OUT THE BOX

NOW THAT’S A GOOD IDEA…MANDATORY SUSTAINABILITY AUDITS

MANDATORY SUPPLIER SUSTAINABILITY AUDITS

GERMAN FASHION RETAILER ZALANDO HAS BECOME THE FIRST RETAILER TO MAKE IT COMPULSORYFOR BRANDS SELLING ON ITS PLATFORM TO AUDIT THEIR SUSTAINABILITY CREDENTIALS.

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

Fashion retailer Zalando, Europe’s biggest fashion platform, is forcing all brands who sell on its online platform to measure how sustainable their business is.

HOW DOES THAT WORK?

The Berlin-based marketplace is requiring that all brands selling via its site measure the environmental and social impacts of their business and provide the data to Zalando.

WHAT WILL ZALANDO DO WITH THE DATA?

Use it to understand trends and develop solutions aimed at improving its own business. Ultimately, Zalando aims to work only with partners who meet its ethical standards by 2023.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

It’s the first time that a retailer of any description has forced suppliers to focus on the carbon footprint of their business and it’s a model that might at some point make its way into grocery and convenience retailing and indicates a clear direction of travel for retail as a whole.

WHY ARE THEY DOING IT?

Kate Heiny, Director of Sustainability at Zalando commented: “We want to raise the bar, act first and bring our partners on the journey to address today’s most important issues: climate change, use of resources and worker rights. For the first time we will have comparable data at brand level to identify improvement areas and work on solutions collaboratively.”