OUR SUSTAINABILITY PLAN
We’re facing up the future, doing more for our clothes, our suppliers, our communities and our impact on the environment. We’ve looked hard inside and outside our business and come up with a plan that will help us be READY FOR THE FUTURE. There is work to be done, and we’re going to be open, upfront, and frank on the progress we are making.
Our next chapter is still in the making.
FOCUS AREA 1:
CLOTHES.MADE SMARTER
Making our clothes in a smarter way - with better materials, more sustainable design and less waste packaging.
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FOCUS AREA 2:
SUPPLIERS.ON BETTER TERMS
Doing more for our suppliers - transparent supply chains, improved standards and management and a long-term commitment to those that work in fashion.
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FOCUS AREA 3:
OUR BUSINESS.TAKING ACTION
Running our business responsibly - strong governance, a great place to work, tackling climate change, responsible marketing and a role in communities we can all be proud of.
READ MORE >The READY FOR THE FUTURE strapline and icons will be used on any garment that meets our guidelines.
CLOTHES.MADE SMARTER
Making our clothes in a smarter way - with better materials, more sustainable design, less waste and packaging.
Using better, more sustainable materials is a top priority for our UP.FRONT sustainability strategy. We have set some ambitious goals and our teams are working hard to achieve them.
All the materials we use will be
more sustainably sourced.
All our polyester and cotton will be recycled or more sustainably sourced. More sustainably sourced includes organic cotton, Better Cotton and Cotton Connect. Over half of our synthetic cellulosics will come from more sustainable sources. All our leather, wool, feather and down will be sourced in line with industry best practice.
In 2021, the READY FOR THE FUTURE strapline and icons will be used on any garment that is made of more than 20% of our stated ‘better materials’, which are summarised below. This is the absolute minimum, and most garments will be 50% or more.
We are starting with a lower threshold, so we can support all our suppliers in driving improvements, including both those who are new to sustainable materials, and those who are experienced in this area.
However, it’s important to note that these thresholds will increase each year towards our targets, and we will report on our progress.
Customers will be able to see the product’s material composition and how it meets our READY FOR THE FUTURE credentials on our product web pages.
More sustainable alternatives
Recycled fibres
Recycled fibres can be used for a number of materials including polyester, cotton and acylic. They are a more sustainable alternative as they are not using virgin fibres and are often made of materials that would otherwise have gone to waste.
Organic Cotton
Organic cotton is grown using less water and without chemical fertilisers and pesticides for lower environmental impact than conventional cotton.
Responsibly sourced viscose
Viscose sourced from responsibly managed forests and using responsible production practices.
Leather, wool and feather and down
We are working towards sourcing our animal derived products from industry best practice. Wool and feather and down certified to high animal welfare standards and leather from tanneries that are working to reduce their environmental impact.
Surplus textiles
Tackling textile waste is a priority and so we will be looking for ways to use textiles that could otherwise have gone to waste including vintage, surplus and rescued fabrics.
SUPPLIERS.ON BETTER TERMS
As a business we are growing rapidly. We rely on strong relationships with our suppliers to provide our customers with on trend products at a great price.
We’ve been building our team who work with our suppliers in the UK and further afield to make sure that we all have a clear map of all the factories producing our clothes and that our standards are followed to protect the workers in those factories and the quality of the clothes they produce. Here’s what we are going to do…
We are going to disclose our factory lists and our purchasing practices.
We are setting up and donating £1 million to an independent Garment Workers Trust in Leicester so that any worker can get advice and access to grants if they need it.
Launching our own centre of excellence in Leicester. A factory we are opening to showcase how our garments are made and to share best practice across the industry.
We will have mapped our supply chain to the raw material source for our key fibres e.g. the cotton fields.
OUR BUSINESS.TAKING ACTION
We’re passionate about fashion, our business and the role we can play in the wider industry.
We take responsibility for the way in which we run our business and manage our impacts. We’ll be looking at tackling climate change, we’ll provide great jobs and look after our people, we’ll make it easier for customers to make more sustainable choices, we’ll make sure sustainability is a key part of our business decision making and we’ll continue to make a difference in local communities in the UK and beyond.
Publish our social impact strategy to support local communities.
Achieve carbon reductions across our value chain aligned with science based targets equivalent to 52% reduction in emissions relative to our growth.*
*Achieve a 4.2% absolute reduction in operational emissions each year, and 7% reduction in value chain emissions each year relative to our growth.
We are going to make it easier for our customers to make sustainable choices with us. Look out for our READY FOR THE FUTURE clothes across the site.