Who are sustainable and ethical brands now ?
After considering what it means to be a sustainable and Ethical mass market clothing brand , it ’ s key to look into brands which are already taking on responsibility to make a difference . H & M is now considered one of the most sustainable and is positioning itself as the ethical solution , the retailer that can make ethics and fast fashion synonymous even though it sells 550 million garments every year ( Siegle , 2015 ). Their most recent sustainability report states nearly 2.5 million shoes were made last year using lower-impact water-based solvents , all building contractors have signed a code of conduct to guarantee “ good ” working conditions , and H & M uses more organic cotton in production than anyone else . This year , 7.6 % of its cotton was organic ( it ’ s estimated H & M ’ s overall cotton use to be around 200,000 tonnes a year ), by 2020 100 % will be sustainably sourced cotton ( Cronin , 2016 ). They have also set a goal of becoming 100 % circular which means seeing waste as a resource ”, these results prove to consumers they aren ’ t just being greenwashed with another marketing scheme .
Zara sold a staggering 1,177,784,343 items in 2015 , which means they have such a large audience of consumers globally that they have the potential to impact its vast system of suppliers , factories and brickand-mortar stores . In reply to H & M ’ s “ conscious collection Zara released their “ join life ” campaign in 2015 however this hasn ’ t been received as well as H & M ’ s collection because their sustainable collection is around 50 % more expensive than their usual items which isn ’ t going to be chosen by mass market consumers when they can get it at half the price from the same place . However , it seems so far Zara have been more focused on “ eco-efficient ” stores , and decreasing electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions . In 2015 , it started reusing packing supplies as part of its 2020 goal of no landfill waste ( FERNANDEZ , 2016 ). It ’ s clear Zara are trying to make a conscious effort to become sustainable however they aren ’ t keeping up with H & M who already have results .
Another high street retailer , Monsoon Accessorize , has been working towards more sustainable and ethical practices but from a different angle to H & M and Zara , they were a founding member of the Ethical Trading Initiative , so its obligation to fair fashion is a longstanding one . It bases its code of conduct on ETI standards , and works with suppliers to meet them while also having an active program of audits and unexpected visits . When it comes to sustainability they use a softly-softly approach towards their customers by offering them vouchers when they return items of clothing much like H & M , they are also providing to an older demographic to H & M and Zara , which is why their price points of clothing are higher and so is a quality because the older generation have more of disposable income , this higher pricing has allowed them to support a program to help Indian cotton farmers to change to organic production ( Baker , 2016 ). It also has a program of reducing energy use at its stores , and reducing waste and of store fittings and features which was discussed with James Macaulay their Uk and international Store development and procurement manager in a recent primary research interview . He also stated “ We as a brand will always strive for more when it comes to sustainability and ethics and will always continue funding our charity The Monsoon Accessorize trust , funding women and children from under developed countries ”.
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