the humble cow can actually be the answer to climate change. At Skiim, we buy leather to support the regenerative agricultural industry. Our goal for 2020 is to connect the fashion industry with the regenerative movement and to participate in climate relief.”
“Recent events have shone a spotlight on inequalities the world over. One of Forevermark and De Beers Group’s key focus areas is inclusion and diversity. We recognise that, without intentional action, change does not happen and that acknowledging and removing systemic barriers to racial and gender inclusion, and equal opportunity, regardless of economic background, will benefit us all. We are actively working in this space to help continue to drive change in our own culture, as well as looking at ways to support under-represented groups throughout our value chain.”
“We manufacture our products at our family home. When developing products, such as our festive gift boxes launching this year, we remain dedicated to keeping all our packaging proudly reusable and recyclable as we work with cardboard and glass – we love seeing customers upcycle our bottles into small vases! We are committed to green practises and reducing waste, including reusing packaging our suppliers send us to safely transport our wholesale orders.”
Noële Nana Schaffner, Creative Director & Owner of Nomadissem
“As the production of virgin materials requires a considerable amount of water and energy and often occupies agricultural land, Nomadissem has set itself the goal to use at least 25% of repurposed materials by collection IV. As I am currently working on and sourcing for our fourth collection for Autumn Winter 2021/22, reaching this target will be one of the main sustainability goals until the end of the year.”
Tina Bhojwani, Co-Founder & CEO of AERA
“Our sustainability focus will be on researching new materials so that we incorporate even more eco-friendly options into our future collections. Thanks to innovation and technology there continues to be new advances that improve upon existing vegan solutions. Also, we will start looking into a take-back program whereby customers can ship us shoes that they no longer want so we can ensure that they are repaired and either donated or resold.”
Bav Tailor, Founder of Bav Tailor
“As per our 360° sustainability manifesto, BAV TAiLOR endeavours to support through a percentage of its proceeds, foundations to sustain international social and environmental development projects. Partnering with Treedom earlier this year, our focus will be towards blossoming our forest and on our storytelling to showcase and inspire on how little steps can make a global difference.”
“The pandemic has delayed our progress and activities, however it allowed us to think of our new development strategies for the future as sustainable manufacturer and brand. We are focusing on sourcing new eco friendly materials and development of new products. Our goal is to develop our circular production with new materials and propose a larger range of products to be able to increase quantity, and meet customers expectation in terms of colour and design.”
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