Green Retail World has covered news from Decathlon, Burberry, Westfield, and much more this week.
The following news in brief rounds up the week in greener retailing.
White Stuff and Thrift+ in resale partnership
Fashion retailer White Stuff has announced it is working with Thrift+ to encourage its customers to resell their pre-loved clothing and accessories.
With the aim of reducing fashion and textiles waste, White Stuff is giving out free Thrift+ bags in its stores this week. Customers can then register to resell their unwanted items online, bag them up, and send them away in exchange for a £10 voucher to use at the retailer.
The voucher can be redeemed on purchases £30 and over at White Stuff, and must be used within the year.
After 1 November, the Thrift+White Stuff bags will cost 10p, with the proceeds going to support the White Stuff Foundation.
Arla in Scope 3 dairy commitment with Aldi, Asda, Morrisons and Starbucks
Farmer-owned dairy company Arla said this week it has given retailers a chance to reduce their Scope 3 emissions faster and with more accurate reporting.
Arla has signed new agreements with Aldi, Asda, Morrisons and Starbucks that create deeper farmer and customer collaboration through projects to deliver progress towards shared climate targets.
The agreements – many more of which are needed across the food supply chain to tackle what is one of the toughest areas of carbon reduction in business – are supported by Arla’s on-farm climate data.
Arla Food Europe chief operations officer & executive vice president, Peter Giørtz-Carlsen, said: “Driving down scope 3 emissions is another way of bringing value to our customers, and we want to be a strategic partner for them in that journey.
“Dairy is an important category for our retail and foodservice customers, and for some of them, emissions from dairy constitute a significant part of their scope 3 emissions. Currently, this translates into increased interest in entering into partnerships, which we welcome. Our scope 3 leadership also provides us with new commercial and strategic opportunities for our milk pool.”
Unveiled: G-Star Rewear
Fashion retailer G-Star RAW has launched a vintage platform, G-Star Rewear.
Consumers can use the site to buy and sell G-Star items from previous seasons. This is part of the business’s ‘Repair Rewear Recycle’ strategy, which is aimed at preventing G-Star clothing from ending up in landfill.
The retailer said in a statement on LinkedIn: “Our garments are designed to last, so we want to make it as easy as possible to extend their lives even further. G-Star Rewear is now available in the Netherlands, as a next step we plan to expand to additional countries.”
The tech company, FAUME, is supporting the new endeavour.
More from the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Accelerator
The good work of the companies recognised by the Tom Ford Plastic Innovator Accelerator continues, with all the businesses involved announcing ongoing work to advance awareness of traditional thin-film plastic packaging and accelerate adoption of seaweed-based alternatives.
Supported by sea plastic prevention organisation, Lonely Whale, the beauty brand-led accelerator will continue to bring together forward-thinkers and experts in this space to try and reduce reliance on plastic in packaging.
The companies, Notpla, Sway and Zerocircle, will convene for a series of monthly seminars and strategic communication workshops, supported by the accelerator’s stakeholder network, while continuing trial activities of our materials with Lonely Whale’s coalition of early adopter brands.
Say “hello” to the Circular Change Council
Online marketplace eBay UK and waste prevention group Wrap have announced the launch of the Circular Change Council – an action-focused homeware industry collective aiming to increase circularity in the furniture industry and help reduce furniture waste.
Founding members of the council include Ikea UK & Ireland, George at Asda, Very, Sainsbury’s, Simba, Dunelm, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the British Heart Foundation.
The new council aims to increase circularity in the furniture industry and drive action to target the circa 22 million furniture items Wrap estimates are thrown away by citizens in the UK each year.
To help drive further consumer demand in this space, the Circular Change Council will work with the UK’s retailers to frame ‘non-new’ furniture in the most appealing way to help tackle common perceptual barriers.
Kumaran Adithyan, general manager for home, refurbished and electronics at eBay UK, commented: “There is a huge opportunity for the furniture industry to take on some of the challenges to help take steps towards a fully circular future.
“We are excited to partner with Wrap, to bring together like-minded and forward-thinking brands from across the industry, to form a collective that can drive and incentivise behaviour change at scale.”
Lyndsey Miles, head of positive business development at Dunelm, said: “We know that by working together we have a much better chance of changing mindsets and creating a more circular furniture industry.”
Emma Reid, director of sustainability at Simba, remarked: “At Simba, we achieved a major milestone on our mission to become net zero by 2030, when we gained B Corporation status earlier this year. As the first UK-based mattress brand to earn the gold standard accreditation, we create products using only recyclable materials or by refurbishing products.”
Sophie De Salis, sustainability policy adviser at the BRC, said she expected the initiative to “supercharge circularity in the furniture industry”.
Jade Snart, senior sustainability manager for George clothing at Asda, noted: ”We are delighted to be part of the Circular Change Council, working collaboratively with other retailers and industry experts to unlock the potential for creating circularity in the furniture industry.”
The council plans to launch pilot projects to help prompt wide-scale industry and consumer behavioural change.
Read more about eBay’s sustainability-focused work on Green Retail World
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