BRAND FEATURES

BECAUSE SUSTAINABILITY IS A MANAGEMENT MATTER

Danilo Maag, Co-Founder/CMO & COO When it comes to the eco-friendly attributes of its production processes or products, Inuikii doesn’t go around blowing its own trumpet. On the contrary, in fact: the footwear brand from Switzerland repeatedly emphasises that it is far from perfect. Which is very honest of them but doesn’t actually do justice to the goals they have achieved so far – because Inuikii is one of the companies who take the sustainability transformation extremely seriously.

TEXT CYNTHIA BLASBERG

The first entirely sustainable Inuikii boots will be available in stores this autumn: Abacá made from Bananatex, and Grape from an innovative material from the grape by-products of wine production. The recycled soles of the boots are made from in-house production remnants. Vegan styles like Grape, which (unlike Abacá) has a lining made of recycled polyester, will become increasingly relevant within the range in the future. However, Danilo Maag points out that materials of non-organic origin are also raising new questions regarding sustainability. Like Bananatex, which is made from banana leaves. “As the transportation of materials from Asia is not ideal, new solutions are being sought to make that aspect more sustainable as well,” says Maag.

WASTE RECYCLING

New processes that have been introduced within Europe are less difficult to follow through on. The Swiss family-run company, run by the founder Cinzia and her sons Alessio and Danilo Maag, has been able to reduce its waste product by 30 percent within a year. Textile remnants and other waste are collected, bundled and sold to companies who use it as filler – for punching bags, for example. The brand is still working on a solution to use 100 percent of the waste. When it comes to putting an exact number to the energy use of the production processes, the company is still somewhat behind, admits Danilo Maag. New approaches to improving the figures need to be found, but they are hoping to present a solution by the end of 2021.

FIGURES AND TARGETS

One aim is to have 70 percent of all products be sustainable by 2025. Concrete goals include having a distribution chain that is at least 95 percent transparent and 100 percent certified suppliers. But that’s easier said than done. “The certification of all our suppliers is something we are really passionate about. A large proportion of our suppliers is already certified. And we keep reminding our non-certified partners of our goals. That means that if they aren’t able to fulfil those criteria by 2025, that we won’t continue to work with them. So, in four years’ time we should be able to have the appropriate certificates together for our entire company structure.” Transparency is also a major challenge. Information procurement and, in this context, digitalisation, are difficult to achieve if all suppliers and production companies aren’t on the same wavelength.

THE PATH TO MORE TRANSPARENCY

Inuikii hasn’t yet used any software such as Re:traced, which can be used to trace materials and their sources in the production supply chain. “Until now, we have avoided working with third-party suppliers and are still keeping an open mind as to how we can work with them and present this information. We’re still looking for the right way to integrate it into our internal processes. Without a suitable internal structure, this kind of major project isn’t possible,” explains Danilo Maag. Despite this, the brand does have a few figures for us: 90 percent of the materials come from Europe and 95 percent of the production is also located in Europe. All shoelaces have Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex and BCI certification, and all shoe models – from both the summer and winter collections – are made with water-based adhesives.

NOT PERFECT, BUT GETTING THERE

“We’re not perfect by a long stretch. And we’re not quite where we want to be either. Nevertheless, we are trying to make a difference on all levels, which we don’t necessarily always communicate to our customers. It’s not all about marketing for us. We do have a sustainability report, but sustainability goes way beyond marketing; it’s about how we want to run our business. Although, as perfectionists, we are never really satisfied,” explains a very resolute Danilo Maag.

INUIKII.COM

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Cool, glamorous, individualistic and authentic – Cotton Candy always has its finger on the pulse. And the pandemic has clearly shown that this label, which belongs to Just Fashion GmbH, is resilient in a crisis. Instead of despairing at the restrictions and challenges they were facing, the team maintained an optimistic attitude and tried to find positive aspects in even the strictest of shutdowns, as Ümit Ufuk Ekinci, Managing Director of Just Fashion GmbH tells us. Now that the end of the pandemic is in sight and in-person experiences are resuming, Cotton Candy is ready to conquer the market once again.

TEXT AYLIN YAVUZ

Since 2012, fashion label Cotton Candy has been delivering cool, high-quality clothing with a touch of glamour and good value for money. With up to 12 drops a year, the brand is also fast enough to react to new trends, resulting in a whole raft of on-trend collections every year. These can be bought from online German marketplaces, boutiques or stationary retail, as well as from their own online shop. Buyers and retailers can order a variety of styles from the B2B online store, as well as browsing them in person at their showrooms. But most of these options fell out of the equation during the pandemic: physical visits to stores, showroom meetings and personal contact to retail partners were no longer possible due to COVID. Stationary retail and certain links in the supply chain suffered: there were distribution issues, resources were scarce and retail partners became frustrated. But the show must go on, so at Cotton Candy they didn’t let the situation get the better of them. Instead, after a short period of reorientation and the introduction of internal measures, they soon got a handle on the situation by looking at and resolving each issue individually, rather than drowning in a sea of conflict.

And their success has proven their strategy to be the right one. Despite the many obstacles in their path, the label managed to maintain a healthy turnover and even ended 2020 on a positive note. “The entire sector has clearly suffered, some more than others – thankfully we belong to the latter,” says Ümit Ufuk Ekinci, founder and CEO of Just Fashion GmbH. A contributing mitigating factor was the B2B shop integrated into their own website, which generated a plus of 125 percent from 2019 to 2020 and a plus of 120 percent from 2020 to 2021. And the first orders after or at the end of the pandemic were more than satisfactory, with the Düsseldorf-based label immediately getting back to pre-pandemic levels. “Our expectations for our last drop in 2021 are therefore very high, especially as we have strong items that could already be on retailers’ floors by November.”

But in terms of fashion, how can brands respond to this new normal, in a time when people are starting to go out again, rather than just whiling away the hours at home in loungewear? “Here at Cotton Candy, we believe that the end of the pandemic doesn’t mean the end of athleisure product groups. The pandemic has contributed to the acceptance of certain clothing items, which have become part and parcel of everyday wardrobes. In our current collection, for example, you can see how we have interpreted the trend.” This translates into the use of striking colours and eye-catchers in the current order and celebrates the possibilities that are opening up now that we’re able to venture beyond our own four walls and express ourselves once again. Apparently, the next few drops will be as just as bright, but the brand isn’t willing to reveal all just yet: “You can be sure that if certain trends come to the fore, we will pick up on them in our own way and make them available to our distributors,” concludes Ümit Ufuk Ekinci.

The end of the pandemic doesn’t mean the end of athleisure product groups.