Ones to Watch in Sustainable Fashion | Weekly Report by Luxe.CO

In the 51st week of 2020, Luxe.CO's Sustainable Fashion Power List contained a total of 11 luxury, fashion and lifestyle brands and the latest developments from corporate groups. Fast-fashion giant H&M, European online luxury and fashion retailer YOOX NET-A-PORTER and American beauty company Coty Inc were selected as the top ones to watch.

Top Ones to Watch in Sustainable Fashion (in no particular order)

1. Swedish fast-fashion giant H&M has launched a multi-brand packaging system, adopting new packages made of certified paper. The new packaging was piloted in sales centers in the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden, China, Russia and Australia among brands including Cos, Arket, Monki and Weekday. H&M has introduced the packaging in certain markets and is promoting it to a larger customer base. At the beginning of 2021, & Other Stories will also use recycled paper packaging for their online order deliveries.

2. European online luxury and fashion retailer YOOX NET-A-PORTER is piloting digital ID technology across all private label collections from 2021 to accelerate traceability and circularity. The Digital ID program has been led by the Group’s Sustainability and R&D teams and is part of YOOX NET-A-PORTER’s sustainability strategy, Infinity. By scanning QR codes tailored into each item, customers and partners will be able to access information, engaging content and services related to that individual product. They can also easily check whether the garment has been repaired, opening opportunities for customers to access similar information that may help them extend the life of their entire wardrobe.

3. American beauty company Coty Inc launched its 2020 sustainability report. Based on the sustainability strategy “Beauty That Lasts”, it summarized the year’s achievements around three pillars: product, people and planet. Over the last year, Coty reduced energy consumption in its factories, distribution centers and offices by 26% compared to 2017, while water consumption reduced by a significant 18% in 2020. Coty primarily uses sustainably produced RSPO-certified palm oil within its supply chain. In addition, as a member of the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI), 95% of their purchased mica comes from suppliers who themselves are RMI members. Coty has made a commitment to sourcing 100% of its mica from RMI members by 2022.

Other sustainable fashion trends (in no particular order)

4. UK-based label maharishi references WWII Sukajan jackets with its Fall/Winter 2020 collection. In terms of fabrics, it uses vegetable-dyed eco twill made from recovered cotton waste as well as an eco-conscious blend of cotton and lyocell, whilst also recycling the water used in the process. The new collection integrates dragon and serpent embroidery and traditional South American artworks representing man’s quest for wisdom. The collection includes jackets, vests and silk shirts and is available now on the brand’s online store.

5. Hungarian designer brand Nanushka has released its first sustainability report, calling for consumers’ awareness of sustainability. Nanushka has continued to increase the certified sustainable materials within its collections as it moves closer to its goal of 100% sustainability by 2025. Current figures stand at 47% for men’s wear and 48% for women’s wear for the fall 2020 collections, up from 5 and 35% respectively in the spring season. Furthermore, the company has planted 4,800 trees to mitigate the greenhouse effect.

6. American sports and outdoor clothing retailer REI Co-op is engaging its more than 1,000 brand partners to advance more sustainable and inclusive business practices. The REI Product Impact Standards, first launched in 2018, has expanded, working as a way for REI to advance sustainability across the industry. With plans to more than halve its carbon footprint by 2030, REI is holding itself accountable for each unit of carbon it emits in its own operations and products. REI also aims to engage brand partners to reduce the emissions embedded in their products and expects all of them to create an action plan by the end of 2021 for measuring their annual carbon footprint and working to reduce product-embedded emissions.

7. US sportswear company Brooks Running and German producer of mountain sportswear Vaude have now joined the Climate Pledge Friendly, founded by e-commerce giant Amazon, in an effort to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement ten years early. They have agreed to implement carbon emission elimination strategies through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements and decarbonization efforts. Some 31 companies have now joined the Climate Pledge Friendly, committing to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040.

8. On the basis of the Higg BRM, European e-commerce company Zalando and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) have made sustainability data assessments of its 3,000 brand partners and aim to scale a global standard for measuring sustainability, thereby contributing to the development of the industry using the brand-level comparable sustainability data. The company, which has pledged to work only with brands aligned with its ethical standards by 2023, says it has received data from its first cluster of 250 brands in an initial assessment round.

9. ZEGNA, an Italian luxury fashion brand, has presented its new sustainable collection for Spring/Summer 2021. With a strong commitment to the full sustainability of fashion, Z ZEGNA has further developed innovative processes to create fashionable sustainable fabrics from existing fabrics. ZEGNA blends natural and high-tech fibers into a plain knit fabric, while recycled nylon is specially processed to give it a structure similar to wool yarns to make high-performance sustainable fabric.

10. German flavor and fragrance producer Symrise Inc has ranked among the top ten most sustainable companies in the world, according to the current ranking by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a non-profit organization. Aimed at conserving forests, the company is committed to counteracting deforestation throughout the entire value chain. This is why the Group uses resources from sustainable forestry. Symrise is also very conscious of saving water. By 2025, all production sites in regions affected by drought will improve their water efficiency by 15% compared to 2018.

11. American consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble Co. is partnering with cosmetic packaging supplier Albéa to launch recyclable High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) toothpaste tubes, using its proprietary Greenleaf Generation 2 tube technology. The technology has earned the recognition of the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR). Procter & Gamble will switch to recyclable HDPE tubes for their Crest, Oral-B and blend-a-med toothpaste brands.

About Ones to Watch in Sustainable Fashion

In August 2020, Luxe.CO started to publish Ones to Watch in Sustainable Fashion on a weekly basis. The list selects initiatives in sustainability from fashion and lifestyle brands, companies and corporate groups. Our committee will select the best initiatives based on the criteria of “power to innovate” and “power to implement strategy”. It is our hope that this list will inspire every brand, retailer, and manufacturer that focuses on sustainable fashion.

| Photo Credit: Brand Website

| By Lingli Shu & Mireya