2021/22
THE NEW GREEN AGE OF ASPIRATION
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F A M I L Y
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Yasmin and Amber Le Bon wear ASHOKA
Contents
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FEATURES 6 EDITOR’S LETTER 8 CONTRIBUTORS 11 RACE TO ZERO The British brand has global power and it should lead the way when it comes to sustainability, says Minister Grimstone 12 LUXURY IS DEAD. LONG LIVE LUXURY. When the world is on fire, what place does luxury have? Futurist Mark Stevenson offers some carrots – and some sticks 18 IS ECOPHOBIA INTERRUPTING YOUR STORY? Luxury industry leaders need to intensify their efforts to help find solutions to the climate crisis, urges activist Clover Hogan 22 IT’S A WRAP FOR PLASTIC Once, a product’s packaging embodied the essence of luxury; now it signifies waste. Sian Sutherland wants brands to think outside the box 27 MISSION POSSIBLE Fashion is responsible for a large proportion of global carbon emissions, but there are British brands who give us hope that we can do better, says Lucy Siegle 32 BRAVE NEW WORLD Fashion steps up to the plate. Photography by Dan Hack 96 ABOUT GBB ZERO Distribution and publishing details, and further resources
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Twenty-six luxury brand leaders share their hopes, ambitions and challenges when it comes to ensuring their brands are fit for purpose – and continue to embody luxury in the new green age of aspiration
ON THE COVER Green chandelier earrings and green ring by Anabela Chan. Living dress (in background) made of moss by Lydia Hardcastle, a recent graduate from Central Saint Martins. Photography by Dan Hack. Fashion direction by Nicole Smallwood. Makeup by Adam De Cruz at One Represents using Hourglass and Fenty Beauty. Art Direction by Fleur Harding. Set design by Tanja Widing. Model: Nayara @ Established
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Editor’s LETTER
he traditional ‘welcome’ is perhaps not the best way to introduce this one-off publishing project that has been a year in the making. Exploring the disastrous reality of what will happen if we don’t all commit to fighting climate change is not a jolly conversation to invite you to join. But it is a vital one, and we hope this edition represents a rallying cry to the luxury industry to unite and pledge its commitment to Race to Zero. To coincide with the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), we invited 26 luxury industry leaders to talk honestly about the challenges they faced as they began changing the ways they did business. Many were initially anxious talking about sustainability, afraid of being accused of greenwashing. Almost all claim to be very far from perfect. Others admit to feeling overwhelmed by publicly committing to cut their emissions – but did it anyway. We are therefore by no means presenting a collection of congratulatory pats on the back. Instead, we are attempting to broaden the conversation by sharing the stories of 26 brands at varying stages of their journey towards zero emissions. We chose some of them in partnership with Walpole, the official body for the luxury sector, whose Sustainability Manifesto inspired us. No company has paid to be featured, because all the CEOs who took part wanted to share freely what knowledge they have, to inspire others to start the process. Smaller brands have as much to offer as big ones. As Andrew Keith, MD of Selfridges, says, we will not solve this gigantic, complex problem without diverse voices (p92). Osman Yousefzada, creator of his eponymous multidisciplinary design label, suggests that the industry produces 6 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO
FROM ABOVE: Fashion with purpose; Christopher Raeburn is a brand that delivers on sustainability, says Lucy Siegle; even Bentley has pledged to be end-to-end carbon neutral by 2030; designs by Osman Yousefzada
less and returns to being valued for its precious rarity (p88). Indeed, as journalist Lucy Siegle points out on page 27, the fashion industry produces more than 100 billion garments a year, incinerating or dumping 87 per cent of clothing materials. This is the context in which futurist Mark Stevenson berates the industry in his hard-hitting ‘call to arms’ essay, in which he demands radical changes (p12). Mark’s piece makes for uncomfortable reading, but if consumers are prepared to pay a premium for luxury products, then industry leaders are well-placed to use that willingness to drive change – and change is visible. As I write, award-winning menswear label Ahluwalia, with an ethos that puts environmental and socially positive practices at its core, is wowing London Fashion Week. Founder Priya Ahluwalia’s views were formed by visits to Panipat in India, capital of garment recycling. Now the pillars of ‘Reduce,Reuse, Recycle, Resell’ are fundamental to many young and established brands alike as they strive for a more circular, regenerative economy. I started thinking about this letter in August when parts of Athens and the island of Evia were in flames while, largely unreported, fires raged through Siberia, vaster and more savage than all the other wildfires in the world combined, destroying tens of millions of acres. Meanwhile, Germany was devastated by floods and Syracuse in Sicily recorded Europe’s hottest day ever (48.8 degrees). I’ve been worrying about the environment since I was making documentaries with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) over 30 years ago. While recording the looming catastrophes suggested by deforestation or the thinning ozone layer, it seemed difficult to know what else to do as an individual, a condition that young climate activist, Clover Hogan, defines as ‘ecophobia’ (p18). We might feel overwhelmed by such a massive problem, yet collectively we can act. And act we must. As designer Bethany Williams says (p52), ‘It’s irresponsible to allow the next generation to inherit all the problems.’ Minister Grimstone,
If BRITISH BRANDS are to retain any sense of PURPOSE and RELEVANCE in a world of alarming UNCERTAINTY, they must now pledge their COMMITMENT to saving the PLANET
from the Department of Trade, says Great British Brands stand globally for ‘innovation, creativity, reliability and increasingly sustainability’ (p11) and so it behoves them to harness their influence and send a strong message to world leaders gathering at COP26. There is a confusing plethora of accreditation bodies, from B Corp to Planet Mark, but the luxury industry leaders interviewed here reveal a collective willingness to help each other navigate this challenging landscape. Jeweller Anabela Chan calls for ‘luxury with a touch of humility’ (p44), and I hope this publication heralds the dawn of a humbler, more collaborative, less competitive age of British luxury. If they are to retain any sense of purpose, aspiration and relevance in a world of alarming uncertainty and change, brands must now pledge their commitment to saving our planet by signing up to Race to Zero or the SME Climate Commitment. Finally, I’d like to say a huge thank you to Julia Prescot. Without her financial support and continuing encouragement, this edition would not have been possible.
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Anabela Chan earrings; designs by Bethany Williams; activist Clover Hogan; a problem with plastic
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CON T R I BU TOR S
Clover Hogan
Lucy Siegle
Mark Stevenson
Sian Sutherland
Climate activist, researcher on eco-anxiety and the founding executive director of Force of Nature, Clover has worked alongside the world’s leading authorities on sustainability, consulted within the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies and supported students in over 50 countries to shift from climate anxiety to agency.
A journalist, broadcaster and author who specialises in climate and nature stories, Lucy was one of the first high profile writers to focus on fashion’s impact on people and planet.
‘Reluctant futurist’ Mark Stevenson is an advisor and board member helping governments, corporates and third sector clients understand the questions the future is asking them and changing the way they feel, behave, invest and recruit in the service of making our world more regenerative, humane, equitable and just.
Sian is co-founder of A Plastic Planet, one of the most recognised and respected campaigns tackling the plastic crisis. She has been named Female Marketer of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year and British Inventor of the Year, among other accolades.
What is your greatest hope for COP26? That people in historical seats of power treat the climate emergency like one, and that those historically shut out of these decisionmaking spaces, including young people and frontline communities, are listened to. Stop talking, start acting… Travel into your feelings about the climate crisis, identify the stories that get in the way of you taking transformative action, then use the force of your feelings to step up for climate.
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What is your greatest hope for COP26? That high income countries like ours increase their support to help lower income countries cut emissions and widen access to renewable energy. This is not about putting out a few bank loans to put solar panels on fast fashion garment factories. Basically, my ambition is for countries like mine to step up and act on climate justice. Stop talking, start acting… Learn to think on behalf of the Earth: carbonliteracy.com and aimhi.earth offer very short courses, or there are many free online introductions to basic climate science. Once you’ve got the basics, acting sustainably quickly becomes second nature.
What is your greatest hope for COP26? That all the talk turns into very swift action. Most corporations and governments are like lung cancer patients who’ve finally started to think about giving up smoking and want a pat on the back. You’re 20 years too late – stop looking for accolades and get on with it. Stop talking, start acting… Stop making excuses for why you are not doing what you can with what you’ve got. You’re a leader – what you do ripples out and affects others. Gandhi had it right: Be the change you want to see in the world.
What is your greatest hope for COP26? That it will be a true COP for the people, not a misty green corporate bandwagon with lots of talk but little real action. We want our global leaders who represent the 7.7bn people on this planet to act with authority and real intention. There is no time to waste now. Stop talking, start acting… Buy less, buy better, share more, repair more. Be aware of your plastic footprint. Go beyond your personal plastic and see how you can possibly impact plastic within your workplace – this is where you have disproportionate power.
Editor Charlotte Metcalf Editorial Director Lucy Cleland Managing Editor Amy Wakeham Features Assistant & Sub Editor Sofia Tindall Copy Writers Kate Patrick, Maggie O’Sullivan Sub Editors Belinda Bamber and Katie Bamber Sustainability Adviser Marina Bradford Property & Marketing Associate Director Gemma Cowley Advertising Sales Director Ellie Rix Senior Account Manager Pandora Lewis Account Manager Katrina Gane Digital Manager Adam Dean Creative Direction & Production Parm Bhamra Production Designer Samuel Thomas Online Editor Rebecca Cox Junior Online Editor Ellie Smith Online Writer Charlotte Rickards Junior Social Media Editor Daniella Saunders Publishing Director Tia Graham Managing Director Jeremy Isaac Copyright © 2021/22 Country & Town House Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. All prices are correct at the time of going to press but are subject to change. While every care is taken to ensure all information is correct at the time of going to press, it is subject to change, and Country & Town House Ltd. takes no responsibility for omissions or errors. Country & Town House, Studio 2, 115 Harwood Road, London SW6 4QL, +44 (0)20 7384 9011.
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All information is correct at the time of going to press but could be subject to change due to unforeseeable circumstances.
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RACE TO ZERO With the UK perceived as an attractive place to invest, government ministers urge British luxury brands to harness their power and lead the world in the race to net carbon zero
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he Global Investment Summit (GIS) on 19 October 2021 will bring together nearly 200 of the world’s largest corporate and financial investors. As he prepares for GIS ahead of COP26, Minister Grimstone urges the luxury industry to support Britain’s efforts to ensure nations unite in their public commitment and pledge to cut emissions and help save our planet.
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel is Minister for Investment jointly at the Department for International Trade and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Portrait by Alexandra Dao
think Britain is the most attractive place in which to invest in Europe,’ Minister Grimstone continues. ‘Take recent stories like Nissan choosing Britain as its site for a major new electric vehicle factory and the vaccine programme. Our brands stand for innovation, creativity, reliability and increasingly sustainability, and it’s those qualities that create such a positive perception and will continue to attract investment.’ When it comes to Race to Zero, many luxury brands can be daunted by its challenges, particularly as there are so many different initiatives to sign up to. To make it easier for smaller brands to take the first step, earlier this year the government launched the Together for our Planet campaign, so SMEs (small and mediumsized enterprises) can now sign up online to an SME Climate Commitment (smeclimatehub.org). ‘There is so much talk about greenwashing nowadays, so brands that just go on talking about sustainability initiatives without making a positive, public, transparent pledge to cut emissions, risk being accused of it,’ he continues. ‘A public commitment is a daunting step, but we all have to do it or we won’t have a planet to save any more. A public commitment should be aspirational and brands should wear it as a badge of honour – and watch new customers come running. ‘COP21 in Paris achieved some great things and we need to continue to build on that. Only if we all unite after COP26 can we create a massive, everlasting legacy. But the one thing that could stand in the way is selfishness. Businesses must realise that customers will eventually turn away from them if they don’t commit to cutting emissions. A brand that doesn’t associate with these values will end up being left behind, at great cost to their own businesses as well as to the planet. The most important – and advantageous – thing all CEOs reading this can do right this minute is to make a public commitment by signing up their brand to Race to Zero or the SME Climate Commitment.’
Businesses must realise that CUSTOMERS will eventually TURN AWAY from them if they don’t COMMIT to CUTTING CARBON EMISSIONS
‘My message to the luxury industry is to use the fact people trust you and aspire to your values to speak out and commit publicly and visibly to cutting emissions,’ says Minister Grimstone. ‘GIS is likely to be the largest gathering of money that the UK has ever had under one roof and is a great opportunity to showcase what the luxury industry can – and is – doing to address climate change.’ He cites British fashion brands like Stella McCartney and Burberry, which are already globally recognised for helping to lead the march towards net zero. ‘The recent 2021 UK Attractiveness Survey from EY [formerly Ernst & Young] showed that investors
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LUXURY IS DEAD. LONG LIVE LUXURY. The luxury industry must radically change if it really wants to embody the age’s aspirations. MARK STEVENSON leads a call to arms
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Illustration by AASE HOPSTOCK
o, the world is on fire – and you sell designer shoes at £800 a pair. What exactly is the point of you?’ This was the challenge I put to the full staff of a luxury footwear brand one afternoon a few years ago, a day the news was dominated with stories of Californian wildfires that had turned much of the state into a vision of hell. The scale of the fires was unprecedented, but no longer. We now grimly accept that much of the world is a tinderbox, just one indicator of our broken relationship with our fragile home. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. I let it play out. What, I pressed on, was the point of selling footwear that only the most financially privileged could afford (but certainly didn’t need) in the context of the climate emergency, not to mention a world riven with unconscionable levels of inequality? The silence grew in power as those in attendance looked down at their (no doubt expensive) shoes, shuffled uncomfortably, and offered nothing.
No one had an answer to my challenge, so I relieved them of their gilded misery and told them how they could find relevance and regain a sense of worth in their work – but we’ll come to that later. The recent IPCC report tells us that changes observed in the climate ‘are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years’ – include the added effects of the rise in sea levels and the end result is ‘irreversible’. These changes are due to a temperature rise of 1.1 degrees Celcius since the industrial revolution and are the direct result of human activity. The way in which we work and consume makes nearly all of us complicit in nurturing/fostering the economic and political conditions that have created this disaster. And most of us, CEOs and politicians included, feel powerless in the face of the embedded status quo. That complicity and helplessness are a large part of why, according to the Gallup State of the Global Workplace research programme, between 70 and 80 per cent of employees globally feel disengaged from their work. As the corporate world’s sluggish enlightenment creeps forward, everyone from CEOs to sales assistants tell me that their salaries have
High sustainability companies significantly OUTPERFORM their counterparts over the LONG-TERM
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now become as much bribery to perpetuate the disaster as they are reward for the (damaging) work done. Those horrific engagement stats are also a proxy for a whole host of mental health problems. You don’t need to be a psychiatrist to understand that when your work and your values are at odds you’re going to suffer. This is bad for everyone. Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us puts it well: ‘When the profit becomes unmoored from purpose bad things happen – bad things ethically, but also bad things ... like crappy products, like lame services, like uninspiring places to work’. There’s a huge productivity dividend going begging. Imagine what a genuinely engaged workforce would do for the economy. But there is hope. Covid has given many of us a new lens on the world. As the skies quietened and the air cleared, we began to take stock of our careers and priorities. We witnessed how, when people only buy what they need the economy collapses and wondered, ‘does that make sense?’. We looked anew at the keyworkers who keep our nation going, seeing how they are the most valuable to society, even though we reward them the least – and we felt guilty about it, as we should. We saw how selfish individualism looked ridiculous and unseemly in the face of our communities coming together in the service of one another. We realised that all the money in the world is a poor substitute for an embrace, or even a handshake, and that no earthly reward can compensate us for being absent from the bedside of a dying loved one, or the inability to hold each other up at a funeral. Perhaps, most importantly, many of us came to understand that the pandemic was not a random accident but a symptom, in part, of our damaged relationship with the natural world, and that by association Covid was an ‘amuse-bouche catastrophe’. The main dish, climate change, became larger, not smaller, in our minds. In short, everyone on the planet has been given a lesson in systems, interconnectedness and interdependence. As the pioneering environmentalist John Muir put it, we found out that ‘When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe’. For luxury brands, selling the concept of exclusivity and opulence, this collective catharsis brings challenges. In a Covid- and climate-changed world almost all the brands in this publication (particularly in light of some of their historical actions) have a problem they cannot ignore. In the wider context of environmental collapse and societal injustice their offerings, if unchanged, look far less like badges of personal success and much more like symbols of our collective failure. If they wish to embody the age’s aspirations, they cannot avoid radical change.
What now?
So, what now for the luxury market? What should the assembled brands in this publication do? How do they reinvent themselves to be relevant in the future we face for, as Philip K. Dick once famously put it, ‘Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away’. The way forward seems obvious. Luxury brands have always sold themselves on the promise of being the best, the most aspirational, the finest of the fine. In the world we’re all having to build together now, that promise must also mean being the most regenerative and ethical. Luxury brands can and must redefine aspiration. The finest products should, by definition, be good for the planet. Indeed, in the future I believe it will be seen as perverse that we ever thought otherwise. This was the message I delivered to those purveyors of fancy footwear. And a regenerative agenda is good for you. The research bears it out time and time again. One reports reads: ‘High sustainability companies significantly outperform their counterparts over the long-term, both in terms of stock market as well as accounting performance.’1 Why? Because such companies live in the real world, they look outwards, and therefore manage risk better. They reduce their own costs by tackling waste and inefficiency. And they have engaged employees whose productivity dwarfs that of less ethical competitors. But if the carrot doesn’t convince you, perhaps the stick will. The UK has a legally binding net zero target for 2050, to be enforced by the Office for Environmental Protection. The courts have already shown their willingness to intervene, one example being the Court of Appeal’s ruling that the government’s policy statement in favour of the Heathrow expansion was unlawful, in light of its climate commitments. Ask yourself: do you think a UK government (of any flavour) is going to let businesses off the hook when it comes to meeting the national target? For organisations over a certain size, reporting on emissions is already a legal requirement. It won’t be long before reducing those emissions (and permanently removing what is left) will also be mandated by law. It therefore makes cold hard commercial sense to get ahead of that legislation and clean up your act (and see your less enlightened competitors flounder when the laws do pass). Here’s another idea being discussed by certain governments: reduced corporation tax for businesses that advance the UN sustainable development goals (and by the same token, higher bills for those that do not). You know what to do.
The finest products should, by definition, be GOOD FOR THE PLANET. Indeed, in the future I believe it will be seen as PERVERSE that we ever thought otherwise
1. Harvard Business School, ‘The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance’ – Robert G. Eccles, Ioannis Ioannou, and George Serafeim 14 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO
MAKE THE CHANGE Here are four initial critical actions brands should take to get them started on the road to a net carbon zero future:
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Join Race To Zero, the UN-backed global campaign helping companies, cities, regions, financial and educational institutions ‘take rigorous and immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030 and deliver a healthier, fairer zero carbon world in time. unfccc.int
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Appoint a Chief Climate Officer to the board with the same standing and power as every other C-suite executive.
Commit to permanently removing from the atmosphere the emissions you cannot mitigate. This is neither paying someone else not to pollute, nor planting trees that will take years to sequester the carbon you’ve already emitted (if they survive). You cannot ‘offset’ your responsibilities. Instead find the suppliers who can offer verified and permanent ways to remove your emissions and help build the removals market, as enlightened companies like Shopify and Stripe are. Without a permanent removal industry we are all toast.
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Understand that this is your moment to do something fantastic and life affirming. You have the privilege of being alive as we face humanity’s greatest crisis and the ability to do something about it. If, as John Muir said, everything is ‘hitched to everything else’, that means you are connected to everything around you. What you do ripples out across time and space and in this moment of crisis it matters whom you choose to be. To quote the great Jane Goodall, ‘What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.’ n
MARK STEVENSON IS A FUTURIST, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR, SPEAKER, ADVISOR AND BOARD MEMBER HELPING GOVERNMENTS, CORPORATES AND THIRD SECTOR CLIENTS THINK BEYOND THIS WORLD TO BETTER THE ONE WE BUILD NEXT
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COLLABORATION OVER COMPETITION Walpole, the official sector body for UK luxury, launched its Sustainability Manifesto in 2020 and, says CEO Helen Brocklebank, it is only through working together that brands will succeed in transforming the industry for the better Luxury is one of the fastest growing and most successful industries in the UK, representing the highest standards of creativity, innovation and quality. Prior to the pandemic, British luxury was worth £48 billion to the UK economy, growing at a rate of 9.6 per cent annually and employing 160,000 people throughout the country in long-term, skilled jobs. These are all tremendous reasons why British luxury is fundamental to rebuilding our economy and re-establishing Britain on the world stage. However, these brands play an even more important role: long before the UK was announced as the host of COP26, many British luxury brands had committed to their role in protecting people and planet, and working to towards a more sustainable future for all. In January 2020, recognising the potential for British luxury to play a key leadership role in driving this goal, Walpole, with the support of McKinsey & Co, launched the Walpole Sustainability Manifesto, aligned to the UN Sustainability Goals. It establishes best practice in sustainability for the British luxury sector with four overarching principles (see illustration opposite): to lead the transition towards a circular economy; to safeguard the environment and natural resources; to guide partners and suppliers towards sustainable practices; and to advocate equal and respectful working conditions. Importantly, these aspirations are designed to see British luxury fulfil the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals, becoming part of the broader, global push for a fairer, more sustainable world. But none of this can be achieved individually – collaboration among peers is vital to transform our sector. So, in addition to creating a framework for a sustainable future we also created forums to enable cross sector collaboration by running our category working groups. Over 100 members including Burberry, dunhill,
Harrods, Johnstons of Elgin, Mulberry, The Savoy and Chivas Brothers, among others (including many celebrated here), share expertise and contacts, combine resources, problem solve and align on areas of joint action to accelerate the pace of change. Earlier this year, Walpole published a comprehensive report on the progress its members have made in powering their businesses towards a net carbon and zero waste future, one year on from the launch of our manifesto. It makes for impressive reading and bears testament to the incredible progress that Walpole members have made in driving forward the sustainability agenda with many examples of radical collaboration where global players support emerging brands on material sourcing; where competitive businesses openly discuss the challenges of measuring their Scope 3 emissions or how they are reducing plastics across their supply chains; where fashion brands talk with interiors businesses to discuss cashmere and leather sourcing. From large scale collaborative efforts on inbound packaging to simply sharing the contact details of local suppliers, every interaction results in positive change. This altruistic sharing of knowledge demonstrates how we all stand handin-hand on the vital and urgent journey to protect our planet. A central topic in the working groups is, of course, climate action and the work that brands like Mulberry, Burberry and others in the sector are doing to audit and reduce their emissions in their own operations, where they are necessarily off-setting in the short-term, how they are starting to work with their supply chains on the steep challenge of Scope 3 – all with the objective of achieving Net Zero by 2050, and much earlier in many cases, as luxury brands work hard to achieve the goal ahead of
the UN target. Several brands have opted to use Science Based Targets while smaller players are working with individual consultancies to audit their operations and establish annual reporting structures. At Walpole, we are working with Race to Zero ahead of COP26, urging members to sign up to the global campaign. We hope that you will be inspired and informed by the journeys featured in the following pages – the progress and challenges of 26 brands from across the UK luxury sector, many of which are Walpole members. Their collective efforts and generosity of spirit exemplify the luxury sector’s leadership role and provide and example that other sectors should follow.why businesses in other sectors should follow their lead. By sharing our ideas and our efforts we can accelerate our efforts to avert climate disaster. This is a shared mission: luxury is not luxury unless it is committed to sustainability.
This altruistic sharing of knowledge demonstrates how we all stand hand-in-hand on the vital and urgent journey to protect our planet
LEAD THE TRANSITION TOWARDS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY
SAFEGUARD ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES
1. 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable or “widely recyclable” and include at least 30% post-consumer recycled content.
4. 50% absolute reduction in scope 1,2 and 3 emissions. 5. 100% energy from renewable sources.
2. Demonstrate commitment towards extending product life through circularity initiatives.
6. 30% water usage reduction across own operations.
3. Zero wastage to landfill and incineration across own operations.
7. Zero discharge of hazardous chemicals.
GUIDE SUPPLIERS TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES
ADVOCATE EQUAL & RESPECTFUL WORKING CONDITIONS
8. 100% sourcing from “responsible” suppliers.
10. All members to demonstrate compliance with human rights and labour laws and pay living wages.
9. 100% traceability on full supply chain.
11. 50% senior management from under-represented groups. 12. Eliminate median gender pay gap.
Discover more at thewalpole.co.uk
Clover Hogan is a 22-year-old on a mission to help solve the climate crisis
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IS ECO PHOBIA INTERRUPTING
YOUR STORY
Activist CLOVER HOGAN knows brands can play their part in the climate solution. But what she’s asking for is transformative thinking, not box ticking and greenwashing. Are you ready to rise to her challenge? Illustration by MEG DOWSON
’m a 22-year-old climate activist and have spent half my life trying to solve the climate crisis. Aged 11, I sat at my computer staring at scenes of million-year-old forests being bulldozed to produce Big Macs, dolphin hunts turning shorelines red and Al Gore’s graphs showing us how quickly we were devouring the Earth. I simmered with anger, shock and sadness. Yet more than anything else, I felt confused. I didn’t learn about the climate or biodiversity crisis at school and we didn’t talk about it at the dinner table. The adults in my life seemed to be sleepwalking while the science told us we were hurtling toward a cliff. At 13, I coerced my parents into moving to Bali so that I could study at the Green School, a tower of open air bamboo classrooms in the jungle. Unlike during my Australian eudcation, the Green School didn’t ask me to pursue a ‘convenient career’. Instead, it asked me to focus on problems I wanted to solve. So at 16, wearing a slightly too-big power suit, I travelled to Paris for for the
2015 UN Cimate Change Conference (COP21) filled with starry-eyed optimism that world leaders would be uniting to solve this overwhelming threat. Instead, I met calcified men in better-fitting suits making empty promises. Leaders well practised in the art of greenwashing and setting targets far away enough that they required no immediate action. I attended sustainability forums sponsored by corporations such as BMW, Coca-Cola and Shell. It was like being at a conference on lung cancer, sponsored by Philip Morris. I’d never felt so powerless. Looking at the people around me – anxious students, calculating policy-makers, cautious corporate leaders – I saw they felt the same. I almost resigned myself to the idea that the world was run by greedy people; that the rest of society didn’t care. It was back at Green School that my teacher introduced me to a word that would change the course of my life: ecophobia. Coined in 1996 by environmental educator David Sobel, he defined it as ‘the feeling of powerlessness to prevent cataclysmic environmental change’. The problem is not that we don’t care but that we’re not empowered to. Imagine you’re a senior executive at a big multinational. In the 25 years you’ve been climbing the corporate ladder, your job has been to make COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO | 19
GBB ZERO money, deliver to shareholders, maintain the status quo and avoid risk. You solving a larger environmental and societal problem? The reality is that we won’t deliver the better world we all know is share climate change articles on LinkedIn. You even became vegetarian after watching a documentary on industrialised farming. possible through ‘small shifts’. Sustainability in business is often perceived Yet when you come home, you sense that your kids see you as the as a bureaucratic, box-ticking activity. Reduce emissions by a small problem. They wish you were the climate change protestor chaining increment: tick. Limit the amount of virgin plastic: tick. Improve the life cycle analysis: tick. These steppingstones are important but what’s themselves to the glass tower - not the person looking down from its top floor. But you’re not a bad person. You’re ensnared within a culture that needed here is big, transformative thinking that takes courage, curiosity, makes it fundamentally difficult to do the right thing. passion. We don’t have time for token solutions, incrementalism, or When I ask leaders to describe the future they envision, it’s usually some companies vying to be seen doing the right thing through greenwashing. techno-utopia full of flying cars, where deadly diseases are eradicated. And while the climate crisis may be the greatest threat we’ve faced as a civilisation, it could also be the biggest opportunity to improve how we When I ask eight-year-olds the same question, it’s a dystopian blockbuster live and innovate in the 21st century. of empty supermarket shelves and cities underwater. What if you were part of a groundswell movement that changed the One reason we’ve failed to mobilise society across generational divides meaning of luxury? What if the cost of a product accurately reflected (apart from fossil fuel giants discrediting the science for decades) is that the the value of the materials, energy and human ingenuity that went into best communication tools in our arsenal have been graphs and spreadsheets. Climate scientists are brilliantly brainy, but the critical role of human creating it, with intention and respect for the natural world and its psychology has been largely ignored in climate messaging. We’re diverse inhabitants? wired for fight or flight, not ‘this is an enormous yet largely long-term, Leaders across luxury brands have the opportunity to eliminate complex threat which requires our immediate action’. We’re more afraid waste from every stage of the value chain and invest in cleaning up the of losing our short-term perks, from holidays to beef burgers, than we waste that their products have created historically. Materials can now be are of annihilating most of life on Earth, harvested through regenerative practices, including ourselves. which sequester more greenhouse gasses Then, there’s the problem of how we than they emit. Craftsmanship, on which talk about solutions. Regenerating nature these brands stake their reputation, is the most powerful climate mitigation can be sourced from skilled frontline tool we have. Yet climate solutions seem artisans, helping to support livelihoods to be the stuff of science fiction. In 2021, and preserve culture. Elon Musk tweeted that he’d be ‘donating We need more leaders with the courage $100m towards a prize for best carbon to challenge themselves before the climate capture technology’ (as if trees didn’t crisis reaches our doorsteps irreversibly. already exist) and US climate envoy John While the problems of the luxury industry Kerry claimed that, ‘50 per cent of the may seem too big, or too complex, each [carbon] reductions needed to get to net one requires a solution; a solution delivered zero are going to come from technologies by a Someone. Like. You. that have we don’t yet have’. At 19, I founded Force of Nature, a It’s easy to be convinced that only social enterprise that has worked with techno-utopianism will ‘save us’ from students in over 50 countries. We mobilise the climate crisis, rather than going to mindsets for climate action: supporting the root of the cause: we’re so fixated on young people to channel their eco-anxiety being above the rest of planetary life that into agency, and decision-makers to shift our solutions to climate collapse are to from apathy to action. The secret is simple double down on this divorce. enough. We help people rewrite the stories they subscribe to about the world and their place in it. Our society is predicated on limitless growth within finite resources, promoting values like competition and Working with anxious 16-year-olds and cautious corporate consumption over connection and community. So, it’s less leaders alike, we hear the same stories on repeat: ‘I’m just one effort to envisage life on terraformed Mars than forge in 7.8 billion people’; ‘I’m not smart enough’; ‘The system is meaningful relationships with life on Earth. too broken to change’... These kinds of stories paralyse us. Leaders of luxury brands are uniquely poised to drive Rewriting them is the most powerful thing we can do. There’s a quote in Spiderman: ‘With great power change, because in many ways, luxury is superficially comes great responsibility’. Yet what if the opposite synonymous with sustainability: high-quality materials, is true? What if it’s really: With great responsibility, craftsmanship and customers primed to pay a premium. Yet change in the luxury space is slow and incremental. comes great power? Now, you’re not responsible for Why? First, because luxury brands are selling solving climate change, because that’s outside of your control. What you are responsible for is the a lifestyle of hyperconsumption that is inherently thing inside your control. Indeed, the only thing unsustainable to an affluent elite. Some brands have gone to great lengths to maintain this image, even that has ever been in your control – your mindset. burning products to create exclusivity through I’m only 22, but I want to be able to look back scarcity. Meanwhile, they underpay workers and on my life and know I did everything in my power pollute local ecosystems via their manufacturing. to help others step up, rather than shut down. When Leading with solutions requires a radical reframe, you look back on your own life, what do you want to from ‘do less harm’ to ‘do more good’ – circularity, see? What will your story be? regeneration, creating just and equitable communities. Clover is challenging Clover Hogan is a climate activist and the founding In essence, brands need to rethink what their purpose us to change our Executive Director of Force of Nature - a youth nonprofit is - and many are. Should it be to create a product? mindset and rewrite our stories mobilising mindsets for climate action. cloverhogan.com n Or should it be to create a product that is a vehicle for
‘We need more leaders with the COURAGE to challenge themselves before the CLIMATE CRISIS reaches our doorsteps irreversibly. Each problem requires a solutution delivered by Someone. LIKE. YOU’
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PURIFYING PAINTS
info@graphenstone.co.uk - 01379 772940 - graphenstone-ecopaints.store
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IT’S A WRAP FOR PLASTIC
The luxury industry has traditionally branded itself through expensive, disposable packaging, but eco consumer values are driving change. It’s time to think outside the box, says SIAN SUTHERLAND
Photography by ELIZABETH HOFF
n 2007 BBC2’s Horizon programme sparked a shopping frenzy after it put No 7 Protect & Perfect beauty serum to the test. The results were a resounding vote in the product’s favour. It was proven to rejuvenate skin and beat wrinkles at a fraction of the cost of higher-end skincare products, causing countless shoppers to swap out their luxury favourites for a Boots-owned gem. The demand was such that the serum sold out online the night the programme aired, and in-store supplies were gone in a matter of days. Production grew from 10,000 bottles manufactured in the months preceding the Horizon feature to 24,000 bottles each day afterwards. The response proved that true selling power lies in the product itself, not the brand it sits under. And this is a key lesson for luxury brands to learn. For years luxury labels have made sales through aspiration. Their advertising and packaging cultivate an identity for shoppers to strive for, with products that have an iconic look and feel. Product boxes are weightier, more attractively detailed and highly finished than those of budget brands, aiming to give consumers a seductive unwrapping experience. The result is an entirely warped value placed on what the product comes packaged in, sometimes even outweighing the value of the product itself. For decades, Tiffany blue and Hermès orange boxes have taken pride of place on dressing tables around the world, while the jewellery and accessories they contain are swapped out for new-season favourites. Empty Rolex boxes have been known to sell for as much as £160, and Louis Vuitton-branded carrier bags for £69. Luxury packaging has historically been used as a statement of buying power, with willing 22 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO
Beauty that’s wrapped in shame: the cosmetics industry contributes some 120 billion units of redundant packaging a year, predominantly plastics. Luxury brands that ignore our eco concerns will go under
‘We have a global plastic pollution problem, so I felt inspired to do something that might make a difference. This shoot ‘Drowning In Plastic’ was my attempt as a fashion and beauty photographer to do ‘a beautiful take on a dirty subject’. These images focus on a model swimming through water – either surrounded by, or entangled in single use plastic items. In some of the images the pollutants’ appearance changes, to almost become the representation of the wildlife it might replace. The aim was to make the viewer do a double take. This problem is very real. If we do not change the way we use this non-disposable substance in a disposable way, the above prediction will become a fact. Plastic is killing our seas.’ Elisabeth Hoff Photographer & Art Director: Elisabeth Hoff Talent: Genevieve Chenneour @genevievechenneour Hair: Michael Douglas@mdlondon Makeup: Afton @aftonmakeup
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consumers. But our values are changing and this is soon to be relinquished as a statement of a bygone era. With the environmental crisis at the top of the global agenda, what was once aspirational is now viewed as wasteful. Fast fashion and linear consumption are under fire and the spotlight on packaging is shining harsher than ever. Luxury brands are not above this – the over-use of plastic in the food industry has been well-documented; cosmetics, fashion and accessories are next. The beauty and cosmetics industry alone contributes some 120 billion units of packaging each year, all predominantly made of plastic. More than 100 billion plastic sachets are used to package up samples of products, just to drive sales. The fashion industry packages garments for delivery to homes and shops in plastic polybags, billions of which are used once and thrown out. Almost every bag, box, bottle and sachet is destined for landfill or incineration, each affecting our environment. Yesterday, packaging equalled luxury. Today, packaging equals waste. According to recent government research, eight out of ten UK consumers are now actively making efforts to reduce their plastic use, while half are willing to pay more for eco-friendly packaging. In the case of luxury packaging, one in five consumers believes environmental credentials will be one of their top considerations when buying luxury items in ten years’ time. Luxury labels that continue to ignore this sustainable direction, clearly signposted for some years now, will find their growth predictions deeply flawed. While a sumptuous box was once positive reinforcement of a brand’s value, it will soon signal a failure to adapt. It’s an open goal for brands willing to innovate and take plastics and packaging out of the equation. Many ideas are already proven, such as refill schemes using infinitely recyclable aluminium bottles or jars – one of the most impactful ways personal care companies can reduce their packaging footprint. This does away with single-use, but still allows brands to stamp their identity on a sustainable bottle, so as not to be left out of the all-important Instagram ‘shelfie’. Examples include L’Occitane, which launched its first refill scheme in 2008. UpCircle skincare was founded with a waste-free ethos of ‘return, refill, reuse’ and is shaking up the market by placing the environment at its heart. Beauty Kitchen operates a recycle system in which packaging is washed and refilled. Lush was a pioneer of package-free products and Neal’s Yard is encouraging customers to bring containers back for refills, with the incentive of discounts on future purchases. It’s not only smaller brands making a change. In January this year Unilever launched its first-ever refillable deodorant for the popular personal care brand, Dove. Designed to last a lifetime, the initiative
tackles our throwaway lifestyles and the global plastic waste crisis. By reimagining the product with a smooth, stainless- steel case Unilever wants to elevate user experience while aiming to cut 300 tonnes of its virgin plastic use by 2023. Fashion house Burberry is also making efforts to reduce its environmental impact. In a bid to tackle plastic use it recently launched new paper packaging using FSC-certified paper from recycled coffee cups. The result has a high quality, expensive feel that oozes class and resonates with the brand’s luxury heritage. Crucially, it gives consumers a crème de la crème experience that’s not at the expense of the planet. Meanwhile, the iconic green carrier bag from Harrods has had a makeover after remaining unchanged for 50 years. The world’s most famous department store has forsaken the traditional plastic design, replacing it with 100 per cent recyclable and sustainably-sourced paper carrier bags. Harrods is also looking to reduce the overall number of bags leaving its stores each year, with the mindset that switching to more sustainable materials is simply not enough in the battle against waste. Their thinking is that when boxes and bags are truly necessary to protect and/ or carry purchases home from the store, plastic-free paper or cardboard can be substituted for plastic. Otherwise they’re surplus to requirements. And calling unnecessary packaging a ‘keep box’ or a ‘reusable bag’ doesn’t make it sustainable. There are only so many uses you can find for a box, and only so many times a bag will actually be reused before it joins the others stuffed under the sink and eventually thrown out. In the end, packaging is just that: a covering for the main event. Since that 2007 flurry to buy the No 7 Protect & Perfect beauty serum showed the true value consumers place on a functional product over its brand, the message has taken on a whole new importance – one that blazes in the light of the current waste crisis. Up to now, most luxury brands have fiercely protected their business practices as a key part of their traditional identity, but the new age of eco-innovation demands an about-turn. They need to show fearlessness and an ability to change. If we are to meet the plastic crisis head-on, brands must define themselves according to their product, not their packaging. The most iconic names in fashion and beauty must tear up the old rule book and elevate the meaning of luxury to one that meets the aspirations of the buyers of tomorrow – where minimal environmental impact will reign supreme. Those who rise to the challenge will future-proof themselves for years to come. Those that don’t will see their once prestigious stock fall dramatically.
Yesterday PACKAGING equalled LUXURY, Today it equals WASTE
Sian Sutherland is co-founder of global solutions organisation, A Plastic Planet, which works with brands and governments to ‘turn off the plastic tap’. n COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO | 25
PARTNERSHIP
Mishcon de Reya is delighted to support this important publication. For luxury brands, ESG impacts are not just driven by a desire to build a better business, by consumer demand or by investor and shareholder expectation. Legal and regulatory reform is rapidly raising the bar across the whole ESG spectrum. This ranges from impacts on the use of animal products under the Animal Welfare Act, to employment and manufacturing requirements under the Modern Slavery Act, through to the management of procurement or business payments under the Bribery Act. Courts are also taking a more expansive view in interpreting fiduciary duties when considering board accountability for the actions of subsidiary companies and suppliers, and actions taken to adhere to voluntary standards of responsible corporate behaviour. Even more substantial reform that will impact the luxury sector is on the horizon. The UK’s Environment Bill promises increased scrutiny of environmental policies along with specific targets on air quality, waste and resource efficiency, water, biodiversity and nature. It aims to move the UK towards a more circular economy, incentivising recyclable and reusable products, setting minimum eco-design standards and requiring more consumer information around product sustainability. The Bill also creates a new environmental watchdog, the Office for Environment Protection, to hold companies to account. From April 2022, a UK tax will be levied on plastic packaging that contains less than 30 per cent recycled plastic, as well as on imports on products in plastic packaging, with certain exceptions. While the legislation focuses on larger manufacturers and importers, the tax can be placed on other entities within the supply chain if they know or suspect payment has not been made. It remains to be seen whether the cost will be passed to consumers. Luxury brands should also be aware of the widening application of the disclosure obligations of the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. The TCFD has developed a reporting framework based on a set of consistent disclosure recommendations that companies should use to provide transparency about their climate-related risk exposures to investors, lenders and other interested parties. The Government intends to make TCFD-aligned disclosures mandatory across the UK economy by 2025. With increasing legal, regulatory and ethical obligations, luxury brands should ensure they have sufficiently mapped out their ESG impact not only within their own businesses, but across their end-to-end supply chains, to ascertain where this can be reduced. They also need an ESG strategy and governance structure that aligns with the legal framework and best practice guidelines, and processes to monitor implementation and to collect and report data. From fashion to yachts, luxury brands have an obligation to understand and take accountability for impacts along their value chains. Whether in relation to the illegal wildlife trade, human and labour rights, carbon emissions, water use or community relationships, the cost of luxury is no longer just its high price. The sector must champion our collective journey to tackle climate change, reverse the loss of biodiversity and attain the Sustainable Development Goals.
Regulation and legal reforms will change how we do business, says Mishcon de Reya
mishcon.com
Miss POS ion SIBL E
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As an industry that potentially contributes up to ten per cent of global emissions, fashion’s reckoning day is here. Some brands, though, are ahead of the curve, says LUCY SIEGLE
Stella McCartney AW‘21
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et’s not sugar coat this: we know we are in the throes of a dual climate and nature crisis. This summer the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, warned the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was a ‘code red for humanity’. The fashion industry bears more than a little responsibility. After all, the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to be up to ten per cent of the global total; the sector is one of the top ten polluting industries on Earth; northwards of 100 billion garments are produced each year from virgin resources; 87 per cent of clothing material is incinerated, consigned to landfills or dumped, and we buy 60 per cent more clothes than 15 years ago, wearing them for half as long. According to analysis by the campaigning body, Changing Markets Foundation, synthetic fibres represent over two thirds (69 per cent) of all materials used in textiles, a figure expected to rise to nearly three quarters by 2030. I know, I know, that sounds so depressing. However, rather than despair, we need active hope, as opposed to the passively hopeful printed messages offered by fridge magnets. The Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueres, who brokered the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, says we need ‘stubborn optimism’. She describes this force as an unshakeable determination to choose systems and ways of living that flip from exploiting Earth to nurturing it. Well, just at the right time, when we need it most, the UK has produced a collection of impressive fashion brands, often led by visionary CEOs, that seem to me to embody exactly this. I have been tracking sustainability and analysing sustainable fashion in the UK for nearly 20 years. Looking at the work and progress of some of the names we bring together in this edition of GBB Zero was a restorative experience. In a ‘code red’ scenario, these are the brands that give hope and direction to the consumer and fashion industry alike. There is no legal definition of ‘sustainable’ in fashion, so it remains open to interpretation (and greenwashing). But to me it means three core things. First, sustainable fashion design and production must respect the planet’s boundaries. Second, we must ‘balance’ and only take what can be replenished. Third, we have to acknowledge that all species and landscapes (nature) are interconnected: you can’t damage one without impacting another. Amy Powney, creative director of Mother of Pearl, definitely gets it (motherofpearl.co.uk). I have lost count of the times I have heard fashion editors marvel at the superb fit of her dresses, which are now also available to rent via OnLoan (onloan.co). She is also known for being incredibly driven. ‘Sustainability isn’t a one-dimensional issue that can be solved by opting for a fabric with green credentials; the final fabric is just the tip of the iceberg and what’s looming underneath is rarely considered or examined,’ Amy said recently. ‘Supply chains are not straightforward, so social, environmental and political factors must be taken into account when looking at manufacturing with any country.’ To me this is so on the money. Fashion is a full spectrum industry, from the picking of the fluffy cotton boll, the spinning, ginning, 28 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO
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Looking at the progress of some of the names we bring together in GREAT BRITISH BRANDS ZERO was a restorative experience. In a ‘CODE RED’ scenario, these are the brands that give HOPE and DIRECTION to consumers and the fashion industry alike
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Mother of Pearl Brenon jacket, £295; Christopher Raeburn at work; RÆMADE Air Brake dress, £645, made from parachute material
weaving and clattering of looms, right through to the bit that gets the most attention – the marketing, the shows, the selling. As it whirrs through continents and processes, a garment builds up an astronomical debt to Planet Earth. The brands we feature here know this industry feels Earth’s every heartbeat. For instance, when Himalayan glaciers melt and affect a monsoon, the fashion industry feels it through a depleted cotton harvest, which also takes a huge toll on the people who produce the cotton. Farmers are as much a part of the fashion value chain as designers. Great brands don’t just feel their ecological debt, they account for it, too. Over the years, I have interviewed Stella McCartney often (stellamccartney.com). Each time she launches a collection she emphasises that her brand is far from perfect. But the percentage of her collection that meets the brand’s sustainable criteria clearly follows an upward trajectory. When I first interviewed Stella back in 2015 her sustainability team put this percentage at 30 per cent. Of her Pre-Fall ’21 collection, 80 per cent was made up of sustainable material. ‘It’s the highest number I’ve ever achieved, but it wasn’t easy getting there,’ she told the fashion press. As always with Stella, the claim was accompanied by evidence, worked out via careful eco accounting, which goes into quite
some detail. For example, the use of brass on some pieces accounted for 77 per cent of the brand’s water pollution impact, due to mining. OK, for some this will be too much information, but Stella has the ability to turn dry sustainable theory and carbon accounting into inimitable pieces that are both desirable and a lot of fun. In her world, global change comes via bio-based, recyclable faux furs and forest regeneration translates into big chunky boots made from responsibly-sourced wood. And to me that’s the job of a good brand today too. You have to drive the mission along. Stella McCartney is the great mainstreamer of ecological ideas, moving them away from the climate bubble to centre stage. Who else, when fashion waste was still something of an untold story, would elect to photograph her 2017 winter collection in a Scottish landfill site, the model lying in beautiful dresses on top of junked cars and everyday consumer detritus? It was a characteristic provocation designed to move the debate forwards. Eliminating fashion waste is often a core part of a leading brand today. For east London designer, Christopher Raeburn, liberating surplus fabric (often military fabrics, in his case) drove him from the off (raeburndesign.co.uk). ‘It was a love of fabrics that first started RÆMADE [his upcycling project],’ Christopher said, when he founded his menswear brand RÆBURN in 2009; his first collection included one parachute made into eight outerwear pieces. ‘What’s really exciting is taking an original item and completely reworking it. It gives us such a unique selling point and our customers get really excited about the authenticity of the fabric.’ To me, Christopher Raeburn is king of telling and selling the story of the fabric. His designs breathe life into surplus fabrics and deadstock; parachute silks, a 24-man life raft and a fighter-pilot compression suit can be refashioned into his signature outerwear. But he is also king of democratising conscious style. Most brands do not try hard enough to involve customers who are priced out. But Christopher, who is also global creative director for Timberland, has collaborated with Depop to produce a sunhat pattern and with Aesop (the cosmetics brand) to produce a roll-up toiletries case. In this way, he comes across more as a movement builder than a traditional fashion brand. COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO | 29
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FROM ABOVE: Homegrown Homespun volunteers in the north west of England; a volunteer harvests flax; Bottletop Liza bag
Make no mistake, the mission of a fashion designer with sustainable ambition has grown, and today’s brands will intervene where they need to. It made sense to see Stella striding up to world leaders at the G7 summit in Cornwall agitating for curbs on unsustainable fashion. ‘I’m really here to ask all of these powerful people in the room to make a shift from convention to a new way of sourcing and [bringing in] new suppliers into the fashion industry,’ she said. ‘One of the biggest problems that we have in the fashion industry is we’re not policed in any way. We have no laws or legislations that will put hard stops on our industry.’ Doubtless there are some that would prefer to see business as usual. They have failed to grasp that on a planet of climate shocks and ecological collapse there won’t be business for any brand. But now the leading sustainable brands don’t just hold the line, they go deeper, much deeper. Ten years ago in California, Rebecca Burgess, an expert in natural dyeing, founded Fibershed with the idea of reconnecting fashion to farming using textile crafts (fibershed.org). What excites me about this revolutionary approach is that it is not restricted to making fashion’s impact ‘less bad’, which was the definition of sustainable design when I first began tracking it. Instead, it focuses on fibre and ecosystems to regenerate both the soil and atmosphere (natural fibres grown in a natural cycle can store carbon) and to regenerate the beating heart of fashion. In Blackburn, Homegrown Homespun, the Fibershed affiliate for northwest England, is a life-affirming project from textile expert Justine AlderseyWilliams and Patrick Grant, the affable designer who appears on TV’s Great British Sewing Bee (northwestenglandfibreshed.org). Patrick has been such a champion of regional, sustainable fashion through his Community Clothing brand (communityclothing.co.uk) and Super Slow Way, an art programming project that works with communities along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal (superslowway.org.uk). With a team of dedicated volunteers, Homegrown Homespun has planted flax and woad – two of the UK’s forgotten fibre and dye crops – on urban land. Following a pair of indigo linen STELLA McCARTNEY jeans from the experimental first crop, the idea is to upscale production by 2023. The point here is not that Homegrown Homespun can singlehandedly challenge the global reliance on synthetics. Of course, it can’t and won’t. Nor is it an historical reenactment, although the fact it’s planted in the heart of the North West’s historic textile industry resonates. Rather, this is an ambitious example of how a healthy fashion supply chain looks – short and transparent, climate beneficial and linking farming to fashion. It is both a counterpoint to the craziness of what passes for mainstream, and an advertisement for how functional, nurturing and logical our fashion system can be. It serves as a reminder to all of us stubborn optimists that the most important collaboration any of us will ever have is the one with Planet Earth. n
His positive influence, and that of many of the names featured here, are increasingly obvious in the wider industry. More and more brands are finding innovative ways to deal with ‘deadstock’ fabric and leathers. The fashion industry loses an estimated £120 billion annually in unused deadstock, according to online marketplace Queen of Raw (queenofraw. com), so there is a commercial logic to using it. But in a conservative industry like fashion, where the burning and dumping of unsold stock had become the norm, you need fire-starters like Christopher Raeburn. Without these brands driving forwards, nothing changes. But with them everything can change, including the very idea of the purpose of fashion. Sustainable fashion must be about people as much as it must be about carbon emissions. Like Christopher, Cameron Saul and Oliver Wayman define their fashion business as one that uses craft and artisan skill to create positive social impact. Bottletop was launched in 2002 through a design collaboration with Mulberry and a bag made from recycled bottletops (bottletop.org). It has grown into a luxury brand with ateliers and training programmes in Brazil and Nepal. These days you’re likely to see luxury brands at United Nations conferences using Bottletop’s #TOGETHERBAND bracelets made from upcycled materials – including Humanium Metal, repurposed from decommissioned seized illegal firearms in Central America – to push forward the Sustainable Development Goals.
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PHOTOS: BEA DAVIDSON
‘One of the BIGGEST PROBLEMS that we have in the FASION INDUSTRY is that we’re not policed in any way. We have no LAWS or REGULATION that will put hard stops on our industry.’
BR AVE NEW WORLD Fashion on a mission FASHION DIRECTOR NICOLE SMALLWOOD PHOTOGRAPHER DAN HACK ART DIRECTOR FLEUR HARDING SET DESIGN TANJA WIDING
Jeans, shirt and coat, Mother of Pearl; shoes Rothy’s
White coat Phoebe English; bra and pants Organic Basics; boots Dr Martens
Plaid skirt, green shirt, green check coat and silver platforms, all Vivienne Westwood
Dress Lydia Hardcastle; dark green bag Mulberry
Red trousers, red shirt and leopard print boots SKIIM Paris
House of SheldonHall green gown via MY WARDROBE HQ; plaid boots Vivienne Westwood
Yellow turtleneck, houndstooth shirt, houndstooth jacket and blue thigh-high boots, all Stella McCartney
White dress and navy corset Bethany Williams; boots Tricker’s TEAM Make Up: Adam De Cruz at One Represents using Hourglass and Fenty Beauty Photographers Assistant: Danny Miller Fashion Assistant: Daisy Bryson Fashion Assistant: April McCarthy Associate Art Director: Sally Glover Video: Tracer Ital Model: Nayara @ Established STOCKISTS AND FULL CREDITS OVERLEAF
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STOCKISTS
From a living dress to material made from fruit packaging waste, the clothes here speak volumes about fashion’s potential for change sustainability strategy spans five pillars: design responsibly, produce responsibly, sell responsibly, treat people responsibly and do more for our communities.’ drmartens.com Set: ’Half the fabrics come from markets. The other half are scraps from a fabric pattern printing company. A few pieces were dyed in coffee and tea to create different shades before having one of the photographer’s images from Morocco projected onto it. The second-hand parachute silk on the floor was bought on Facebook Marketplace.’
over. The idea is not only that it’s decomposable but that it’s a piece which will continue growing after the shoot.’ @lydiahardcastleart Mulberry bag: ‘The leather was sourced from our partner tannery in Germany, which is a member of the Leather Working Group with a Gold Standard rating. It was then made at Mulberry’s carbon neutral Somerset factories.’ mulberry.com
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Stella McCartney turtleneck, houndstooth shirt, jacket and blue thigh-high boots: ‘As industry leaders, we endeavour to create the most cutting-edge materials and animal alternatives, continuing to push towards circularity and being fully transparent by developing tools to measure and report our impact.’ stellamccartney.com
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Mother of Pearl jeans, shirt and coat: ‘We have traced these products back to the raw materials and know they are environmentally and socially responsible from their seed or birth.’ motherofpearl.co.uk Rothy’s shoes: ‘We use single-use plastic water bottles and we use ocean-bound marine plastic to knit our bags and accessories.’ rothys.com Set: ‘Carpets are leftover pieces. They have been hand stitched together and will be reused.’
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Vivienne Westwood plaid skirt, green shirt, green check coat and silver platforms: ‘For these pieces, mulesing free wool and 100 per cent organic poplin have been used.’ viviennewestwood.com Set: ‘Some greenery came from the art director’s garden, the rest was donated by a local florist.’
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Phoebe English white coat: ‘All products are made in London, meaning we can take public transport to deliver and collect them from the factory. We use British fabric or British finished fabrics wherever possible. We reuse our “waste” which is returned to us as off-cuts and then put back into the next collection.’ phoebeenglish.com Organic Basics bra and pants: ‘We pick every fabric based on its environmental footprint and lifetime durability. That means natural, renewable, recycled, biodegradable and/or low-impact textiles only.’ uk.organicbasics.com Dr Martens boots: ‘Our current
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SKIIM Paris red trousers, red shirt and leopard print boots: ‘Creative Director Caroline Sciamma-Massenet sourced every component with an emphasis on craftsmanship, zero waste and as little environmental impact as possible.’ skiim-paris.com Set: ‘Greenery as before, green fabric reused from Stylist’s prop wardrobe.’
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Lydia Hardcastle dress: ‘All the materials used for this piece are either recycled, used on previous projects or foraged from the countryside where I live. The moss will be taken back to the original environment to continue to grow once the shoot is
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House of SheldonHall green gown via MY WARDROBE HQ: ‘MWHQ is a social shopping platform where you can rent or buy pre-loved clothing, meaning it’s part of a circular economy.’ mywardrobehq.com Vivienne Westwood plaid boots: ‘Made with 100 per cent virgin wool tartan.’ Set: ‘Image projected onto background taken by the photographer on a previous trip to Morocco.’
Bethany Williams white dress and navy corset: ‘The dress is made from deadstock tulle and screen printed at female-led Orto Print Studio using specialist non-toxic inks. The corset was made in collaboration with Rosie Evans using cutoffs and digitally printed merino wool with non-toxic fixing agents. Rosie has replaced the traditional boning in the corset with a material made out of fruit packaging waste. Twenty per cent of the profits from sales of these garments will go to The Magpie Project, a grass roots organisation supporting mums and under-fives in temporary accommodation.’ bethany-williams.com Tricker’s boots: ‘Entirely made in Northampton, using components sourced in the county where possible.’ trickers.com Set: Silk parachute from earlier shot.
Hardware is the hand shake of a building make sure it’s a good one.
British designers, manufacturers and trade suppliers of architectural hardware for discerning clients around the globe. +44 (0)20 8680 2602 | www.josephgiles.com
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DIRECTORY
ANABELA CHAN ANYA HINDMARCH AROMATHERAPY ASSOCIATES BENTLEY BETHANY WILLIAMS BOODLES BREMONT BURBERRY CADOGAN ESTATE COVENT GARDEN ESTATE DAI ELVIS & KRESSE FARFETCH GARRARD HARRODS HOUSE OF HACKNEY JOHNSTONS OF ELGIN JORO EXPERIENCES MULBERRY MY WARDROBE HQ OLUBIYI THOMAS ORLEBAR BROWN OSMAN YOUSEFZADA SAVILE ROW BESPOKE ASSOCIATION SELFRIDGES SIPSMITH
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ANABELA CHAN
Fine jewellery made with ethically produced gemstones London-based Anabela Chan is the first fine jewellery brand in the world to champion sustainable laboratory-grown gemstones paired with high jewellery designs and artisanal craftsmanship. The brand also sources gemstones from the Tanzanian Women Miners Association, part of Pact’s Mines to Markets programme (pactworld.org) in association with the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). For every piece sold from its Mermaid’s Tale collection, the brand plants 100 mangrove sea trees in West Papua, Indonesia, equating 100 tonnes of stored CO 2 .
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orking as an architect and fashion print and embroidery designer before studying jewellery design at the Royal College of Art, Anabela Chan (pictured right) didn’t set out to save the planet. But a visit to a gemstone mine while she was on honeymoon in Sri Lanka eight years ago changed all that. ‘I was shocked and saddened to see the mine’s working conditions, the risks and the inequality of the excavation of such precious things,’ she says. ‘I wanted to create equally beautiful jewellery where nobody suffers along the way, and that’s when I began my research into alternative materials.’ For Anabela the answer was to use lab-grown gemstones: ‘Synthesised gemstones are chemically and physically identical to mined gemstones, but they have perfect colour saturation, brilliance and are free of inclusions. They’re also more accessible – a juxtaposition of precious, natural and man-made materials. This is luxury with a touch of humility.’
While great strides have been made in reducing the historically high emissions produced by mining and manufacturing gemstones and precious metals, the carbon footprint of lab-grown stones made with renewable energy is lower. Recycling precious metals – gold, silver and platinum – also helps to cut emissions, though Anabela has recently gone one step further, pioneering the use of recycled aluminium soda cans in her designs. Ethical and sustainable practices have always been central to the brand’s ethos. Even so, Anabela agrees there is always more to do. Last year the brand set up a digital virtual reality channel so customers can shop virtually, while sales from the new Mermaid’s Tale collection go to support and restore coastal ecosystems. ‘Coastal ecosystems, like kelp forests, mangroves and seagrass can sequester up to 20 times more carbon per acre than land forests. One mangrove tree stores approximately one ton of C02, creates critical habitat for marine life and provides sustainable employment for local communities. So when we launched this ocean-inspired collection we committed to planting 100 mangrove trees in West Papua for every piece sold.’ For Anabela, reducing carbon footprint is only part of the story: ‘It is one of sustainability’s three pillars. The second is the human ethical issue – how everyone involved in your business is being looked after, ensuring that nobody is being exploited anywhere along your chain of supply.’ The third pillar, Anabela believes, is the socio-economic impact: ‘The pandemic has sadly seen so many brands go JUST DO IT, under with significant debts, many operating & DO IT NOW on extensive loans, often to facilitate rents 1 Ask questions and do your research for multiple premium real estates and extensive marketing 2 Know your costs. Yes, a business might be using organic cotton for its purpose – the why products and have a zero plastic packaging policy, but that is just as important as the how alone doesn’t make it a sustainable business.’ 3 You can’t tell On whether her industry is doing enough to combat people what to climate change, she says: ‘It’s about looking at how things do, but you can were done in the past and learning how to do them better, inspire them for the right reasons. Greenwashing won’t help us.‘ Does she think her customers – who include Beyoncé, Rihanna and Taylor Swift – actually care about sustainability? ‘I’d like to think that everyone does. They fall in love with my designs first and the ethical sustainability is a bonus.’ anabelachan.com
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Anabela Chan (left) believes that carbon reduction is just one part of the story; the others are human exploitation and social economic impact
‘It’s about looking at how things were done in the past and learning how to do them better. Greenwashing won’t help us’
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ANYA HINDMARCH
The headline-making accessories brand that’s shifting consumer perceptions On its launch in 2007, Anya Hindmarch’s ‘I’m Not A Plastic Bag’ tote, designed in collaboration with Antidote and Shift, caused queues of 80,000 outside Sainsbury’s, garnering global press coverage. It contributed to heated national debate about plastic bag usage, and to the introduction of charges for them in 2016, after which supermarket take-up dropped by 95 per cent. In 2020, Anya Hindmarch launched I Am A Plastic Bag, created from 32 half-litre recycled plastic bottles, coated with recycled windscreens and designed never to be thrown away. The collection is showcased at the Plastic Shop in the new Anya Village in Pont Street. All packaging is FSC-certified, containing no non-compostable plastic, foam or silica gel packs.
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nya (pictured right) has captured public imagination with her innovative products, designed specifically to curb our consumption of single-use plastic. However, she admits she wasn’t always so sure how to tackle the problem. ‘I’d been hearing about the environmental crisis for years but never understood what I could do as an individual until I read Change the World for a Fiver, she says. ‘The book contained 50 easy tips, such as turning off the tap while brushing our teeth. I saw that we could use the platform of fashion to change behaviour. If fashion can make someone wear straight trousers one month and flares the next, we’re pretty at good at communicating.’ With I Am A Plastic Bag, the brand’s mission has shifted from raising awareness to looking at the circularity of materials. During 2020’s London Fashion Week, Anya Hindmarch closed its London stores for three days, filling each with 90,000 used plastic bottles. ‘There are eight billion tons of plastic on the planet and when you throw a piece away, there
is no “away”,’ says Anya. ‘Ninety thousand plastic bottles go into landfill every 8.5 minutes. I see bottles of water handed out at marathons, gyms and meetings, and I see how disconnected we still are from the horror of landfill. ‘We have to try and return to a simpler, sensible life in which we don’t buy cheap clothes and chuck them when we’ve worn them twice. Admittedly this is a hard circle to square as we’re trying to sell things and keep employing people. If people don’t have employment, then climate change slips down their agenda.’ After much research, the brand recently JUST DO IT, espoused real leather. ‘Alternative leathers aren’t & DO IT NOW the answer yet,’ Anya explains. ‘Vegan leather is 1 Keep moving forward with often just plastic. Recycled leather is leather chips common sense mixed with glue and plastic. Using real leather is and find solutions wherever you can no bad thing if cattle are sensibly reared and their 2 Share your hides responsibly tanned. Cattle contribute to soil learnings and be health, so it’s more about going back to basics, honest about what you can and can’t when a hide is used as a by-product of meat.’ do – no-one’s Anya believes there’s much to be learnt perfect from the food industry’s transparency. ‘Coming 3 The fashion clean about E-numbers blazed a trail,’ she says. industry is brilliant at communicating ‘The luxury industry could introduce a traffic so let’s build on that light system that made it clear which were the “red” products. And we could incentivise brands that use less carbon.’ Ever the innovator, Anya has launched a fruit and vegetable store at The Village and curated a range of bathroom products to decrease plastic consumption. ‘We have no choice but to keep pushing,’ she says. anyahindmarch.com
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Anya HIndmarch (opposite centre) helped galvanise the government into charging for plastic bags – and hasn’t stopped since
‘There are eight billion tons of plastic on the planet and when you throw a piece away, there is no “away”. Ninety thousand plastic bottles go into landfill every 8.5 minutes’
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AROMATHERAPY ASSOCIATES
The long-established brand for natural wellbeing products is paving the way in sustainable practice In 2020 Aromatherapy Associates removed 1.5 tons of virgin plastic from its products. By 2023, all plastic packaging will be 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable and contain an average 30% recycled content. All retail cartons use paper from 100% sustainable FSC certified forest. Its headquarters uses only renewable energy and by 2023 the brand will be carbon neutral. Products are now free of over 12 chemicals, including microbeads and parabens; by 2023 100 per cent of palm oil and its derivatives, wood, pulp and paper, will come from certified sustainable sources. Aromatherapy Associates won the 2021 Great British Brands Award for Sustainability.
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rom the start it was important for me to honour the principles of our brand’s founder, Geraldine Howard,’ says CEO Anna Teal (pictured right). ‘It’s very rare to come across anyone who’s had such a powerful impact, so I have deep respect for the brand’s legacy and want to leave it behind in a better position than when I took it over.’ When they launched the brand in 1985, Howard and co-founder Sue Beechey believed in using nature’s power to help people feel better emotionally and physically. Caring for the planet was always a core component of that vision.
CEO Anna Teal (above) believes Aromatherapy Associates’ sustainability mission must come with her full, visible commiment
B Corp certification was a vital early step for Anna. ‘I started exploring what we were doing well,’ she says. ‘What I love about B Corp is that it binds you to operate on a continuous improvement basis. You’re encouraged to start, even though you never attain perfection. Gathering data and substantiating it can typically take between 18 and 24 months but it took us a year in lockdown so now I see how what a tremendous achievement that was.’ It was also a steep learning curve. ‘We felt we could own our non-use of toxins but we didn’t have the right certification to get the our full allotment of points. We all had to learn fast to help the assessors quantify and validate our processes and I brought in a specialist who’d worked with B Lab to help.’ Anna believes in maximum visible validation. ‘We have incredibly natural products and know we’re cruelty-free but we want to give our consumers total confidence, so now we’re obtaining Leaping Bunny accreditation. We challenge ourselves to be continually better, and until the fires stop, my mantra is that everyone has to be uncomfortably dissatisfied with what they’re doing. This is where leadership comes in. I was so deeply unhappy that we were still using any plastic that I mandated we’d have none. I became obsessive, which really set the tone. Last Christmas we replaced the plastic shell in JUST DO IT, our boxes with recyclable ones. We’ve now & DO IT NOW removed 1.5 tons of plastic, so just think what 1 Sustainability is no longer just a [brand like] L’Oréal could do. a ‘nice to have’ ‘We source the finest ingredients from component but a crucial one. around the world, from frankincense to Sicilian All leaders need lemons and Madagascan roses, so supply chain to be working better to make management is crucial, and we have to ensure their business a crops are grown in an ethical, sustainable way. force for good. We’re trying to limit transportation, though it’s 2 Lock and land hard for any brand in this world where everyone your credentials and get your wants things air-freighted straight away. But paperwork in place we have to keep trying.’ 3 Hire a B Lab Anna believes sustainability must come expert to help assessors validate with the CEO’s full, visible commitment. ‘It’s what you’re doing easy to delegate but I felt it was important to be in every single project meeting to reinforce the impact of the initiative,’ she says. ‘Sustainability is part of who we are and not just on the To Do list. As CEO, I lead, live and breathe it in an eyes-wide-open way.’ aromatherapyassociates.com
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‘We challenge ourselves to be continually better, and until the fires stop, my mantra is that everyone has to be uncomfortably dissatisfied with what they’re doing’
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BENTLEY
Revving up for environmentally-conscious motoring Bentley has announced its commitment to being a sustainable, wholly ethical role model for the global luxury car industry. The brand has pledged to be end-to-end carbon neutral by 2030, offering exclusively hybrid or battery electric vehicles by 2024 and solely full-electric vehicles by 2030. Its production facility in Crewe was the UK’s first luxury automotive factory to be certified carbon neutral by the Carbon Trust in 2019 and, as part of its Beyond100 strategy for a sustainable luxury future, Bentley has committed to reducing its factory’s environmental impact by 75 per cent by 2025 (from a 2010 baseline).
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ounded in 1919, Bentley has been at the pinnacle of motoring excellence for more than a century. Last year the company embarked on a totally new road journey, outlined in its Beyond100 sustainability manifesto, that will see the brand evolve more in the next five to eight years than in all its previous 102-year existence. It’s a bold move, agrees CEO Adrian Hallmark (right). ‘In the last 17 years, we have sold more 12-cylinder engines than any other car manufacturer on earth and now we’re saying, “That’s it! no more engines.” Only hybrids by 2023 and
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JUST DO IT, & DO IT NOW 1 Know where you stand and what your true carbon footprint is. 2 Ensure the technologies and economics of achieving net zero stack up. 3 Once committed, you’ve just got to go for it.
2024; our first battery electric vehicle by 2025 and by 2030 only electric vehicles,’ he says. ‘Why are we doing it? There are a hundred million cars sold every year. Bentley sells just 10,000 of them so we’re clearly not going to save the planet. For us the question is, why wouldn’t we do it? The technology is there now; it’s reasonably affordable for a small company like us; and our regular research shows it’s what our existing and future customers want.’ Adrian believes the race to zero has also given Bentley a new perspective on its brand profile. ‘We saw it as a great way to show leadership. We became competitive with it, too: 84 per cent of the cars we’ve ever built are still on the road so in terms of total energy and life cycle, we’re probably the most sustainable car brand in the world.’
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‘The race to net zero is scary but the risks of inaction are far scarier’
Bentley’s CEO and Chairman, Adrian Hallmark (opposite left), believes the brand’s Beyond100 manifesto will give Bentley a global lead in the automotive industry’s race to net zero manufacture and motoring
Bentley’s sustainability journey began a decade ago with the capture of natural carbon-free energy at its factory in Crewe. ‘Then we got serious and set some radical goals, looking at every part of the business. We started with the factory and it has been certified carbon neutral for three years now. We only buy renewable electricity and we’ve managed to contract ten per cent of all the bio gas available in the UK. Then we moved from our on-site operations to the vehicles themselves and to our whole supply chain.’ As Adrian points out, setting goals is only the beginning. ‘You set the big goals and then you look at how close you can get to them and you realise you’re only about 25 per cent there. So then you have to come up with lots more ideas. That’s where we engaged the whole of our workforce and, actually, that was one of the most inspirational parts of the journey. Everyone wanted to make a difference and the generation of ideas was almost overwhelming.’ With millions of pounds committed to total reinvention of the company, Adrian believes that 70 per cent of his brand’s sustainability road map is now in place, but that doesn’t mean taking his foot off the accelerator. ‘You’ve still got to keep fighting for that missing 30 per cent. The race to net zero is scary but the risks of inaction are far scarier. I believe this is a chance for Bentley become a leader in luxury sustainability and I’m confident we’ll make it.’ bentleymotors.com COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO | 51
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BETHANY WILLIAMS
A vibrant trailblazer for conscious, grassroots fashion Bethany Williams is a sustainable fashion designer, humanitarian and artist. Originally a fine art student specialising in critical theory, she graduated from London College of Fashion in 2016 and launched her eponymous label the following year, with a mission to create positive social and environmental change. Her achievements, including Emerging Menswear Designer 2019, LVMH Prize finalist 2019, Queen Elizabeth II Award for Design 2019 and 2021 BFC/Vogue Fashion Designer Fund winner (worth £200,000), extol a trailblazer for conscious, sustainable luxury in fashion.
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ocusing on the relationship between people and the planet from the get-go, Bethany (pictured right) has always prioritised the transformation of waste into treasure, using organic, recycled and deadstock materials, from book waste to reclaimed fabrics, and hand-carved buttons made from birch wood. ‘If I’m being honest,’ she says, ‘the most sustainable thing to do is not make anything at all. But I love making things beautiful again from waste.’ Though its carbon footprint has never been formally assessed, the brand’s commitment to sustainability has received rapt attention from fashion industry peers. Each collection is a social enterprise, partnering with local grassroots initiatives such as The Magpie Project, Manusa and LCF’s Making for Change, plus international projects like San Patrignano. These are woven into
a growing network of creative hubs. ‘We connect waste streams to social manufacturing projects, keeping everything really local. Even our buttons are made from London wood – in a place that doesn’t use electricity,’ adds Bethany. The label merges sportswear and formal wear, going beyond gender to express the beauty of individuality. Its price tag puts it in the luxury sphere, and Bethany points out that acting responsibly comes at a financial cost for all. ‘It’s irresponsible to allow the next generation to inherit all the problems. We need higher price tags to pay for traceability and transparency, and in our case to give a percentage back to our grassroots organisations to support their purpose.’ Few businesses could be closer to their supply chains, and garment labels itemise not just the fabric composition but also the weaver and maker, the product’s design story, fit and aesthetic. ‘We know our supply chain inside out and our customers can see everything. It’s a lot of work, but it’s worthwhile,’ she affirms. It’s an exciting time to drive change in luxury fashion, an industry infamous for wasteful practice, JUST DO IT, but now seeing a shift. ‘Younger consumers are & DO IT NOW definitely more conscious,’ observes Bethany. 1 Don’t be in a rush. I wish I had given ‘We’re doing everything we can with material myself more time innovation, waste processing and maintaining and listened to my intuition. Things craft techniques.’ She says many forward-thinking happen when people, businesses and educational institutions they’re meant to are spearheading new initiatives in the UK, though 2 Sometimes doing things ‘correctly’ government regulation is hard on small businesses. creates artificial ‘Corporations do need to be regulated but barriers. Don’t the problem is that smaller enterprises tend to be put that kind of pressure on disproportionately negatively affected. There’s a yourself balance to be struck. The luxury sector has the 3 Build your team power to lead and create a trickle-down effect, gradually, don’t do unpaid internships and it’s important that CEOs are on board, to – be prepared to give oxygen to the financial side of developing mentor and share your information sustainable practices. Even so, in terms of freely with other corporate responsibility, I still think everyone organisations could be doing more.’ bethany-williams.com
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Fashion insiders are taking note of Bethany Williams’ lead (centre left). Each collection is a local grassroots initiative using waste products and working with social enterprise groups
‘If I’m being honest, the most sustainable thing to do is not make anything at all. But I love making things beautiful again from waste’
‘In years to come your sustainability audit will be as scrutinised and essential to your survival as the audit on your accounts’
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BOODLES
Crafting fine jewellery for over two centuries Established in Liverpool in 1798, Boodles remains in the hands of the same family. It has nine shops and outlets throughout Great Britain selling fine heritage jewellery. Today all its gold is of single mine origin, and it has radically cut the suppliers for most of its diamonds down to a trusted three. It has a Sustainability Council that meets every month and has signed up to the SME Climate Hub.
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sk Michael Wainwright when his journey towards wanting to save Michael Wainwright the planet began (standing left) and his family have pledged and he doesn’t that sustainabililty hesitate: ‘About six years stands alongside ago, I was on a committee brand and design in importance judging some luxury awards and was shouted down when I questioned the point of a brand’s sustainability policy. It was a watershed moment that changed my entire perspective as CEO. My two nephews, who work in the business, have long been passionate about climate change but, being older, this was a wake-up call.’ Michael says there used to be just two variants to the business: design and brand. Now there’s a firm third – sustainability. ‘If you don’t have ticks in all three boxes, no one’s going to shop with you,’ he insists. ‘Brands not on top of climate change and human rights will fall by the wayside. We sell many engagement rings to younger people and increasingly they want to know if our gems and gold are responsibly sourced.’ The journey has been tough. In 2016, Human Rights Watch selected Boodles, alongside 11 other jewellery brands, including Bulgari, Rolex and Tiffany, to participate in an investigation of their CSR policies. ‘We were a very small company and felt it was a bit unfair comparing us with such big brands,’ says Michael. ‘They laid into us and gave us a “weak” ranking. I’m now glad we were assessed
harshly as it really sharpened up our act. We did so much to improve, which has pushed our ranking up to “fair” and we’re still working very hard to get it up to “good”.’ Boodles has reduced its diamond suppliers from over 30 to just three main ones and all their diamonds are now guaranteed conflict-free, as is their single mine origin gold from Yanfolila in Mali. ‘Eighty per cent of the world’s jewellery is unbranded and sold at small “mom and pop” stores,’ says Michael, ‘so it’s very easy to greenwash. The industry isn’t easy to police, but I think every brand by law should have a sustainability audit. I’m an accountant, so I get the importance of auditing and I think in years to come your sustainability audit will be as scrutinised and essential to your survival as the audit on your accounts.’ The one area Michael admits needs improvement is packaging. ‘Our carrier bags have to look the part and not compromise us,’ he says. ‘As CEO I struggle with the trade-off between commerciality and sustainability and there’s still a line between doing the correct thing and being an attractive, glossy, luxury brand. So I’m putting out a call to all carrier bag makers to work JUST DO IT, on improving the look of their & DO IT NOW reconstituted paper. 1 If you want to grow, think about ‘I now view protecting our sustainability pretty planet to be as crucial as the smartly design of our jewellery for which we’re famous 1 Reduce your suppliers to a – and I say that as a businessman rather than handful of those a passionate save-the-planet man. Climate you really trust change is a mammoth issue and if you want 3 Know the to be around in ten years, ignore it at your answers to what you’re doing about peril. As a multi-generational family business, climate change we are embracing the sustainability journey in and responsible sourcing because the knowledge that our future absolutely your customers depends upon it.’ will most certainly ask you
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BREMONT
Military and aviation watches tested beyond endurance Bremont was co-founded in 2002 by brothers Nick and Giles English (pictured right), inspired by their love of flying historic aircraft. Nearly 20 years later Bremont is an award-winning, globally renowned brand that makes beautiful, limited edition watches, sought-after for their durability. In 2020, committed to manufacturing in the UK and not sourcing from China, they moved to The Wing, Bremont’s new manufacturing and technology centre in Henley-on-Thames, where strong eco-credentials include a living roof and recycled air heating system. And the limited edition, sell-out Waterman watch, tested by Bremont ambassador, diver, surfer and ocean environmentalist Mark Healey, supports Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii, a charity to protect the ocean.
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o we really understand sustainability?’ asks Giles. ‘I’d be lying if I said yes – but do we care it about it? One hundred per cent. In my view, a Bremont watch is a is truly sustainable luxury because it lasts a lifetime, unlike the phone in my pocket that has obsolescence built in.’ Giles is not one to pay lip service to sustainability, preferring to investigate all claims fully before acting. ‘It’s very easy to go on about electric cars but dig deeper and you start to see it’s not so simple,’ he says. ‘I drive a 1985 Porsche but am I being less environmentally friendly than if I crated it and put it on a rust heap? I’m not so sure. It’s going to take a few years for us to understand fully what we need to put right, so we’ve brought an expert in to assess us, monitor our supply chain and do a carbon audit. It’s dangerous to use sustainability as part of your PR and marketing strategy. It should just be part of
what you do, and you must be transparent about it, otherwise you’ll be shot down in flames. Our biggest hurdle has been the volume of resources we’ve needed to do this properly. Trying to rush it through won’t work because fundamentally you’re changing everything.’ Giles believes that travel, events and shop refits all create waste. ‘Not wanting to waste materials, we used clever design so we haven’t had to refresh our Mayfair boutique in nine years.’ The big challenge is finding quality materials for new product designs. ‘Should JUST DO IT, we really be farming crocodiles for straps? & DO IT NOW No! But consumers still demand crocodile 1 Sustainability needs to be for dress watches so we’re fast trying to someone’s solo role research and develop alternative leather but make sure you share the learning from cactus, hemp, offcuts, reconstituted 2 Ensure timeless rubber and so on. Elvis & Kresse designed store designs to us a wonderful strap from fire hose.’ reduce waste and the need for refits Even though becoming carbon neutral involves detailed effort, Giles believes there’s 3 Don’t outsource to China if you no other option. ‘It’s all very complicated, really care about but it’s largely led by our young employees, monitoring your emissions who need us to be doing the right thing.’ Bremont’s new Henley-on-Thames facility is already improving the brand’s sustainability and efficiency with details like lights that go off automatically when you leave the room, wild-seeded landscaping and the named Thermos cups employees use, to avoid disposable plastic ones and the dishwasher. ‘The facility represented a big extra cost but it will pay off,’ says Giles. ‘After all, if I were an environmental terrorist, I’d start exposing the brands who aren’t doing anything, and no brand can just flick a switch and pretend it is. So if you don’t start right now you’ll be exposed and ridiculed. ‘On the upside, consumers are more prepared to spend £5,000 on a watch these days if they feel it’s a responsible purchase. Sustainability is win-win.’ bremont.com
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Bremont’s founders, Giles and Nick English (pictured left) are driven by their young staff when it comes to committing wholeheartedly to net zero
‘It’s dangerous to use sustainability as part of your PR and marketing strategy. It should just be part of what you do, and you must be transparent about it, otherwise you’ll be shot down in flames’
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BURBERRY
Motivating the industry with its ambitious pledge Over 160 years old, Burberry has cut its market-based emissions by 92 per cent since 2016 and is on track to be carbon neutral by 2022, when 100 per cent of its products will have at least one positive attribute (see definition below). It is aiming to ensure all its key materials, including cotton and leather, are certified and traceable by 2025. In June, Burberry pledged to become climate positive by 2040, going beyond Net Zero by investing in initiatives to support climate change efforts beyond its value chain.
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ulie Brown (right), Burberry’s chief operating and financial officer, acknowledges there has been a recent acceleration in the brand’s efforts to combat climate change, driven by developments in green science and greater awareness of our planet’s fragility: ‘Our understanding of climate risks and our strategy for mitigating them has evolved significantly, and since 2017, with our customers, investors and communities behind us, we’ve taken huge strides.’ Burberry was the first luxury fashion brand to issue a £300 million sustainability bond to support climate-positive action, like ensuring all its buildings were refurbished to externally certified environmental standards and focusing on packaging and responsibly sourced raw materials. ‘When we launched the bond, we were eight times oversubscribed, and really blazed a trail,’ says Julie. ‘Usually raising money is the finance department’s domain, but this involved the whole organisation and injected a sense of pride, attracting more investors interested in ESG matters too. It was a win-win.’ Burberry’s commitment to becoming climate positive by 2040 is also an industry first, which it will achieve by reducing emissions by 46 per cent from its extended supply chain by 2030 and also investing in projects that restore natural ecosystems through its Regeneration Fund. Its packaging is now 40 per cent made from coffee cups that have had their plastic removed, ‘cupcycling’ 66 million cups. Today, the Burberry website’s Beyond section displays these ambitious goals. ‘Sustainability is no longer a “niceto-have” for our consumers, but essential,’ says Julie. The brand also has a network of in-person sustainability champions among its retail associates in its stores, changing behaviour by questioning things like heating, air-conditioning and packaging. The main message is to unite around a
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JUST DO IT, & DO IT NOW 1 Even if you don’t know how to achieve them, set ambitious goals as they focus the organisation on doing things differently 2 Disclose and publish your targets and progress 3 Engage with organisations outside your own industry on sustainability initiatives for broader societal impact
common objective and avoid different practices within the organisation, aligning product development and the supply chain to join Race to Zero. Julie’s approach, to encourage others, was broad cross-industry engagement, co-chairing Accounting for Sustainability, supported by the Prince of Wales’s charitable organisation and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Another challenge that Burberry addressed head on in 2018 was immediately finding solutions for unsaleable products and waste. It stopped destroying them with immediate effect. ‘We quickly took a stand, which was possible because we’d already identified waste as a focus in our 2017 Responsibility strategy,’ says Julie. ‘We are still the only luxury brand to have made this commitment. When we buy products, we examine their lifecycle and demand. We’re always seeking innovative solutions and now any unsold product is reused, recycled or donated to fashion schools, design centres or charities like Smart Works. ‘I’m so proud of our progress. Our operations were 92 per cent carbon neutral in 2019, up 88 per cent since 2017. Next year, we’ll have 100 per cent renewable energy – we’re already at 93 per cent. We’ve upped our 30 per cent target for our Scope 3 supply chain emissions from 30 per cent to 46 per cent by 2040. We’re aiming for all products to have at least one positive attribute by 2022.’ A ‘positive attribute’ guarantees social or environmental improvement through raw material sourcing or manufacturing. Take Burberry’s Econyl trench (pictured left), made from recycled fishing nets and ocean plastics. ‘It still has to look and feel great,’ Julie points out. Burberry now offers its world-renowned trenches a luxury aftercare and re-proofing service. ‘The luxury industry must make a difference where it can,’ Julie says, ‘because the planet is our most valuable asset.’ burberry.com
Any unsold Burberry product is now reused, recycled or donated to fashion schools, design centres or charity
Burberry was the first luxury fashion brand to issue a £300 million sustainability bond to support climate-positive action
‘If the objective wasn’t familiar, the philosophy certainly was. No one here has needed much persuasion’
Cadogan’s chief executive Hugh Seaborn (opposite right) believes that, with most of Cadogan’s carbon footprint being made up of Scope 3 emissions, it’s imperative they work in a collegiate way with local businesses and stakeholders
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CADOGAN ESTATE
Property manager, investor and developer for more than 300 years The Cadogan Estate spans 93 acres of prime residential, commercial, retail and leisure space in London’s Chelsea. Cadogan has recently launched Chelsea 2030, its comprehensive stewardship strategy to reduce environmental impacts through clear targets on issues such as waste management, water use and green infrastructure. As part of this, Cadogan has signed the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) Climate Commitment. This requires the company to publish its net zero pathway, disclose the energy performance of its assets and develop comprehensive climate resilience strategies. The brand’s net zero pathway sets out how it will reduce its 2019 carbon footprint by 40 per cent by 2030.
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n 2019 Cadogan Estate was responsible for an estimated 106,213 tons of greenhouse emissions, measured as carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). Given the UK average carbon footprint is around 10 tCO2e per person annually, it will be a major challenge to reduce Cadogan’s by 40 per cent. Nevertheless, chief executive Hugh Seaborn (right) is confident it can be done. ‘Contributing to a flourishing and sustainable local community is central to our approach as a very long-term family business – stewardship of the neighbourhood has always been at the heart of what we do,’ says Hugh. ‘Chelsea 2030 builds on this, strengthening Cadogan’s objectives: to bring sustainability to the fore, contribute further to improving local quality of life and become a significant foundation for change over the next decade. ‘We began to engage with the community on their environmental and social concerns three years ago. As you can imagine, local impacts such as air quality and concerns around global issues like climate change were pertinent. We looked to set best practice both globally and locally, consulting with
our community about what mattered to them, while aligning with the Paris Agreement to ensure we are meeting global expectations.’ The proposed Race to Zero had the immediate support of Cadogan’s board and staff across the business. ‘Cadogan’s philosophy of stewardship has always given the business a really strong sense that we’re looking after assets for future generations,’ Hugh says, ‘so if the objective wasn’t familiar, the philosophy certainly was. No one here has needed much persuasion.’ Did he have any concerns about embarking on such a challenging journey? ‘Plenty. We had to understand the costs – carbon reduction is a significant financial commitment. But I’ve no doubt it’s going to be more expensive in the long run not to take action. The second concern was how to work collaboratively, as most of our footprint is made up of Scope 3 emissions JUST DO IT, – produced by occupiers in our buildings and & DO IT NOW developments on the estate – so if we don’t work 1 Take control of the data and in a collegiate way, we won’t be able to achieve our break it down target. Cadogan’s largely enthusiastic stakeholders into meaningful objectives wanted to know two things: how could they get 2 Collaborate involved and how would it affect them?’ to maximise your Hugh knows the targets are ambitious but impact is convinced they can be met: ‘We could achieve 3 Be aware that them faster if we simply offset more, but our you can’t do it all at once aim is to reduce the impacts of our operations and create meaningful, sustainable change. This strategy provides a foundation we will continually build on and report annually on progress – it has created a new, transparent way to work with the local community.’ His principal advice for those contemplating their own Race to Zero is to take ownership of the challenge and make it work for their business. ‘Do it as a positive thing before it’s imposed on you and be aware that it takes time. But there’s no doubt that the longer you leave it, the more disruptive it’s going to be for your business.’ cadogan.co.uk COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO | 61
COVENT GARDEN ESTATE
Central London’s leading global hub for shopping, dining and culture Owned and managed by Capco, Covent Garden is a vibrant retail, dining and entertainment destination, set within a heritage and conservation area. The estate is committed to achieving net zero carbon by 2030 and in March launched a Sustainability Framework to support its ESG strategy. Capco participates in a number of industry performance benchmarks, including the FTSE4Good Index, CDP climate change programme, Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) and S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). It has set a minimum SKA standard of Silver on all major refurbishments and has twice achieved a Gold rating for its adherence to EPRA’s Sustainability Best Practices Recommendations (sBPR).
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JUST DO IT, & DO IT NOW 1 Be bold: just do it
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apco acquired the Covent Garden estate in 2006 and has since transformed the area into a leading retail and dining destination, home to a wide variety of 3 Engage your people: they are UK and global brands. With its unique the surest way pedestrianised core, the area enjoys some of the of driving change best air quality in central London, further improved by a programme of biodiverse planting, including the greening of Capco’s own HQ, Regal House, with more than 8,000 plants. While committing to carbon neutrality across Covent Garden’s 1.1 million sq / ft of lettable space is a challenge, executive director Michelle McGrath sees it as a natural progression. ‘Sustainability is part of our embedded culture and our commitment to net 2 You can’t do it alone. Collaboration will give good results
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zero carbon by 2030 is part of being a responsible landlord. Covent Garden has been around for 500 years – our aim is to make sure it’s still around for many more years to come.’ Covent Garden’s heritage is an advantage. ‘We don’t knock down buildings, we preserve them. Every time we refurbish one of our properties, we improve its sustainability credentials. We’ve invested over £1 billion into the area over the past decade and a huge proportion of that has been in the fabric of the buildings. It’s part of future-proofing our assets.’ Which is not to say that the race to zero will be easy. ‘We
Aligning with the UN Sustainable Development goals of climate change, air quality, innovation and change and community and people, Covent Garden is also aiming to achieve net zero carbon by 2030, with executive director Michelle McGrath (pictured left) at the helm
‘We don’t knock down buildings, we preserve them’ took a number of actions at the outset to ensure we could deliver on our commitment: we established a board committee that would be dedicated to ESC and then a strategy that sits alongside that to help us reach our target. We centre our approach around four main pillars – climate change, air quality, innovation and change, and community and people – which are in line with the UN sustainable development goals. Everyone has a role to play: our partners, our retailers, our occupiers – even our consumers, who are much more conscious in their consumption today.’ Michelle admits that Covent Garden doesn’t yet have all the answers. ‘The important thing is that we don’t let that stand in our way and that we continue to move forward. Being part of our community has always been really important to us and that mentality has set us in really good stead because you have to bring people with you,’ she says. ‘Something we’re working on is more data sharing. The way of assessing your carbon footprint is so much more sophisticated now and sharing those models with our occupiers is going to be really important. We’ve just launched an engagement exercise to really get under the skin of our retailers and brands – understanding what their carbon challenges, initiatives and objectives are and how can we assist in that journey. And equally, how can they assist us; how can we work together.’ Michelle concludes that: ‘We’ve got this moment in time where it really does feel as though more people are coming together on this issue. I think if everyone delivers on their ambition then we’ve got a real chance of making a difference.’ capitalandcounties.com COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO | 63
Founder Joanna Dai (opposite centre) hopes that many more fashion brands will join The UN’s Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action
‘I don’t think any brand can be hesitant about embarking on this road [to net zero] any more’
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DAI
Comfort-empowered tailoring for women Dai gained B Corp certification in 2020 and is a signatory to the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action (UNFCC). Last year the company offset 25 per cent of its total carbon emissions by contributing carbon credits on 100 per cent of its shipments through DHL’s GoGreen Climate Neutral service, which invests in internationally-recognised climate protection projects. Since its launch in 2017, Dai has been a pioneer in sustainable materials innovation and tech-enabled fit.
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he luxury sector is dominated by big brands, with the top ten companies generating more than half of all global luxury sales. But when it comes to reducing emissions, size is not necessarily an advantage. ‘There’s definitely something to be said for being a small brand able to implement so many things at the same time,’ agrees Joanna Dai (right), who creates comfortable tailored women’s workwear from innovative, eco-friendly performance fabrics. ‘When I launched in 2017, I was able to look at my supply chain with a blank canvas. I found a mill that not only produced the best fabrics for my brand but was also years ahead of the curve in terms of investment and technology; everything it produced was chemically certified and the entire factory ran on renewable energy.’ When she launched Dai, Joanna hoped to be B Corp certified within two years. She got there in year three, with an overall impact score of 97.4, ahead of many bigger brands. ‘When I started out, I had no specialist knowledge. I was obviously aware of the impact the fashion industry has on the environment and once you dive into it, fighting climate change is a Pandora’s box of things that could be done. Nothing is standardised so for us it was about figuring out what was right for our brand and finding the necessary experts and information along the way. Our guiding principle has always been, are we doing it better?’
For Joanna, one important step towards doing it better was to partner with DHL’s GoGreen Climate Neutral service to offset 100 per cent of the brand’s shipments, though this wasn’t quite the easy win she was expecting. ‘We’re an e-commerce brand but I hadn’t realised shipping only made up 25 per cent of our carbon footprint.’ What did help enormously was being able access a detailed product environmental footprint report published by the brand’s biggest supplier last year. This allowed Dai to measure the carbon footprint of each of its products. For example, assuming they are washed at 30 degrees and air-dried, the brand’s bestselling Power Move trousers will produce around 12kg of CO2 across JUST DO IT, their lifespan. This compares with an estimated & DO IT NOW 33.4kg for a pair of the world’s bestselling jeans 1. 1 Define what sustainability Joanna is hopeful that more luxury fashion means for your brands will become signatories of The UN’s brand Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action which 2 Decide the realistic actions and is committed to reducing the fashion industry’s the deadlines for carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 and to completing them net zero by 2050. She also believes that regulatory 3 Keep your actions have a huge rule to play in achieving net zero. communications honest and factual ‘Sustainability is a constantly evolving process, and we are currently reviewing how we implement our offsetting programme. We also plan to introduce integrated software that will show our customers how every single purchase is offset. ‘The race for zero can be overwhelming and costly, but being environmentally responsible is, or will be, the baseline customer expectation – I don’t think any brand can be hesitant about embarking on this road any more.’ daiwear.com 1. Stats from Deutsche Welle (DW) for Levi’s 501
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ELVIS & KRESSE
Beautiful luxury accessories made from rescued materials In 2005 Elvis & Kresse was launched exclusively to solve the problem of London’s decommissioned fire hoses. Since then, it has made timeless, beautifully-crafted luxury accessories from these and other rescued materials. For over a decade no London fire hose has gone to landfill and over 250 tons of material have been reclaimed. The company gives half its profits to charities related to its materials and reinvests the rest, currently in a regenerative farm, planning to produce JUST DO IT, organic, biodynamic, and ecologically outcome verified wine. In 2017 & DO IT NOW it partnered with the Burberry Foundation to tackle leather waste and 1 Be transparent and own your re-craft 120 tons of Burberry’s leather cut-offs into new luxury items.
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rowing up in Canada, Kresse Wesling MBE (right) was always aware of the earth’s fragile beauty. ‘My parents were from farming families and my maternal grandmother’s close relationship with nature remains my inspiration,’ she explains. ‘I’ve always believed we have to be in the service of the planet and its people. After reading Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring as a teenager, following Edward Burtynsky’s terrifying photographs of our industrial landscapes, and reading the IPCC climate change reports, I have always felt climate change is a clear and present danger. In one week [last June], more people died
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mistakes – the luxury industry’s secrets must go
2 Spend half your time understanding climate change and social issues and ensuring your business is not, on balance, contributing to either 3 Be creative, not destructive
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‘Rescue, transform and donate are the future pillars of luxury’ from the Vancouver heatwave than through Covid.’ After Kresse joined her partner James Henrit (aka Elvis) in London in 2004, she met two London Fire Brigade officers, who told her all their old fire hoses went to landfill. So Kresse went to the main hose and line repair shop, to investigate. ‘This beautiful fire hose was coiled up on the roof in the sun waiting to die,’ she remembers. ‘It gave me both a sense of urgency and responsibility.’
Elvis & Kresse bags – made from recycled fire hose – were sustainably devised by Kresse Wesling MBE and her partner James Henrit (Elvis), pictured opposite
Kresse’s idea of giving fire hoses second life gained momentum when she discovered several luxury brands use virgin nitrile rubber in their collections. She and Elvis started the business and were soon reclaiming other materials – tea and coffee sacks, auction banners and failed parachute silk, particularly the vibrant orange emergency chutes, which they use as gorgeous linings. They learned fast from their early mistakes, such as trying to make belt buckles from soft recycled pewter, which kept snapping. Today the brand is working with Queen Mary university to build a solar-powered forge that can transform littered aluminium cans into buckles. ‘We make timeless classics to last a lifetime. We’d never do Black Friday sales or join Amazon,’ says Kresse. ‘As far as I’m concerned, Amazon treats its people abominably and aims to increase the pace at which people buy, whereas we’re trying to slow everything down. ‘Some luxury brands still mount bizarre [ad] campaigns such as wrapping their buildings in plastic film. The questions have to be: “Why are we doing this? What does this say about us? Are we using the least possible amount of energy, water and new materials?” If we take more than we give, we don’t have a future, we’re destructive. Real luxury is creative. People like Chrissie Hynde and Cameron Diaz are fans because they love the ethos behind our beautiful designs. ‘Every CEO must be up to speed about modern slavery, biodiversity loss, water use and climate change. “People and the planet are more important than shareholders” is a statement that all B Corps, like us, sign up to. If implemented in the Companies Act, it could change things with one stroke of the pen. We’re not an activist brand, but we can show others a beautiful, positive way forward. We’ve proved it’s possible so can legitimately ask of others what we have demanded of ourselves. Rescue, transform and donate are the future pillars of luxury, which we believe can be creative, sustainable, ethical, reclaimed, open, generous and kind. The planet needs luxury to step up and act now.’ elvisandkresse.com COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO | 67
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FARFETCH
The global e-platform based on a collaborative ethos The e-platform launched in 2008 to celebrate the diversity of the fashion industry. Today Farfetch sells $4 billion worth of product to 190 countries. 1,300 luxury companies across 50 countries participate, offering around 100,000 products from 3,500 brands. Farfetch also acquired renowned London boutique Browns. In 2019 Positively Farfetch was launched with a carbon footprint report. This year Farfetch committed to being climate positive by 2030, pledging to be positively cleaner, conscious, circular, inclusive and changing. Sales of conscious products grew 3.4 times faster than the marketplace average, contributing five per cent to the group’s gross merchandise value.
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osé Neves (pictured below right) describes Farfetch, the business he founded, as an enabler rather than a vendor. ‘We have a global platform with the scale that can really help businesses,’ he explains, ‘but that also gives us huge responsibility to be a platform for good.’ José is fast to acknowledge that the fashion industry has a mixed record for sustainable practice, from which he doesn’t exclude Farfetch. ‘Luxury’s biggest problem was over production and producing lots of the wrong, non-recyclable goods full of plastic,’ he says. ‘I’m determined to be part of the solution, but I’m not here to be a holier-than-thou policeman or judge. We have enough of our own shortcomings to fix and our ethos must be one of partnership.’ Farfetch partners with many start-ups, which enables it to meet its targets faster and helps the start-ups to flourish, too. In its quest for a more regenerative approach, it has teamed up with The Restory, to launch its aftercare service, repairing and restoring leather goods rather than throwing them away. It also partners with Thrift+ to give clothes a second life; customers send in their pre-owned goods and Thrift+ takes those with no resale value and donates them to the charity of the customer’s choice. It’s far more efficient than taking unwanted items to a charity shop and Farfetch is now giving pre-owned goods a second life in 30 countries. Last December there was astonishing 662 per cent growth in the number of pre-owned items donated to the site compared with December 2019. In collaboration with start-up PlatformE, Farfetch is launching a made-to-order service. ‘Brands and retailers never know how much demand there’ll be for a product, so they over-supply it,’ explains José. ‘With pre-ordering, brands can forecast demand properly. It’s good for consumers too, as they know they’ll have that specially made Balençiaga jacket within four weeks.’
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JUST DO IT, & DO IT NOW 1 Rather than advise other brands, ask what you can do to help 2 Give better, clearer information about your products’ impact on the environment 3 Help brands forecast demand so they don’t churn out too much inventory
José is sympathetic to the challenges smaller brands face. ‘I was that small designer once so I know it’s not easy to walk into a factory and change things,’ he says, ‘but what we can do is give people better information.’ Farfetch now works with independent ethical rating agency Good On You, giving consumers an environmental impact calculator to assess how much harm a product is doing. A ‘positively conscious’ product means it scores well with Good On You, is pre-owned, made of sustainable or certified materials, or has been manufactured via a certified production process. Ask José what advice he’d give to another brand and he says: ‘I wouldn’t tell them anything. Instead, I’d ask, “How can I help?” The really important thing is to make it easier for all brands to become regenerative. Let’s give them incentives and statistics to prove that products with conscious labels sell faster – just look at our own figures. For a small brand, resale, restoration and carbon offsetting are Herculean tasks. The beauty of Farfetch is it’s a platform that can ultimately make those tasks super simple.’ farfetch.com
Farfetch, founded by José Neves (pictured opposite bottom), partners with smaller brands and start-ups to tackle sustainable issues like overproduction and waste
‘I’m not here to be a holier-than-thou policeman or judge. We have enough of our own shortcomings to fix and our ethos must be one of partnership’
GARRARD
Exquisite handcrafted jewels
This year Garrard became a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council and has held the Positive Luxury Butterfly Mark since 2017. All its diamonds are conflict-free, supplied by members of the Kimberley Process Scheme. It holds a Fairtrade gold licence, using certified gold, and recycles surplus gold so that it may be reused. It is committed to sciencebased targets to cut its indirect global greenhouse gas emissions by 2023. All offices, workshops and stores are powered by 100 per cent renewable energy. It has achieved its 92 per cent recycling target and aims to increase it to 100 per cent by March 2023. JUST DO IT, All its packaging is recyclable and FSC-certified. & DO IT NOW
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arrard is the world’s longest serving jeweller. It was founded in 1735, the year in which it received its first royal patron, Frederick, the Prince of Wales. Its fruitful relationship with the royal family, culminated in 1843 when Garrard became the official Crown Jeweller. Today, Garrard has a global presence. When Joanne Milner (right) became CEO in 2016, her mission was to keep the brand’s proud heritage relevant. ‘It’s my absolute number one priority to ensure Garrard is fit for the next 300 years and that means being sustainable,’ she says. ‘As you get older, you learn from younger
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1 Seek expert help to measure your emissions and understand them 2 Involve every individual in the company 3 Always admit what you don’t know and don’t try and be perfect
people. One of my nephews studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge and lived with me while he did research at the Natural History Museum. He really woke me up to climate change.’ She points out that Garrard was already on the road towards sustainability as a royal warrant holder: ‘Prince Charles was championing action against climate change long before anyone was listening,’ she says, ‘but when I arrived, I realised I was no expert so the first thing I
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‘Combatting climate change doesn’t stop and start with coming to work. It’s not, “Urgh, I’ve got to do this,” it should be exciting.’ Asking for help and measuring your emissions are two of the most important things you can do as a business, says Garrard’s CEO Joanne Milner (opposite)
did was seek one out who could bring an element of certification.’ Garrard partnered with Positive Luxury and a year later was one of the first fine jewellery houses to be awarded the Butterfly Mark: ‘As soon as we asked for guidance and started being transparent, things got easier. My biggest mistake was thinking we had to do everything perfectly. My advice to any brand is get help to start measuring. If you don’t know your current emissions, how can you evaluate your progress? The Scope 3 emissions are the hardest to quantify and that’s why we sought Positive Luxury’s expertise.’ ‘We also signed up to the government’s Together for our Planet SME hub,’ she says. ‘It has really useful tools for smaller businesses to keep you up to date. It’s so important to admit you don’t know what you don’t know! We loved being part of the Walpole initiative to bring together SMEs to support each other. I’d advise anyone starting on this journey to surround yourself with your peers to share knowledge and ideas.’ Garrard does not have a team that is employed solely to work on sustainability. ‘This is because it is embedded within our culture – everyone is a part of it,’ says Joanne. ‘I feel strongly that sustainability must come from the top and be led from the boardroom. We don’t leave sustainability to some green team working over there – it’s the responsibility of every single person from me onwards. We have a monthly meeting with representatives from every department and all learn from each other. We run fun competitions for the best idea – it could even be a way for using less water at home. Combatting climate change doesn’t stop and start with coming to work. It’s not, “Urgh, I’ve got to do this,” it should be exciting.’ Joanne’s approach is above all collaborative: ‘Often there can be too much focus on what is not perfect, rather than the areas that are performing well. So we must stop the blame culture. We’re all on this journey together, and should work collaboratively, helping and learning from each other.’ garrard.com COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO | 71
HARRODS
The store on the path to a sustainable future Harrods recently launched its Path to a Sustainable Future, focusing on four pillars of ‘Our Business’, ‘Our Products’, ‘Our Partners’ and ‘Our People’. The strategy works to reduce emissions across Harrods and its sites, improve the sustainability credentials of its own-label and partner brands, introduce partnerships that encourage more sustainable business practices, and help employees embed sustainability across the business. Harrods has Carbon Trust Triple Standard Certification for carbon, water and waste, and eradicated all food waste, sending zero waste to landfill. It has its own water supply from boreholes. JUST DO IT, All packaging materials are recyclable, containing 40 to & DO IT NOW 100 per cent recycled material. It has eradicated plastic 1 Sustainability is not a marketing across outbound distribution packaging and is replacing its advantage or an iconic green carrier bag with a fully recyclable alternative, option – put it right at the top of your while aiming to reduce overall carrier bag consumption agenda across Harrods by 50 per cent. Half its delivery fleet is now 2 Share all your electric. Harrods is a member of Sedex, a platform for sharing knowledge with smaller brands responsible supply chain data.
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o’ is unacceptable to CEO Michael Ward (pictured right). When he collaborated with Walpole, where he is chairman, to launch its Sustainability Manifesto, he realised it was time to take drastic action. Ever since, his approach to overhauling
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and ask how you can help them 3 My advice to smaller brands is to join Walpole’s initiative to get help from bigger brands
Harrods has been one of no compromise. ‘The only way forward as CEO was to make sustainability non-negotiable,’ Michael says. ‘The cost, though obscene, was not part of the equation. I knew we had to hit all our targets at whatever price. I believe if you don’t have total buy-in from the very top, it’s not going to happen. As CEO, I could say to our finance director: “I don’t care how much it’s costing, we’re doing it. I can’t go home to my children anymore and admit we’re still using plastic bags.”’ Michael stood firm against those who expressed concern: ‘Colleagues would say to me, “The customer expects luxury packaging.” It’s correct putting the customer first, but they don’t want a lovely shiny bag crammed with tissue paper anymore – they’ve probably got to lug it up to a small flat and then dispose of it. They’d rather see a brand with a responsible view.’ Michael first did away with the expensive delicatessen packaging, installing a simple, brown, biogradable box. ‘We’d been over-
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‘As CEO, I could say to my finance director, “I don’t care how much it’s costing, we’re doing it. I can’t go home to my children anymore and admit we’re still using plastic bags”’
From food to fashion, Michael Ward (pictured opposite) is introducing sustainability measures in all departments at Harrods
engineering and over-thinking everything for too long at great cost to the environment. I gave some of our employees the new boxes so they could tell me if I was being useless, but the positivity, as well as from customers, has been enormous and now colleagues are 150 per cent behind our sustainability push.’ He remains infuriated by the humble clothes hanger. ‘As a house of brands there are thousands of views on what comprises an acceptable hanger and it’s not good enough that the luxury industry doesn’t have one,’ he says. ‘There are millions of them that are tough to recycle but we’re just going to have to find an eco-friendly way.’ Michael is also focusing on how to reuse products rather than putting them into a sale. In 2018 Harrods launched Fashion Re-Told, a pop-up retailing pre-loved fashion to raise funds for the NSPCC. The tailors in store alter clothes, while The Restory partners with Harrods to repair accessories and shoes. Michael also recently formed a partnership with My Wardrobe HQ to rent clothes. ‘Our commitment to circularity and giving clothes a second life has been a huge success with customers and employees alike,’ he says. ‘We’ve all turned a blind eye to the planet while we dealt with Covid, but this is much deadlier. If we don’t all do something, it will be catastrophic. We must commit to working together to save it.’ harrods.com COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO | 73
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HOUSE OF HACKNEY
Creating a haven of hope
Founded in 2011 by Frieda Gormley and Javvy M Royle, on the guiding principles of creativity, compassion and consciousness, award-winning luxury brand House of Hackney has always believed in balancing profit with purpose. The interior design house – whose fabric and wallpaper prints pay homage to the natural world – was certified as a B Corp in 2021. Prior to this, the brand was working towards all its packaging being recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2022, and has reduced single-use plastic across the business by 98 per cent.
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here cannot be many interior design houses that have an ‘Eco Manifesto’ as part of their ethos. ‘We were committed to ethical, sustainable practices long before people were talking about it,’ explains founder Frieda Gormley (pictured above, with her family). ‘We launched at a time of economic and political unrest and everything we did was to counter the mood of the times, to try and fill people’s lives with colour and hope.’ A champion of eco-friendly materials and methods since day one, House of Hackney works closely with British craftsmen, driving local, skilled employment as well as sustainable and responsible production. ‘Our intention was always to make beautiful products locally and support artisans in small British factories, creating future heirlooms that would stand the test of time. Products that look good and do good, that have meaning and integrity.’
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House of Hackney’s six-month journey to B Corp was welcomed as ‘the living, breathing manifestation of all our concerns’. Not all businesses, says Gormley, are this committed; and where the luxury industry is concerned, aside from obvious trailblazers like Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney, there is more to be done. She believes a good starting point for brands is to address their hesitancy to commit. ‘Is it seen as too much hard work? Are they worried about alienating their customer base? To me it’s about taking meaningful small steps, with the CEO leading from the front and voices in the boardroom representing sustainability and toning down the sales growth narrative. Short-termism is a problem, both with businesses and government. I wish there was more regulation. There are too many close relationships between governments and fossil fuel companies that are based on short-term objectives. We need to see brave long-term planning.’ House of Hackney’s next step is an audit of carbon emissions. ‘We’ve focused a lot on traceability of cotton – and have replaced feathers with wool,’ says Gormley. ‘We’re also looking at low-carbon-impact hemp, and mycelium for packaging. We’re about slow manufacture and slow growth and I believe we’re only a couple of generations JUST DO IT, away from returning to localisation.’ & DO IT NOW A business that has celebrated 1 Take small steps meaningfully humanity’s connection with earth at every 2 Hold out for slow stage of its evolution, House of Hackney has growth, even if it naturally attracted a like-minded community means going up against shareholder of employees and followers. ‘Sustainability pressure is an integral part of our storytelling. Our 3 Educate your Garden of Tomorrow is an online space customers – keep where we share interesting, positive, explaining about pricing so they uplifting stories focusing on local people, understand that it’s art, seasonality, regenerative farming, nature fair for something well-made and our partnerships with organisations like Friends of the Earth, whose campaign we support, to double UK tree cover by 2045.’ Most recently the brand has moved operations to a coastal castle estate in Cornwall – an inspiring natural playground for Gormley and Royle to put their earth-based ideas into practice. An immersive pop-up hospitality experience, Hotel Trematonia was launched there during summer 2021: the first step in a beautifully-crafted indoor/ outdoor vision for living, accessible to all. ‘We are seeing a rising of consciousness,’ says Gormley, ‘and a move towards deeper learning, a healthier environment and stronger communities. For us it’s about valuing and respecting both the environment and people – harnessing the power of business as a force for good.’ houseofhackney.com
A good starting place for brands is to address their hesitancy to commit [to B Corp]. ‘Is it seen as too much hard work? Are they worried about alienating their customer base?’
House of Hackney founders Frieda Gormley and Javvy M Royle, opposite with their children, Javi and Lila, have always believed in balancing profit with purpose
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CEO Simon Cotton (opposite centre right) knows that brands are on a journey but that Johnstons of Elgin’s commitment to sustainability is unwavering
‘Although we’ve been on this sustainability journey since the very beginning, there’s no doubt that the pace has accelerated recently’
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JOHNSTONS OF ELGIN
Family-owned heritage brand making luxury Scottish cashmere Johnstons of Elgin, the UK’s largest independent producer of cashmere and fine woollens, received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in April 2021 for its work on sustainability. The company is a founding signatory to Walpole’s British Luxury Sustainability Manifesto, committed to helping the British luxury sector become the global leader in sustainability, a supporter of the Terra Carta, HRH The Prince of Wales’s sustainability charter, and an active partner in Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC). So far Johnsons of Elgin has reduced its scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions by 53 per cent between 2016 and 2020. In 2015 the brand set up the Sustainable Fibre Alliance to create a sustainable cashmere value chain for its herders across the globe.
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PHOTOS: © ANGUS BREMNER
he highly globalised textiles market is responsible for around ten per cent of the world’s carbon emissions, the upstream supply chain generating around 15-35 tons of CO2 equivalent per ton of textiles produced 1. This figure drops considerably for luxury textiles produced wholly within the UK but, as Simon Cotton, CEO of Johnstons of Elgin (pictured right), is only too aware, there is still so much more to do. ‘Sustainability is not a new thing for us,’ he says. ‘For 224 years we’ve been part of the community in which we manufacture, and we’ve always had that drive to try and do things the right way. But there’s no doubt that the pace has accelerated recently. The whole industry now has some significant challenges to deal with, and our brand is no exception.’ The first steps Johnstons took to reduce its carbon footprint were the easiest: ‘Being a vertical mill is a huge advantage in that 90 per cent of the processes are done here, from fibre to finished product. For example, it was relatively simple for us to move to completely renewable electricity. It’s harder to install more energy-efficient equipment as you can only do that when existing equipment needs
replacing, but we’ve achieved a 53 per cent reduction in our Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2016.’ Scope 3, on the other hand, was more challenging. Six years ago, the company set up the Sustainable Fibre Alliance to look at grassland management in areas such as Mongolia. ‘That was the turning point in our sustainability journey,’ says Simon. ‘Measuring emissions came significantly after that.’ Simon believes that what consumers and intermediary retailers are looking for is honest, authentic sustainability. ‘Companies and brands are going to have to have very credible, very real stories to tell. We’ve changed our website in terms of how much sustainability information it offers because we realised that our customers wanted access to more in-depth information. Over the last year we’ve seen the average number of visits people make to our website before they purchase JUST DO IT, increase to around seven times. Obviously, some & DO IT NOW of that time they are looking at products, but a 1 Authentic sustainability takes lot of the time they’re trying to understand more a lot more time than about how the product is made and what our you might think sustainability credentials are.’ 2 It has to be the role of everyone in The brand has avoided signing up for broad the organisation pledges to reduce emissions. ‘We signed up to 3 Be prepared for Walpole’s Sustainability Manifesto because we bad news: there will applauded their ambition to put UK luxury brands be things you’re not going to like at the forefront of the sustainability agenda. Brands based in the UK have typically tended to undersell how much they are doing already.’ That said, Simon doesn’t believe any industry, his included, can say they’re doing enough. ‘We are currently in the process of appointing a sustainability officer to keep us on track – though I also want to keep ownership of what we’re doing in terms of sustainability right across the company. We recognise we are on a journey and our commitment to sustainability is unwavering.’ johnstonsofelgin.com 1. European Environment Agency (eea.europa.eu)
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JORO EXPERIENCES
Travel as a force for good Since 2019 bespoke travel company Joro Experiences has gained B Corp certification, signed up to Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency, published its climate action plan and founded the Conscious Travel Foundation, educating members on the impact of travel. Focusing on high-end, exquisitely crafted journeys, the company recently devised its first flight-free trip and is becoming a carbon positive business, measuring every trip and analysing its suppliers’ carbon output.
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n 2017 Henry Comyn, Duncan Over and Justin Packshaw (pictured above) established Joro Experiences, united in their belief that travel can be a force for good, improve livelihoods and help conservation efforts across the globe, while linking into many of the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
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JUST DO IT, & DO IT NOW 1 Band together rather than trying to go it alone 2 Never abandon your principles to snare a client – the right clients will come 3 The B Corp assessment tool is free to use – just start using it
‘We were very idealistic and wanted to follow in the footsteps of giants like Journeys by Design and clothing brands like Patagonia and Finisterre for their clarity of mission,’ says Henry. The company’s stand on climate change was cemented a year later, when a client asked Joro to remove the optional carbon offset fee that it added to its trips. Joro paid the fee, terrified of losing the business. ‘I wish we’d been braver,’ says Henry, ‘because we fast decided we only wanted clients who would pay, so we made the fee mandatory and it hasn’t been questioned since.’ Each Joro itinerary is mapped, calculating the tons of carbon used and offsetting responsibly what it can’t mitigate. Many of Joro’s smaller suppliers lacked the resources to measure their carbon emissions accurately, so Joro hired an experienced consultant to do it for them and suggest improvements.
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Joro also provides its clients with reports, showing the carbon they’ve emitted and offset and how their money is supporting the communities they’ve visited. ‘After we introduced our impact reports, a woman rang us in tears saying how wonderful it was to know she’d had a positive impact,’ says Henry. ‘She loved our honesty, which made me realise we’d been shying away from the truth as an industry. That’s why we stood up and took responsibility and never hide the fact there’s a duality to travel. We welcome clients asking us tough questions and challenging us to do better. ‘The more you experience a local culture and environment, the likelier you are to respect it. But it’s a delicate balance ensuring the positive impact created by being in our planet’s most extraordinary places is not outweighed by the damage done in getting there. Travel has huge potential to educate clients and enable them to leave a positive legacy.’
Joro’s founders, Henry Comyn, Justin Packshaw and Duncan Over (opposite) believe that the more you get to experience the local culture and environment, the more likely you are to respect it and leave a positive impact
‘Luxury businesses are around so much longer than politicians and short-term policies, so can really lead by example and provide the impetus for a global shift in attitudes’ Signing up for B Corp certification was a daunting challenge. ‘It took us time to understand the lingo and there were very few travel companies, but B Corp was a common thread between impressive brands,’ Henry says. ‘We reached out to other brands for help and learnt slowly but surely. Now we’re certified, we help other travel companies start the process and with other travel B Corps we host a monthly Zoom call to encourage the whole travel industry. ‘Every CEO must show leadership on climate change. Sustainability can’t just be the domain of one officer or department but must permeate every aspect of the business. Luxury businesses are around so much longer than politicians and short-term policies, so can really lead by example and provide the impetus for a global shift in attitudes. The sector has immense soft power.’ ‘As we witness mass human migration, total species extinction and unlivable habitats across the world, travel as we know it may no longer be feasible, and the hill might just be too steep. However, if the luxury sector stops operating in silos, joins the dots, unites and moves in the right direction, change will happen.’ joroexperiences.com COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO | 79
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MULBERRY
The farm-to-wardrobe accessories brand with a 2035 net zero ambition For its 50th anniversary this year, Mulberry launched its Made to Last Manifesto asking ‘Can a Bag Save the World?’ The brand aims to have a regenerative and circular supply chain, and restores more than 10,000 bags a year, determined nothing goes to waste. All its UK factories have been carbon neutral since 2019, committed to emitting zero Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and greenhouse gases by 2035. Mulberry’s packaging is produced via ‘cupcycling’ at Cropper Mill in Cumbria, which separates plastic from coffee cups. Leather is cut with a laser system that ensures minimum waste.
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hierry Andretta (pictured below right) believes that leather is Mulberry’s greatest challenge and greatest opportunity. It’s why Mulberry is pioneering its hyperlocal, hyper-transparent ‘farm to wardrobe’ supply chain. ‘When we first came up with the concept, we hit a barrier,’ says Thierry. ‘Our partners questioned why we were checking up on farms to find out exactly where our hides were coming from, but we knew it was the future. If the meat industry can track its beef’s origins, why not us? Tanneries used to be big polluters, so it was a positive shock to find how far they’d moved on.’ Today, Mulberry is working with a growing network of regenerative farms, especially in the UK and Denmark, where meat traceability is very advanced. ‘New bags must make a positive impact to be relevant,’ insists Thierry, ‘and our line never ends, it becomes a circle.’ This is the thinking behind the Mulberry Exchange, which matches authenticated classics, restored by skilled artisans, with new owners. And when bags truly reach the end of the line, Mulberry buys them back to power the production of a new bag, working with Muirhead, a member of the Scottish Leather Group, that uses an innovative energy reclaim system.
As Mulberry’s goal is zero waste throughout its operations, it also works with Scrap Stores supplying leather scraps to schools, universities and craft groups, while its Somerset factories work with zero waste landfill providers, recovering energy from unsalvageable waste. ‘Circularity is key,’ says Thierry. ‘At Christmas our apprentices have even made beautiful gifts like doorstops and keyrings from scraps.’ All Mulberry’s materials are low impact and free from virgin nylon, replaced by Econyl, generated from fishing nets and other waste. ‘Switching to Econyl was an additional cost but we’ve never upped the product’s price as we believe we’re obliged to be sustainable and not ask the customer to pay,’ says Thierry. ‘We’re open to embracing and testing leather alternatives but are yet to find one that fits our made-to-last DNA. JUST DO IT, ‘Several UK bodies, including the government & DO IT NOW and the Sustainable Markets Initiative launched 1 Think about your legacy and focus by The Prince of Wales, are working hard to push on where you the sustainability agenda. However, I’d still like to can really make a difference and be see the government go further to standardise a force for good the whole luxury industry. One of the challenges 2 Be open about we face is that many areas of the industry don’t your failures yet have a consistent accreditation system, like 3 Find a way to regenerative leather certification, recycled metals regenerate, renew and reimagine – or certification beyond Gold Standard leather. we all have to now True transparency can still be elusive in globalised supply chains – this will need time, collaboration and shared vision to achieve.’ Thierry needs look no further than his customers’ letters to know he’s on the right track. ‘A teacher wrote about her Mulberry bag she bought as a student and used every day for 20 years. She was so happy when we fixed and renewed it. Our made-tolast philosophy runs deep, and we’ve seen a small hurricane of support for all the extensions to our repair and exchange services. We can now source all the “unicorn” bags people missed. It gives me such pleasure to see customers appreciating what we do.’ mulberry.com
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Leather, according to Mulberry CEO Thierry Andretta (pictured opposite), is the brand’s greatest challenge – and its greatest opportunity
‘If the meat industry can tracks its beef’s origins, why not us? Tanneries used to be big polluters, so it was a positive shock to find how far they’d moved on’
‘7,800 litres of water are used to make every pair of jeans. Sell 20 pairs and squander 156,000 litres. Rent the same pair out 20 times and the worst-case scenario is using 9,000 litres of water’
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MY WARDROBE HQ Fashion’s first rental marketplace setting out to eliminate waste
In 2019 My Wardrobe HQ (MWHQ) launched as Britain’s first fashion rental marketplace. Estimates show that unused clothing in wardrobes is worth around £30 billion, while £140 million worth of clothing goes into landfill each year. MWHQ aims to provide the fashion industry with a circular economy to stop this waste, extending a garment’s life by up to 15 times. Prolonging the life cycle of one person’s clothes by nine months reduces their environmental impact by up to 30 per cent. MWHQ now offers over 500 brands for resale or rent, an online rental with Harrods and a pop-up with Bicester Village.
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ive years ago, Sacha Newall (below right) was working in commercial media marketing when she embarked on a project researching self-drive cars. It galvanised her into a change of direction. ‘The Uber generation isn’t driving any longer, and the industry will be transformed as cars go electric and self-driven,’ she says. ‘For every car shared, 15 come off the road. I started thinking how the concept of car-pooling could apply to fashion.’ What cemented her resolve was a 2019 paper by the government’s Environmental Audit Committee on the impact of fast fashion on climate. ‘Solutions seemed to be limited to us all wearing one dress as a uniform until it wears out,’ says Sacha. ‘But that would remove all the fun, fashion and choice from our lives. Besides, can we really close Pandora’s box? I couldn’t see us changing enough to accommodate such a radical suggestion. It got me thinking.’
Sacha Newall (bottom right) wanted to keep the fun side of fashion but make it a far more sustainable enterprise
JUST DO IT, & DO IT NOW 1 Be realistic about what’s possible, but take ‘no’ out of your vocabulary 2 Always be honest 3 Hire someone technically brilliant that you trust so you don’t get ripped off or try to be innovative too fast – better to refine and solidify
To Sacha, the logic in renting rather than buying is irrefutable: ‘Seven thousand eight hundred litres of water are used to make every pair of jeans. Sell 20 pairs and squander 156,000 litres. Rent the same pair out 20 times and the worst-case scenario is using 9,000 litres.’ 1 She says brands only stand to gain from the huge rental and resale opportunities: ‘A truly sustainable brand has to do more than just do good and benefit everyone.’ In November 2019 Sacha teamed up with Tina Lake and started MWHQ. Within two months it had signed up nearly 30 brands. Today, customers can source clothes from 8,000 brands and from celebrities’ wardrobes, including the Delevingne sisters. Because the company reuses rather than recycles (on the basis that recycling takes energy and resources), rented clothes are likely to arrive (albeit beautifully wrapped) in a box discarded by the next-door supermarket. MWHQ also uses innovative and environmentally safe ozone to sanitise products, alongside working with Blanc dry cleaners, known for their green credentials. It plants a tree for every rental or sale made. ‘There was recently a bogus report claiming that buying is just as sustainable as renting because of all the diesel-guzzling delivery vans,’ Sacha says, ‘but that is to miss the point entirely because we have our own electric van and only ever work with carbon neutral [delivery] services like DPD. ‘Eventually we’re going to have to look at regulation because how are you sure something hasn’t been made by enslaved child labour if it sells for £3.99?’ Sacha is upbeat about fashion’s future now that the luxury sector is leading the way: ‘High-street brands will follow when you have Alexander McQueen and Gucci working with resale outlets and showing that giving clothes an afterlife is fashionable, aspirational and luxurious. This is an extraordinarily brave move for brands that have built their reputation on rarity and exclusivity.’ mywardrobehq.com 1. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (unctad.org)
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‘We’re not talking enough about the catastrophic impact on mental health of churning out collections every three months and four extravagant fashion shows a year’
Olubiyi Thomas (opposite centre) is adamant that the fashion industry has to slow down
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OLUBIYI THOMAS
The fashion brand built on a zero waste ethos In 2016 Olubiyi Thomas founded his eponymous menswear label. He has an atelier in Covent Garden and sells his collections in Selfridges and internationally. He uses old or antique materials and made-to-order fabrics, avoiding overproduction and sending anything to landfill. Even patterns are stuck together so as not to waste paper. Plastic shipping bags have been replaced by recyclable plastics and the brand’s next step is to review all its transportation practices.
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agos-born, Glasgow-raised, Olubiyi Thomas (pictured right) attended Central Saint Martins. After designing for cult sustainable brand De Rien, he worked as a shop assistant for A Child of the Jago, founded by Joe Corré, son of Macolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood. During his placement year he also worked at Alexander McQueen and underground New York label Siki Im. ‘I was always drawn to designers doing things differently,’ says Olubiyi, ‘because there was such a huge conversation to be had around the way the fashion industry was over-producing and sending unsold clothes to landfill. Fashion had become a snake devouring itself, and the big question is why should big luxury brands stop doing what they’re doing when the economic landscape, no matter how unethical, is in their favour?’ Olubiyi had first-hand experience of the industry’s resistance to producing less: ‘By default, I became associated with the sustainability and Black Lives Matter movements, but when I presented the concept of selling archive pieces and one-off samples through my new store, doors were slammed in my face. Funders just wanted to know how fast I could expand the business. But I decided not to be greedy. I’d do tiny runs and only make more if people wanted to buy. ‘We’re not talking enough about the catastrophic impact on mental health of churning out collections every three months and four extravagant fashion shows a year,’ Olubiyi continues. ‘If we don’t calm down, we’ll burst at the seams, but it’s tough for a small, slow, sustainable brand in an aggressive, capitalist system that manufactures for the lowest cost to ensure the highest revenue, no matter the
impact on workers and the environment.’ In 2018, to face these challenges, Olubiyi formed a small, collaborative collective with the two founding partners of Labrum London. During his final year at Central Saint Martins, Olubiyi visited a Yorkshire mill and had his epiphany about using deadstock fabrics to eliminate waste: ‘The back room was full of beautiful rolls of high-quality wools such as Donegal, tweed and houndstooth. They were very slightly damaged so couldn’t JUST DO IT, legally be sold.’ The mill donated them to & DO IT NOW Olubiyi to support his graduate collection 1 Slow down – rather than trying and he made a conscious decision to to fly to Mars, let’s source existing fabrics before producing focus on catching the train new ones. 2 Make things to sell Vintage African textiles and historical 3 Never give up references have always been a feature your principles – in Olubiyi’s collections. He sources and your customers will upcycles upholstery, from Japanese bless you for them patchwork quilts to antique linen sheets, and works with hand-spun, handwoven, hand-dyed bogolan or Mali mud cloth. For the ‘Salvage’ collection, Olubiyi collaborated with Scottish handweaver Kirsty McDougall. ‘From my very first collection I’ve saved scraps and Kirsty now upcycles them into exquisitely beautiful fabric [pictured above],’ he explains. ‘It’s the combination of the aesthetic with knowing nothing is wasted that excites me.’ Olubiyi always works with by-products before substitute fabrics, like pleather. ‘Used fur seems more sustainable than slick, digital, plastic pleather, which just seems like another way for the industry to pander towards new trends and sell more,’ he says. ‘The archaic way of living, where you use all parts of the animal, seems more sustainable to me.’ ‘I hold my hands up, there’s much more to learn,’ he concludes, ‘but one thing I’m sure of is that we have to slow down.’ olubiyithomas.com COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO | 85
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ORLEBAR BROWN
From beach to bar: elegant, tailored swim shorts in which to ‘ holiday better’ Orlebar Brown committed to becoming more sustainable in 2018 and is working with external auditors to review its carbon emissions, aiming to become a carbon negative brand, with all products and business operations carbon neutral, by the end of 2021. Single-use plastic has been eliminated from its supply chain, replaced by 100 per cent recycled and recyclable plastic. As part of its ‘Measure, Reduce, Balance’ approach, Orlebar Brown partners with Sea Trees and invests in blue carbon projects that sequester carbon from the atmosphere, enabling it to become a carbon-negative, ocean-positive brand.
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n 2015, founder Adam Brown (right) felt a ‘niggle’ about the fact that his brand encourages people to go on holiday, involving planes, yachts and hotels, all of which contribute to environmental degradation. ‘It didn’t sit well,’ he says, ‘but becoming sustainable was frightening and expensive for a small business. I saw businesses just paying sustainability lip service and I couldn’t bear to do that – I wanted to be authentic.’ Then came Orlebar Brown’s big moment in 2018, when Chanel bought it. ‘Chanel asked how we saw our brand’s future and we came up with the idea of “holiday better”. Travel can serve a purpose. Encountering different people and cultures stops you being inward-looking. I get frustrated seeing private jets and superyachts on
social media. To us, travel’s not about that; it’s the best times with family and friends, transformative for your mind and mood. It can have a positive impact on the planet. The messaging took some ironing out, but it had to be more than just about frolicking on the beach. Sustainability’s crucial to that vision,’ he says. ‘Putting a reduction strategy plan in place brought us all together and we worked out how far people travelled to the office and re-sourced our suppliers and packaging, now made in Wales. In the early days we sat round JUST DO IT, a table listening to people but didn’t know how to & DO IT NOW fact-check what we were being told, so finding the 1 Transforming for sustainability is right experts was essential.’ tough, expensive Some of the dyes used a lot of water and its swim and can feel vulnerable to shorts were essentially polyester. ‘We needed to find criticism for not a new sustainable fabric that didn’t compromise doing enough, fast enough. Honesty the product,’ says Adam. ‘We went through many is the best policy iterations and today our shorts are made of industrial 2 Accept you don’t waste, like carpet and rubber tubing. We’re working have the right skill on a report measuring the amount of organic cotton set and find the right partners with we’re using but we’re well ahead of our targets.’ expertise The most intimidating thing from Orlebar Brown’s 3 Give yourself perspective was that achieving sustainability seemed the time to do this properly – this is to require an all-or-nothing approach. ‘We were a long game afraid to speak publicly about our sustainability strategies and goals, as we feared being shot down,’ says Adam. ‘Unlike other initiatives, we are taking a generational approach to sustainability, an ambitious long view – to be continuously better, not perfect. There will always be more to learn, and we’ll make mistakes along the way. Being open about this with ourselves and our customers has opened up more space for innovation.’ Orlebar Brown conducts an annual survey and discovered its customers really care about sustainability and would even pay more to be certain of their product’s origins. ‘We’re also encouraging people to travel more sustainably and supporting positive mental health initiatives,’ says Adam. ‘Consumers like brands with a point of view, like Finisterre or Allbirds, and my long-term dream is that our customers will trust the opinions of everyone working in our boutiques and ask for their recommendations about an unspoilt beauty spot or the loveliest walk. That way we’ll be true to our “holiday better” mantra.’ orlebarbrown.com
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Adam Brown, founder (opposite left), says, ‘Holiday Better’ is the mantra guiding the future of Orlebar Brown, not only in the products they produce but in the experience of travel as a whole
‘We are taking a generational approach to sustainability, an ambitious, long view – not to be perfect, but to continuously be better’
OSMAN YOUSEFZADA
Design that seeks to reconnect with the planet and its people OSMAN STUDIO was created in 2008 by multidisciplinary artist Osman Yousefzada. His flattering, sculptural clothes are stocked in exclusive stores worldwide and sought out by celebrities from Beyoncé to Gwyneth Paltrow. Osman created 15 looks with TENCEL Luxe, a silky filament made from sustainably sourced wood pulp for his ‘What Happened to Last season’s Clothes?’ collection. Determined not to be part of the industrialised, capitalist hierarchies that have led to climate change, he uses his designs to shine a light on the migrant experience and the luxury industry’s severed relationship with our planet. In July 2021 he was commissioned to create a five-ton canvas installation over Selfridges Birmingham, making it into the Guinness Book of Records.
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JUST DO IT, & DO IT NOW 1 Stay small enough to know everything about your supply chain 2 Always remember you are the author and owner of your craftsmanship 3 Stand up and challenge the status quo – there’s always another way to think
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‘Why are we churning out so many clothes for people to throw away without feeling responsible for the planet?’
Osman Yousefzada (pictured left) is happy to be a thorn in the side of the fashion establishment and wants a big conversation about climate change
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don’t like being defined as a brand,’ says Osman Yousefzada (pictured opposite), who describes what he does as a multidisciplinary practice in art and design. ‘When I started my own label, for a long time I was told my stuff was too ethnic. I had to shy away from my heritage to conform to the elite fashion environment. But I’m turning those ideas on their head. In my last show I used no white models and now I’m having conversations about how creativity can be connected to commerciality in a less capitalist way. I want my clothes to have meaning and purpose beyond just satisfying commercial and seasonal demand. Black Lives Matter brought conversations to the forefront, but fashion has a short memory, so I’m happy to go on being a disruptive anomaly.’ Osman bemoans the way our move towards a service economy has eroded craftsmanship. ‘Craftsmen must get back their sense of authorship. It’s essential to have sovereignty over one’s workmanship,’ he insists. Films form a big part of Osman’s messaging and one of them
explores the disconnect between the consumer and the Bangladeshi garment workers, who make clothes that end up in cheap high street outlets and are probably only worn twice. ‘The workers dream they are making exquisite clothes for princesses, but in reality their creations will end up in landfill,’ he says, ‘I’m preoccupied with how we consume and dispose, churning out so many clothes to be thrown away without feeling responsible for the planet. ‘Luxury doesn’t have to be about endless glamour. Why not about artisanal elements and process, those elusive skills that can’t be harnessed by the industrialised process? Luxury shouldn’t be about prizing value but creating value from weaver to wearer. True luxury is a precious rarity, it operates in human skill and is vehicle for memory.’ Osman points to the clothes of our forefathers, beautiful pieces now in museums, whereas today’s clothes just result in ‘mountains of rubbish’. ‘We don’t have the right to leave such a massive footprint,’ he says. ‘I’ve always wanted to stay small enough to source my materials ethically and make my product responsibly. We have to be responsible for our supply chains the whole way through. I’m very happy that I’m not a big brand because I believe a true luxury brand makes fewer clothes. ‘I want to have a mass conversation about climate change and sustainability on a big platform, but I don’t want to make a mass of product to do it. I want to save our planet but as a facilitator and a vehicle for new ways of thinking rather than as a brand. I might be an activist and a thorn in the side of the establishment, but we need to address how distanced privileged western society has become from the catastrophic impact it’s having on our planet and its people. If we commit to questioning our apathy, our actions and choices can reverberate through the world and effect meaningful change.’ osmanlondon.com COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GBBZERO | 89
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SAVILE ROW BESPOKE ASSOCIATION
Representing the world’s finest tailors Savile Row Bespoke Association (SRBA) was formed in 2004 and represents the majority of the companies on Savile Row. Its mission is to safeguard Savile Row’s world-renowned, bespoke standards, champion its craftsmen and ensure standards never slip.
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sk owner and chairman Robert Charnock (right) what Dugdale is doing about climate change and he says, ‘Nothing, to be honest. We’ve always been sustainable.’ Dugdale has supplied Savile Row with cloth from its Huddersfield mill for 125 years and has a shop on the Row. ‘Our wool for fine worsted luxury suiting comes from responsible farms in Australia, Tasmania or New Zealand and our wool for tweeds, coatings and woollen cloth from UK farms. Our cloth lasts forever. Add that to Savile Row handiwork and you create a masterpiece for life, an heirloom.’ ‘You could say that Savile Row represents the original “slow fashion” movement,’ says Su Thomas, chairperson and manager of SRBA. ‘We know exactly where our materials are from so provenance is our byword. We recommend sponge cleaning rather than dry, or any other method of environmentally damaging cleaning. Most materials, like cloth milled in Huddersfield, are produced relatively locally, keeping our carbon footprint down. Many tailors are Royal Warrant holders and need evidence they are embedding sustainability into their business practices.’ William Skinner, managing director of Dege & Skinner, agrees: ‘As a Royal Warrant holder we’re obliged to reduce our electricity usage and carbon footprint. Tailors need bright light, especially
JUST DO IT, & DO IT NOW 1 Nurture, inspire and bring on the next generation of apprentices 2 If we keep moving forward and engaging bright young people, we have a future 3 Survival depends on cooperation, cooperation, cooperation
when stitching black cloth with black thread. This was a challenge, but we installed LED lighting and we’ve drastically cut back on our use of plastic and only use cardboard packaging. ‘We make shirts too, and those fabrics come from Switzerland, Italy and Turkey. The cotton industry used to be notorious for child labour and so we carefully check all our cotton comes from a bona fide source.’ ‘Our wool is never flown to us but sent on the slow boat to leave a lower carbon footprint,’ says Rob. ‘We use only natural oils to scour our wool and non-metallic dyes that can be broken down and recycled. Our cloth is finished by W.T. Johnson, which has its own water supply. Our Ecology range of fine tweeds uses Welsh Mountain, Black Mountain and Jacob wool, and zero chemicals.’ Robert admits that climate change, floods and fires pose a real threat to the wool industry. He’s been around long enough to see how drought, coupled with a rise in demand for synthetics, adversely affected the wool industry in the eighties. There are other challenges too. William explains that for every suit made, there is on average 13 to 14 per cent wastage. In the past off-cuts were put into ‘mungo bags’ and William’s father remembers them being collected regularly to be recycled as sofa stuffing and so on. ‘We recycle all we can, though what I’d really like to see Savile Row do is come together to create a modern, efficient way to recycle or re-use,’ William says. Robert recounts how, several years ago, two Manchesterbased brothers bought several high street suits and two bespoke suits from Savile Row. ‘They wore them year in, year out and found that the cost of the cheap high street suits, which fell apart, far outweighed the cost of the two Savile Row suits that stood the test of time. Our collective responsibility is to make people realise what a wise and sustainable investment a bespoke suit is. ‘I’m optimistic because I see that young men and women are coming into tailoring now, who are really engaged with carrying on its legacy. This means far more young people are starting to buy on the Row. All my life I’ve heard people say that tailoring’s dead, but we’re resourceful and we’ll survive.’ savilerowbespoke.com; onsavilerow.com
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Many companies on The Row have impeccable sustainability standards already, although says Dugdale’s chairman, Robert Charnock (opposite), there are still many challenges
‘Our collective responsibility is to make people realise what a wise and sustainable investment a Savile Row suit is’
GBB ZERO
SELFRIDGES
The department store changing the way we shop cemented when, mid-pandemic, Selfridges launched its Project Earth initiative after three years of planning. Five-metre-high letters across the storefront proclaimed, ‘Let’s Change the Way We Shop’. Project Earth’s manifesto states, ‘It took a global pandemic to break our constant cycle of consumption and to show us firsthand the fragile and interconnected nature of all life on earth,’ manifesting honesty that Andrew admires: ‘With value and purpose at its heart, Project Earth is about changing how we do business. That storefront proclamation drew an extraordinary response and engagement from customers. Sixty per cent of them now agree that Selfridges leads the way in environmental sustainability, Managing Director Andrew Keith (above) so we’re using the platform to have a acknowledges that it takes many different conversation and change the mindset approaches to save the planet, so it’s important of new and current customers.’ to look at problem-solving from multiple viewpoints Circular models across rental, resale, re-use, repair and refill are Selfridges’ 2011 Project Ocean banned the sale of endangered fish in other aspects of Project Earth that Andrew is enthusiastic about. its stores, co-founded the Marine Reserves Coalition, banned plastic Last year, Selfridges launched Resellfridges, its permanent resale bottles (in its stores) and instigated its labelling scheme. In 2020 they platform offering pre-loved and vintage pieces, and Selfridges launched Project Earth under three pillars, aiming to change how Rental, encouraging customers to choose enjoyment over the company buys (Materials), how customers shop (Models) and ownership. ‘By embracing circularity, we’re creating a ripple effect our culture of consumption (Mindset). These aims are underpinned and a movement,’ Andrew says. ‘At Selfridges Rental’s launch our by science-based targets and a commitment to net zero carbon by site received thousands of hits.’ 2040. By 2030 Selfridges aims to reduce emissions by 65 per cent Selfridges is doing all it can to eliminate plastic, even replacing from stores and offices and cut 30 per cent of its Scope 3 emissions the tiny toggles attaching clothes-tags with QR codes. ‘We’re from purchased goods and services. Since 2004 it has retained its doing a deep-dive audit into packaging that looks to remove all Carbon Trust Standard certification for energy, water and waste . transportation plastics. In China I got rid of all plastic shrouding and sourced recyclable hangers,’ says Andrew, ‘so I know it ndrew Keith (pictured above) spent 25 years in China at won’t be easy, but if we’re serious about sustainability, there’s the helm of a luxury department store before no other option.’ joining Selfridges as Managing Director Selfridges’ Diversity Board plays an active role: JUST DO IT, earlier this year. ‘Selfridges always stood ‘Saving the planet needs different approaches and & DO IT NOW out for driving innovation and consistently if we’re not looking at problem-solving from multiple 1 Recognise that this is a vast, challenging the status quo,’ says Andrew. ‘It was always viewpoints with different creative thinkers, we probably overwhelming and predicting how customer behaviours were changing, won’t find the right solutions. So, from our perspective, complex challenge, and then take the inviting them to explore products in new ways, from diversity is fundamental.’ first step the Wonder Room to having conversations around At weekends you might find Andrew picking up 2 Don’t just talk gender fluidity in fashion. Since 2005, when it was the wet wipes along the Thames with some of his Green science but take people with you by first department store to ban fur, Selfridges has used Warriors, the active community of Selfridges volunteers: talking on a human its platform to drive change. Then came Project Ocean, ‘We may not have a final view of the future, but we level about the why with such a different view of the future. Its sense of know we need to create one. If we don’t, there isn’t one. 3 Connect with purpose appealed to me enormously. If we’re not looking So we all need to change the way we live, and that’s a like minds around you so you can at business through the lens of sustainability, we won’t challenge every one of us needs to embrace.’ collectively have businesses around at all any longer.’ brainstorm Andrew’s decision to join the company was selfridges.com
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‘We may not have a final view of the future, but we know we need to create one. If we don’t, there isn’t one’
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SIPSMITH
The gin-aissance gang drinking up eco resilience
Sipsmith founders Jared Brown, Sam Galsworthy and Fairfax Hall were pioneers in the development of the craft gin industry and are now determined to break new ground in their sustainability practice
In 2020, Sipsmith invited the Carbon Trust to map its carbon footprint and highlight where decarbonisation efforts needed to be focused. In May 2021 it secured B Corp certification. Sipsmith has committed to a reduction target of net zero by 2030, adopting entirely renewable energy resources and becoming a zero-to-landfill business, with 95 per cent of its raw materials recyclable.
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mbracing sustainable principles has required leading British luxury businesses to make a significant step change. Sipsmith is one of those – an agile, successful drinks industry disruptor and ‘craft gin’ pioneer since 2009. In taking up the challenge to achieve B Corp certification, it has undergone a seismic change, which founder Sam Galsworthy says has ‘elevated, galvanised, bonded and excited’ the whole business. ‘This is the decisive decade, the decade we have to decarbonise,’ he says. ‘Every five weeks that passes is one per cent of the time within the decade that we have to act. We don’t have long.’ Sustainability had been on Sam’s radar, as he observed the farming world exploring new, more regenerative approaches. ‘Our industry is intensive in terms of energy and water use, and five years ago it became clear we needed to correct our course. We started paying attention to water consumption, energy usage and landfill related to our waste and packaging.’ The Carbon Trust’s emissions data shone an uncomfortable light on the challenge ahead, while the ‘surprisingly difficult’ B Corp
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assessment revealed how little – in the drive to manage costs and provide convenience – Sipsmith understood its supply chain. ‘We are now committed to being fully traceable, which will become standard corporate hygiene in the near future,’ says Sam. ‘For example, one product has 11 ingredients – including grain, juniper, coriander, orange, lemon peel – and we’re learning at pace specifically where they come from, how harvesting is managed, what kind of world those people live in. The closer you bond with your supply chain, the greater the resilience and trust within your network, and the more positive impact we can make.’ A product like Sipsmith that contains disparate raw ingredients – botanicals, herbs, spices, flowers – is JUST DO IT, dangerously exposed economically, & DO IT NOW environmentally and socially to the 1 Get closer to your impact across the risks of climate chaos. ‘One only has business. Carbon to look at the German floods this Trust was an incredible partner summer – wine-growing areas would 2 Reach out and have been flattened in hours, with embrace the no predictability. We’re looking at communities and partners new, regenerative ways to produce around you our ingredients.’ 3 Don’t be afraid Sipsmith’s progress was aided to take the leap by its decision not to ‘silo’ of faith! sustainability, but to mobilise all its people behind a positive ten-year vision. ‘We talked equally as peers, on one single mission to integrate a culture of sustainability,’ says Sam. ‘It’s inspiring that influence can come from the most surprising places. We’ve never been afraid of rising to a challenge with optimism rather than fear. Despite the balancing act of fulfilling global demand for Sipsmith, there isn’t any doubt about what we have to do.” Sam is focusing now on the resilience of the business, team welfare and the betterment of the brand for society – the way he believes leadership will be redefined. ‘You only get change when you bring a different perspective. If we can build perspective and resilience into the next generation, it’s a powerful combination. The market will elevate those that are doing the right thing: their boat will rise on the tide. Society has the power to remove the “licence to operate” of a business that doesn’t respond transparently, honestly and credibly. Every little step is a key one, and we can all do more.’ sipsmith.com
‘This is the decisive decade, the decade we have to decarbonise. Every five weeks that passes is one per cent of the time within the decade that we have to act. We don’t have long’
ABOUT US
DIGITAL Digital copies are being distributed via the following networks: the Global Investment Summit (GIS); the UK’s international brand marketing campaign, GREAT; Walpole, the official sector body for UK luxury; the British Fashion Council; and Country & Town House. All costs pertaining to the digital issue have been entirely covered by a private philanthropic sponsor. You can find the digital copy here: countryandtownhouse.co.uk/ gbbzero-issue
PRINT Only two thousand hard copies of Great British Brands ZERO have been printed to ensure zero wastage on distribution. Hard copies are printed by CarbonNeutral® company Pureprint, which is ISO 14001 Environmental Management and FSC ® certified, and a member of Sedex, the ethical supplier register. All copies are printed on 100 per cent recycled paper and the entire magazine (including covers) is 100 per cent recyclable, although we hope you will share your copy and keep it for reference.
FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES: Race to Zero: Race To Zero is a global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth. unfccc.int/ climate-action/race-to-zero-campaign B Corp: Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. bcorporation.net UN Sustainable Development Goals: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries in a global partnership. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality and spur economic growth PHOTO: UNSPLASH
Great British Brands ZERO is the first not-for-profit publication from Country & Town House. Costs are covered by sponsorship and advertising from brands that themselves have made recognisable commitments to driving down their carbon footprint. Any revenue generated above and beyond the costs of printing are being donated to environmental law charity, ClientEarth.
Publisher Country & Town House itself has signed up to Race to Zero. We urge all our partners to reduce, reuse, recycle throughout their product chain as much as possible.
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– all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. sdgs.un.org/goals
and impacts, not just carbon dioxide. There is currently no single official standard that would underpin this claim.
1% For The Planet: 1% For The Planet represents a global network of businesses, individuals and non-profit organisations tackling our planet’s most pressing environmental issues. oneprecentfortheplanet.org
Climate positive: For this claim an organisation goes one step further than Climate neutrality and removes more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than it emits across is value chain.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN GBB ZERO: COP26: COP stands for Conference of the Parties and 26 refers to this upcoming meeting being a 26th meeting. The Parties are the countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) – a treaty agreed in 1994. The 2021 United Nations climate change conference is taking place in Glasgow, from 31 October to 12 November. It is important because this is the event where countries come together to discuss and agree on how they are tackling climate change and review the progress of their commitments on reduction of their greenhouse gas emissions. ukcop26.org Carbon neutral: Means that an organisation has measured its emissions of carbon dioxide, for example, across it value chain or of its product; has made a plan to reduce its emissions and commenced taking actions to bring its carbon impact to zero. The emissions that the organisation has not been able to remove in a period are then offset using certified carbon credits. Climate Neutral: Similar to Carbon neutral but includes all greenhouse (GHG) gases
Net zero: Net-zero is effectively creating a balance between the amount of greenhouse gases which are released into the atmosphere, and the amount which are taken out. First and foremost, human caused emissions should be reduced to as close as zero as possible and only the emissions that cannot be reduced are removed. This is a critical difference to Climate neutrality, which can be claimed on the journey to Net Zero. Net Carbon Zero: In contrast to Net Zero, ‘Net zero carbon’ is focused only on carbon impact, not the other greenhouse gases. ESG: Refers to the Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance factors and how an organisation manages these alongside its financial performance. It is often used in the context of investing or financial management. The Paris Agreement: The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 195 Parties at COP21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. Its goal is to keep the global warming well under 2 degrees, ideally under 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
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