Green Retail World rounds up the latest greener retailing news to kick off the week, featuring updates from Patagonia, H&M, THIS, FatFace, and Sojo.
The Future Supplier Initiative
H&M, Bestseller, Gap and Mango are three retailers involved in the ‘The Future Supplier Initiative’, a new movement facilitated by The Fashion Pact and Apparel Impact Institute, Guidehouse, and DBS Bank to offer a collective financing model to support deep decarbonisation in the apparel sector.
The programme aims to drive environmental improvements throughout the supply chain by sharing financial risks and responsibilities of transitioning to renewable energy sources in Tier 1 and 2 garment and textile factories.
A combination of technical support and financial incentives will be used to help overcome the barriers that prevent many factories from adopting electrification and renewable energy solutions.
Eva von Alvensleben, executive director & secretary general of The Fashion Pact, said: “The cost of inaction on climate change is unaffordable.
“If the fashion sector is to meet its goals and transform its supply chain, we urgently need to address the gap between ambition and action. The Future Supplier Initiative is a unique opportunity for fashion retailers to join forces and drive progress towards science based targets, and offer much needed financial and technical support to apparel suppliers in their journey to decarbonisation.”
She added: “No single business alone can solve this challenge, but by sharing the costs, risks and responsibilities of the transition to renewable energy, we can build an ecosystem of solutions and kickstart a new era of change.”
As businesses look to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions they might adopt a range of energy efficient technologies and processes, and transition to renewable energy sources, but the payback on this can take time, which deters many suppliers from following this route.
The Future Supplier Initiative will look to reduce the cost for suppliers by working with fashion brands to decrease the cost of capital for loans that can accelerate decarbonisation.
Daniel Ervér, the new CEO of H&M Group, said: “We want to lead the way within our industry and decarbonising our supply chain is one of the most important keys to further reduce our emissions.
“The Future Supplier Initiative shows that solutions are readily available and come with proven impact, but it requires commitments from brands and investors that are willing to invest. We encourage others to join our efforts to tackle our industry’s negative climate impact.”
The initiative will begin with a programme in Bangladesh, supported by Bestseller, Gap, H&M Group and Mango. But the programme is actively recruiting more brands, with the intention of expanding to other key apparel manufacturing regions including Vietnam, India, China, Italy and Turkey.
In its first year, the cohort will prioritise factories based on impact, build technical proposals for achieving deep decarbonisation, and de-risk lending to suppliers to implement these projects at more attractive rates. Year two of the programme will focus on project implementation and monitoring of the climate impact created through these investments.
Patagonia creates ‘circular’ system for Yulex wetsuits
Fashion retailer Patagonia has co-developed – with Bolder Industries – a method for keeping the materials used in the manufacturing of Yulex wetsuits in circulation.
Earlier this year, the brand began collecting end-of-life Yulex natural rubber wetsuits so they could be broken down at the molecular level by Bolder to be used as carbon black in the dyeing process of future Yulex wetsuits. It came after, in 2020, Patagonia built an on-site wetsuit research, development and repair centre to put its best repair and design minds under one roof.
With that infrastructure in place, Patagonia now collects end-of-life wetsuits through in-store take-back or direct shipping, removes zippers and sends the suits to Bolder, where carbon black is extracted from the wetsuits and other rubber scraps such as car tires. This reclaimed material then goes to Patagonia’s manufacturer, Sheico, where new wetsuits are manufactured.
The first Patagonia wetsuits containing reclaimed ‘BolderBlack’ are set to go on sale in the spring of 2025.
Hub Hubbard, Patagonia surf product line manager, said: “We hope that this breakthrough in recycling and circularity will go well beyond the surf industry and will eventually be implemented across countless product sectors.
“We have successfully piloted this programme using reclaimed carbon black from retired Yulex wetsuits as a main component in wetsuits and that cycle can repeat indefinitely. Yes, other brands have offered wetsuit collections for recycling, but the wetsuits have so far only been broken down mechanically into things like yoga mats and playground material.”
He added: “We are constantly working to reduce our impact and share solutions within the industry. Currently, we are collaborating with multiple brands to convert their wetsuits to Yulexand implement this program with Bolder Industries, providing a sustainable end-of-life solution.”
Jason McCaffrey, director of Patagonia surf, commented: “The larger adoption of Yulex by major wetsuit brands has been amazing.
“This end-of-life solution through our partnership with Bolder Industries is just one more benefit of using natural rubber.”
Mackenzie Warner, Patagonia material developer, remarked: “At Patagonia, we strive to build the best products and constantly improve everything we do by developing new ways to do things.
“While collaborating on this material with Bolder Industries, we discovered that recovered carbon black from rubber scraps and Yulex wetsuits can be utilised to not only solution dye wetsuit materials but also black fabrics and trims to make products such as packs and jackets. We are excited to continue to find new ways to use this innovative new material and share it with industry.”
Plant-based food company THIS completes £20m funding round
UK plant-based food company THIS has announced the closing of its Series C equity funding round of £20 million.
The round was completed by Planet First Partners, a European growth equity sustainable investment platform, via a combination of primary and secondary equity financing.
THIS, which recently appointed ex-Ella’s Kitchen CEO Mark Cuddigan as its chief exec, said it will use the capital to accelerate growth in its UK home market through launches of new product ranges to cater to evolving consumer health preferences, whilst continuing to boost profitability on its existing core products.
Commenting on THIS, Frédéric de Mévius, chairman of Planet First Partners, said: “We believe the company is uniquely placed to capitalise on growing consumer preferences for sustainable and healthy food alternatives, whilst supporting the environment.”
FatFace launches Marine Conservation Society collection
To mark World Ocean Day last week (8 June), fashion retailer FatFace launched its FatFace x Marine Conservation Society (MCS) collection.
The two organisations have worked together for more than five years to raise awareness about protecting the UK’s seas and coasts. This year’s range was inspired by the creatures and plant life that thrive in the world’s oceans, resulting in uniquely designed swimwear, T-shirts, sweaters, accessories and more aimed at all members of the family.
FatFace promises that 10% of sales from this collection goes to MCS.
Vestiaire Collective x Sojo
Resale platform Vestiaire Collective is teaming up with repair specialist Sojo, enabling its buyer and seller customers to tailor and repair their goods after purchase or prior to putting them up for resale.
Vestiaire said 65% of the clothes bought through its platform and then returned are due to the wrong fit, prompting the launch of the service to support customers to receive a more tailored offering.
[Main image credit: Green Retail World]
