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Welcome to the M&S interactive map where you can find out more about our Food and Clothing & Home supply chains

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The Fashion Transparency Index: 2019 report ranks world's biggest brands

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The index shines the spotlight on who is disclosing what in the fashion industry

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RetailExpo, the trade show for retail technology, design and digital signage, took place last week on May 1-2, and sustainability was a hot topic in a few of the seminars and presentations.

H&M's sustainability manager for UK and Ireland, Giorgina Waltier, Farfetch's sustainable global director Tom Berry, and Kingfisher's head of sustainability Caroline Laurie attended RetailExpo on the second day to speak on retailers' approach on sustainability.

BRC's head of sustainability policy, Peter Andrews also talked about the recent Extinction Rebellion protests that are sparking some changes in parliament.

Waltier, who has served as H&M's sustainability manager since June 2018, said "sustainability is of huge importance to H&M, it's something we've been working with in a robust way for over 20 years, embedding it into our business practices".

"Our proposition is to make great fashion that's available to everyone, and in a sustainable way," she said.

Although ethically-sourced products may take a longer-than-usual time to manufacture, which could result in more time and money, H&M believes that sustainable fashion shouldn't carry a heavy price tag.

Meanwhile, Berry said sustainability was a word that luxury fashion ecommerce retailer Farfetch rarely uses as it carries different meanings to different people. Despite that, she believes there's a greater opportunity to focus more on sustainability at the moment.

"We want to be increasing profits as well as keeping sustainable," he said.

Waltier, on the other hand, said sustainability was something H&M is fully committed to.

"We have to improve our operations and we have to bring along the rest of the industry with us. It's one of our ambitions - we want to lead the change across the fashion industry," she said.

Waltier also boasted that 57 per cent of H&M's materials were either recycled or sustainably-sourced, as the Swedish retailer aims to use 100 per cent sustainably-sourced or recycled materials by the year 2030.

"Sustainability is very much a part of our colleagues' everyday work, and in the way that they engage with their tasks," she said.

"I'm responsible for seeing our strategy and goals for H&M in the UK. We have a core sustainability department who sit within our global team."

Laurie from Kingfisher agreed with H&M's principles. She said she has a similar approach at the multinational retailer.

"Sustainability is embedded within our core brand principles," she said.

Meanwhile, Andrews from the BRC explained that the Extinction Rebellion protests caught the attention of politicians in Westminster.

"The Extinction Rebellion protests across the capital and elsewhere across the country, are already challenging society and particularly our politicians to wake up to the challenge of climate change," he said.

"If we look back at three or four years ago, could you envisage that customers would be picking out products that use less packaging?"

Furthermore, the speakers addressed the subject of transparency within retailers and whether customers are truly interested in learning more on where and how their products are produced.

Waltier said the information surrounding sustainably-sourced products is hard to find, but adds that "customers do really care about sustainability".

Laurie said it was important for retailers to be transparent because "customers expect businesses to have a positive purpose rather than just make a profit".

"It's all about being transparent and humble. We don't have all the right answers to sustainability - some stuff we get it right and sometimes we get it wrong," she said.

According to Kingfisher's research, consumers aren't using the word sustainability, and Laurie said it's mainly because "it's full of jargon - it means different things to different people".

Waltier agreed with Kingfisher on the importance of sustainability, but she said that sustainability was a word H&M consistently uses, especially after the retailer launched a new product sustainability element to its website - a feature which Waltier said now allows customers to see where every single item comes from.

"Transparency is hugely important to us. That level of transparency is what we're trying to up - we're only at tier one right now," she said.

However, she emphasised the complexities of the fashion industry, and highlighted how H&M still expects to receive criticism for not being transparent enough on the subject of sustainability.

"Experts always want to know more," Waltier said.

Although sustainability is a word that is rarely used at Farfetch, Berry said that "sustainability is definitely becoming more important" and adds that this may be due to the release of more statistics.

"Consumers are looking for positive stories within brands, they are looking for something more than just a t-shirt," he said.
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RetailExpo: What sustainability means to retailers - Retail Gazette

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RetailExpo, the trade show for retail technology, design and digital signage, took place last week on May 1-2, and sustainability was a hot topic in a few of the seminars and presentations. H&M's sustainability manager for UK and Ireland, Giorgina Waltier, Farfetch's sustainable global director Tom Berry, and Kingfisher's head of sustainability Caroline Laurie attended RetailExpo on the second day to speak on retailers' approach on sustainability.

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"Consumers may say they want sustainability, but there is little evidence of mass-market shoppers willing to pay substantially more for sustainable goods."

Filippo Battaini, research associate at FGRT, sums up the state of sustainability in retail in a rather pessimistic but unfortunately realistic view.

Sustainability in retail has a cyclical relationship. Fashion alone is reported to be the second most polluting industry in the world, but retail is also leading the way in seeking to tackle its own footprint.

Last week, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) responded to the environment secretary's announcement that the government is set to ban microbeads by stating how retailers "have led the way" in reducing the use of environmentally hazardous materials.

"Many [have] voluntarily removed microbeads from own brand products, while others are in the process of doing so," the BRC stated.

"Many have also committed to switching from plastic cotton bud stems to paper ones.

"It is therefore good that the government will now ensure other companies follow suit."

This demonstrates the industry's commitment to sustainability, but raises a pertinent question: If retailers are so concerned with their environmental impact, why is their carbon footprint still so significant?

According to garment retailer Celtic & Co, the main issue is cost.

"Price is the main issue for us, when retailers are producing clothing at incredibly cheap prices without worrying about environmental impact it is hard to compete on the all-natural, sustainable front as it costs considerably more to produce these materials," a spokesperson said.

"Fortunately, customers are becoming more aware of the impact of fashion on the environment and retailers are starting to react to this too.

"A cheap t-shirt may look tempting but when you realise the amount of water, fuel and chemicals that have gone into it, just for it to rip and be thrown on to landfill after a few months it makes more economical sense to invest in products that will last and are better for the environment too."

"You need to commit to making real changes, rather than just green washing"

On paper, this is a sensible argument. However, in a period of increased pressures on disposable income, shoppers who are usually ethically minded will instead opt for frugality.

Furthermore, Battaini points out that the problem of costs runs far deeper than labels on shelves.

"When switching to environmentally conscious operations, the cost of changing the way the supply chain works to make it more sustainable can be a major constraint," he said.

"This cost is not only financial, but also cultural and operational, that is: changing company's practices that have been going on for long, or having to replace old business partners with new suppliers and distributors that, for example, use eco-materials for production and more efficient transportation modes in distribution."

These practices are something that eyewear brand Ace & Tate have succeeded in incorporating. The retailer highlights that this can take a lot of work.

"You need to know and understand the impact of every single step in your value chain, which means putting a lot of time and effort into this research, before you can start making changes in the most efficient way for your business," a spokesperson said.
READ MORE: H&M, M&S and Zara accused of "turning a blind eye" to toxic factories
"You need to commit to making real changes, rather than just green washing.

"We work with a tech-enabled freight forwarder, Flexport, which calculates our carbon emissions so we can see it broken down by mode of transit, supplier and location.

"And to put everything into perspective, it can also tell us what these statistics are equivalent to - for instance, five tonnes of CO2 emissions is equivalent to half of one home's energy use for one year."

There is plenty being done across the retail industry to try and tackle the sustainability problem. In 2015 Nike turned 54 million pounds of factory scrap into premium material. M&S recently launched a Plan A 2025 initiative aiming to transform it into a zero-waste business, and just last week, Waitrose announced a partnership with a leading marine charity to clean up our coastlines and waterways. Fashion labels like H&M, Adidas and G-Star Raw have also launched recycled collections.

However, when reports like the one from Changing Market Foundation released last month found H&M, M&S and Zara to be purchasing materials from heavily pollutant factories, it shows there is still a long way to go.

"The reality is that just selling single use products on a "sell and forget" basis is far from sustainable"

David Symons, the director of sustainability at consultancy firm WSP, has some ideas about which directions retailers should take.

"Many retailers are the corporate leaders in sustainability, and in many ways retailers are often more important than regulators in raising product and supply chain standards," he said.

"For example, we are helping a major furniture brand to work with their supply chain to see how they can save energy in their factories and other industrial buildings, which saves money and the environment.

"But there is still much more to do. Smaller brands and retailers are generally still playing catch up.

"The reality is that just selling single use products on a 'sell and forget' basis is far from sustainable.

"Retailers have a huge opportunity to continue to raise their own standards and also to embrace the some of the future trends we're tracking.

"Regulation will also play a part. Future chemicals regulations will raise product standards.

"New measures, such as the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES), will from April 2018 prohibit the lease of energy inefficient properties. Our work shows that retail is the sector that will be most heavily affected."
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Environmental sustainability and carbon footprints in retail: What is the problem?

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"Consumers may say they want sustainability, but there is little evidence of mass-market shoppers willing to pay substantially more for sustainable goods." Filippo Battaini, research associate at FGRT, sums up the state of sustainability in retail in a rather pessimistic but unfortunately realistic view. Sustainability in retail has a cyclical relationship.

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Fashion Transparency Index