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Fashion houses are joining the fight against climate change and supporting the “make the world a better place” global vision by working towards a more sustainable future in the retail industry.
For example, brands such as fast fashion retailer Zara are going green. All of the cotton, linen and polyester that is used in the making of the label’s garments will be organic, sustainable or recycled by 2025 as announced by its parent company Inditex in 2019. Apparently, Zara also wants 80 per cent of the energy from its stores, distribution centres and offices to be clean in 2025.
Another fast fashion industry boomer is also making the green cut with its own plan for 2025 as well – Mango.
The Spanish retailer’s ambitious plan will fulfil one of its strategic pillars, the sustainable transformation of the company. The fashion multinational has established as one of its key objectives to increase the proportion of sustainable fibres in its collection. By 2025, 100 per cent of the cotton used in its garments will be sustainably sourced. In 2018, the firm had already set a target for 50 per cent of its cotton to be sustainable by 2022 and in the same year signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) to increase its support for the cultivation of sustainable cotton worldwide.
The brand, which has 2,100 stores in 110 countries around the world, also plans to increase the use of recycled polyester in its garments. The aim is to increase its use by up to 50 per cent by 2025.
Another point envisioned in this plan is that by 2030, 100 per cent of the cellulose fibres used will be from controlled sources. Mango believes that this is a very important milestone, since it will help improve the traceability of the materials used for its collections.
According to Toni Ruiz, Mango’s general manager: “The targets we have set for our collection are the result of a firm commitment to continue with the sustainable transformation of Mango as a strategic pillar of the company in which all company employees are involved.”
In 2019, the retailer produced a total of 18 million garments with sustainable characteristics, doubling the figure it produced the previous year.
To confirm its dedication, the Spanish store created a Committed capsule collection that is now a permanent fixture from this year onward. The collection includes all garments with sustainable characteristics in the different Mango lines including for women, men, children, baby clothing and Violeta.
The use of sustainable fibres and processes reduces the impact on the environment, helps produce a circular economy and optimises the use of natural resources.
All of these initiatives are part of the Take Action project which includes all the actions aimed at creating a more sustainable business model.
This commitment towards sustainability was formalised in October 2019 when Mango signed up to the Fashion Pact, a global coalition which aims to promote the environmental sustainability of the textile and fashion sectors.
