37 Regenerative brands

Regenerative brands

Across industries, more brands are stepping up to commit to regenerative practices, supercharging their sustainability goals.

Regeneration goes beyond doing less harm to the planet, aiming to reverse negative impacts by restoring and renewing resources—84% of global respondents believe that we need businesses to drive regeneration, or it will not happen, according to Wunderman Thompson Intelligence’s 2021 report “Regeneration Rising.” In response, brands across categories are pledging to become regenerative.

Looking to grow its farm-to-closet model, in September 2021 Californian sustainable fashion label Christy Dawn launched The Land Stewardship, a new program that focuses on regenerative agriculture. Via the initiative, customers can invest $200, helping to convert a plot of land from conventional cotton farming to farming using regenerative practices. When the cotton is harvested, they are reimbursed in store credit based on the yield of the cotton on the plot they invested in. Christy Dawn customers thus have a real stake in making the company truly regenerative.

Big-name fashion brands are also investing in regenerative agriculture. In October 2021, Ralph Lauren announced it was partnering with the Soil Health Institute to launch the US Regenerative Cotton Fund. This followed the appointment by Conservation International and global luxury group Kering of the first seven grantees under their Regenerative Fund for Nature initiative, getting their mission to transition one million hectares of land to regenerative practices over the next five years under way.

Retailers are also getting on board with regeneration. Morrisons, the UK grocery store chain, announced a partnership with McDonald’s, Harper Adams University, and the National Farmers’ Union in October 2021. The collaborators have launched the United Kingdom’s first school of sustainable food and farming, ultimately aiming to transform the country’s farming practices. This follows Walmart’s September 2020 pledge to become a regenerative company, which includes a commitment to restore at least 50 million acres of land by 2030.

Over the past few years Big Food has set the pace on regenerative farming, with multinationals Danone, Nestlé and General Mills all revealing plans to help some of their suppliers adopt regenerative techniques. In April 2021, PepsiCo announced an ambitious goal to scale such techniques across seven million acres of land—equal to its entire agricultural footprint—by 2030.

Why it’s interesting Brands are acknowledging that doing less harm to the planet is no longer enough. Regenerating the world’s resources and repairing the damage accrued over centuries is now the ultimate sustainability stretch goal.