Brands towards sustainability
“The world is demanding sustainability in all industries.”
Consumers now pay much more attention to brands actions towards that goal. Retailers have taken note and shifted their strategy in order to become more sustainable and leave less of a print on the planet. Consumers want to have a positive impact on the planet, and therefore, their shopping habits have also shifted. In addition to this, most governments are giving rewarding companies that have sustainable initiatives.
- Fashion
- Beauty
- Food Industry
1. Fashion Industry- The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of the world's carbon emissions and for 20% of all water pollution worldwide. Here are a few examples of brands that are turning more and more sustainable.
a. Levis: Denim is known for needing immense amounts of water to create one pair of jeans, but Levis is changing that. Their new collection, Water Less, uses 96% less water.
b. H&M: They have been doing eco-conscious collections for years, but they have just launched a recycling service where a machine can turn any piece of old clothing into a new one. Also, they have committed to have 100% of materials and products to be recycled or sustainably sourced by 2030.
c. Zara’s commitment: They have committed to produce with 100% sustainable cotton, linen and polyester by 2025 and 100% viscose by 2023, meaning all materials will be organic recycled or produced according to the guidelines.
d. T-Bô clothing. It is a men’s co-created underwear company. The underwear is made out of Bamboo Viscose. This company just introduced a packaging free checkout option, in order to produce less waste. If all of the brand’s customers choose the no-packaging option, T-Bô estimates a reduction in waste by approximately 1,200 pounds in 2020. This brings the brand one step closer to a 360-degree sustainable vision.
2. Beauty Industry- The main issue of the beauty industry is of course the packaging. Each year the Cosmetic Industry generates billions of tons of non-recyclable plastic for their packaging. More sustainable options often generate very high costs, and finding a balance between environmentally sustainable and financially sustainable is sometimes difficult to do, especially to smaller brands.
a. L’Occitane Group has teamed up with Loop Industries, a sustainable plastic innovator to make their packaging more eco-friendly. The group has committed to incorporate 100% sustainable plastic (PET) to their packaging by 2022.
b. L’Oreal has partnered with Albéa, to make their packaging more environmentally friendly. They will be replacing their packaging with a carton based packaging which starts production in the end of 2020.
c. La Mer with its foundation launched in 2017, Blue Heart Oceans Fund. It is committed to protect marine habitats around the world by different initiatives, such as planting species, or supporting projects dedicated to research and educating people, underwater habitat protection, etc.
d. Ethique is a company founded in New Zealand that is completely zero waste. They are cruelty free, vegan, non-toxic, palm oil free, come from ethical sourcing and have thoughtful packaging. They sell hair, face and body bars. They provide plastic free packaging and shipping, and a whole new concept, which is for example solid shampoo. It is a great alternative to the classic plastic bottle shampoo. They have saved over 8 million plastic bottles from entering landfill, and they are just getting started: their next goal is 50 million by 2025.They also are involved in projects, such as the Super soap project, where they donate soap to vulnerable communities, or the 1 tree planted per order Project, where the title is pretty explanatory.
3. The food Industry- is also slowly but steady turning to sustainability through various strategies, such as water conservation, natural pest control and sustainable distribution
a. Nestlé has also partnered with Loop to achieve the commitment that by 2025, Nestlé aims to make all of their packaging recyclable or reusable, and to reduce its use of virgin plastics by one-third. They are not only developing new packaging, but they have also launched sustainable education and training for all its employees. They also want to achieve a waste free future.
b. Mondelez has committed to reduce their environmental impact by making all packaging recyclable by 2025. They have also set the goal by 2025 to reduce absolute end-to-end greenhouse gas emissions by 10%, compared to 2018, as well as a 10% reduction in their water usage.
c. The Kraft Heinz Company committed to reducing the company’s operational environmental footprint through water conservation, energy use and waste reduction across its manufacturing facilities, as well as addressing sustainable packaging. Their goals also include responsible sourcing and Community Support & Healthy Living.
d. Planted is a Swiss company dedicated to reimagining meat. Their main motivation when founding the company was and still is to revolutionise the way meat is perceived and consumed globally. All of their “meat” is plant based. Tasty without cruelty.
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