ZARA CSR 2019
LET’S SLOW DOWN TOGETHER
We are using 100% vegan leather for all our leather products.
CONTENTS PAGE 3
4
Letter From The Chairman
8
What Is Fast Fashion?
12
What Zara Is Doing In Numbers
16
Young Quotes
18
10 Simple Steps To Being More Sustainable
24
7 Signs You Are Addicted to Shopping
26
How to Buy Clothes That Are Built to Last
30
Four Questions To Ask Next Time You Buy Shoes
34
Our Team Who Worked On This Reports
PAGE 4 LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Inditex’s 2015 results demonstrate the strength of our business model which focuses on offering products that our customers want. Our sales and net profit increased by 15%, with growth across all geographic regions. Comparable store sales – stores opened for more than two years – rose by 8.5%, and we created 15,800 new jobs. In light of these numbers, I commend the efforts of every individual at Inditex, as well as the Group’s continued innovation and commitment to ensuring that we create social value alongside economic growth. Inditex’s sustained growth is driven by a team of over 150,000 people worldwide who are committed to the principle that all our activities at the Group are conducted hand-in-hand with social progress and environmental sustainability. This principle stems from the firm conviction that people, and respect for their dignity and integrity, should be our top priority. These operational centres, combined with our global footprint, encapsulate the Group’s diversity, with a corporate culture that is synonymous with a high
level of self-discipline, teamwork, an entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to do business responsibly. This commitment to social progress and the endeavour for environmental sustainability forms the ethical principles held by all of us at Inditex. Based on these principles, we have championed and shared pioneering sustainable practices throughout our business operations, as well as with our partners and suppliers. More specifically, this year Inditex joined the effort to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2015 to combat climate change, poverty and inequality with concrete goals for 2030. We discuss our efforts to reach the goals and aspirations of this initiative in each chapter of our 2015 Annual Report. Our commitment to the SDGs builds on our longstanding adherence to the United Nations Global Compact and its principles. It also compliments our collaboration efforts with the International Labour Organization, as well as our active participation in organizations such as the Ethical Trading Initiative
LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN PAGE 5
ˮOur sustained growth is driven by a team of over 150,000 people worldwide who know that our progress has to go hand in hand with social progress and environmental sustainability.”
and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and agreements with international union organizations such as Uni Global and IndustriALL. Our collaboration since 2007 with the IndustriALL Global Union, which represents more than 50 million workers worldwide, is especially noteworthy. Recently, we significantly enhanced this collaboration through an agreement to establish union representatives in each of the 11 production areas or clusters Inditex uses to organize the sustainability of the results of all of these initiatives underscore our belief that progress is best achieved by working together with international expert institutions and organizations. Building on these achievements, this year we launched our 2016-2020 environmental strategy, which incorporates new actions in our endeavour to close the loop at all stages of production – from the analysis and selection of raw materials to end-of-life recycling. A key project in this regard is further collaboration with social enterprises globally to support the reuse or recycling of our customers.
We remain committed to a high-quality supply chain made possible by our ethical principles as well as our investment in quality processes to ensure painstaking attention to every garment. Twenty eight laboratories worldwide ensure that the health and safety of our products measure up to the highest standards to deliver the quality fashion desired by our customers in the 88 markets in which we operate.
Pablo Isla, Chairman
“We need to be a force for change, not only in the company but in the whole sector.” Pablo Isla
This organic cotton dress is part of the 2020 Slow Collection.
PAGE 8 WHAT IS FAST FASHION?
Zara. With new stock arriving in store every few days, shoppers know if they don’t buy something they like they’ll probably miss their chance.
WHAT IS FAST FASHION? PAGE 9
What’s the impact of Fast Fashion? Fast Fashion’s impact on the planet is huge. The pressure to reduce costs and speed up production time means that environmental corners are more likely to be cut. Fast Fashion’s negative impact includes its use of cheap, toxic textile dyes – with the fashion industry the second largest polluter of cleanwater globally after agriculture. That’s why Greenpeace has been pressuring brands to remove dangerous chemicals from their supply chains through its Detox The Catwalk campaign this fall.
textile waste. In the UK alone, 235 million pieces of clothing were thought to have been sent to landfill in spring 2017. As well as the environmental cost of Fast Fashion, there’s a human cost. Fast Fashion impacts garment workers, who have been found to work in dangerous environments, for low wages and without basic human rights. Further down the supply chain, there are the farmers who may work with toxic chemicals that can have devastating impacts on their physical and mental health, a plight highlighted by the documentary The True Cost.
Zara launched its Slow Down Campaign in 2019.
Cheap textiles also increase Fast Fashion’s impact. Polyester is one of the most popular fabrics. It’s derived from fossil fuels, contributing to global warming, and can shed microfibres that add to the increasing levels of plastic in our oceans when it’s put through a wash. But even ‘natural fabrics’ can be a problem at the scale fast fashion demands. Cotton requires enormous quantities of water and pesticides in developing countries. This results in risks of drought, creates huge amounts on stress on water basins and other environmental concerns biodiversity and soil quality, competition for resources between companies and local communities. The constant speed and demand means there is also increasing stress on other environmental concerns such as land clearing, biodiversity and soil quality that may be at risk of drought. While the processing of leather also impacts on the environment, with 300kgs of chemicals being added for every 900kg of animal hides tanned. The speed at which garments are produced also means that more and more clothes are disposed of by consumers, creating a huge amount of
Animals are also impacted by Fast Fashion, as the toxic dyes that are released in waterways and microfibres that can be ingested by ocean life. When animal products such as leather and fur are used, animal welfare is put at risk. A recent scandal revealed that real fur, including cat fur, is actually being passed off as faux fur to unknowing shoppers in the UK. The truth is that there is so much real fur being produced under terrible conditions in fur farms, that it’s actually become cheaper to produce and buy than faux fur.
Who are the big players? Many of the retailers that we know today as Fast Fashion big players, like Zara or H&M, started as smaller shops in Europe around the 1950s. H&M is the oldest of Fast Fashion retailers, having opcened as Hennes in Sweden in 1947, expanding to London in 1976 and before reaching the States in 2000. They are then followed by Zara, which opened its his first store in Northern Spain in 1975. It’s when Zara landed in New York at the beginning of 1990s, that people first heard the term “Fast Fashion”. It was coined by the New York Times to describe Zara’s mission to
PAGE 10 WHAT IS FAST FASHION?
only take 15 days for a garment to go from the design stage to being sold in stores worldwide .
Is Fast Fashion Going Green? As an increasing number of consumers call out the true cost of the fashion industry, and especially Fast Fashion, we‘ve seen a growing number of retailers introduce sustainable and ethical fashion initiatives such as in-store recycling schemes. These schemes, allow customers to wait a few years. Companies often point to a lack of factory ownership to justify their limited influence on supply chains, but Rachel Arthur, chief innovation officer at innovation agency TheCurrent, thinks they can do more: They deal with [these suppliers] in big numbers, so they have the ability to put pressure on them to make these changes happen.” These multinational companies also have enough scale to lobby governments to implement better regulations, she adds. “Much more local management of the supply chain is what is required from all of these brands,” says Matthew Drinkwater, head of the Fashion Innovation Agency at the London College of Fashion. “It’s resource intensive but there isn’t really another choice.”
All our wool products are originated from sustainable sheep farms in Northern India.
PAGE 12 WHAT ZARA IS DOING IN NUMBERS
75%
OF THE COTTON WE USE IS ORGANIC
45%
OF OUR GLOBAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION COMES FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES
66%
OF THE WOOL WE USE COME FROM SUSTAINABLE FARMING COMMUNITIES
PAGE 14 YOUNG QUOTES
“At Zara we listen to what young people tell us about fast fashion.”
I think I will make a New Year resolution about buying less. But it is hard, I am so used to shopping weekly.
I first heard about fast fashion about a year ago. I didn’t even realize by then that I am part of it.I buy a lot of stuff at vintage shope. I guess it is better for all of us.
Even the phrase sustainability, when it comes to fashion, isn’t all that useful. It can mean too much and too little at the same time. I am confused sometimes.
YOUNG QUOTES PAGE 15
I’ve thought much more about the afterlife of clothes in the past year. Once I started learning, I couldn’t look away. And I think I’m better for it. At least I’m shopping in a way that aligns with my dream of what fashion could be.
I am a textile designer so it is a great responsibility when working to know how my designs will end up. I always consider using upcycled or recycled materials, organic cottons. I never use animal-related materials in my designs. These are small steps but if all of us can do a bit I guess it will help our planet.
I wish the big players of the fashion industry would think about what exactly happens to those cheap T-shirt after 2 month...
To dressing more sustainable
10 SIMPLE STEPS PAGE 17
Sustainable wool jacket from the 2020 Men Slow Collection
PAGE 18 10 SIMPLE STEPS
The idea of creating a sustainable or ethical wardrobe right from scratch is, without doubt, a daunting one. Not being able to wear the brands you are used to, limiting your choices in terms of trends? Here, we have rounded up all 10 tips from the experts on how to have a more sustainable wardrobe, without very much effort at all
THE 30 WEARS TEST Livia Firth, the founder of Eco Age (a company which certifies brands for their sustainability) began the #30Wears campaign to encourage us to only buy an item if we really know that we’ll wear it. She told us: “The biggest message is every time you buy something, always think, ‘Will I wear it a minimum of 30 times?’ If the answer is yes, then buy it. But you’d be surprised how many times you say no.” Try to veer away from buying that statement piece you know you are only going to wear for one occasion, and instead invest in something with more longevity that you can wear again and again. Pick more versatile pieces that can be styled in different ways, rather than that one item you know is going to fall out of fashion in no time at all.
BE MORE INFORMED One of the most difficult things about trying to be more sustainable is knowing where to start – and more importantly, where to shop. In this day and age, however, it is much easier than it once was as there are so many brands with a sustainable focus. Tome, Reformation, Aitch Aitch, Amur, Article22, Zady, Kitx,Veja, Bottletop and Lemlem are all recommended and certified by Eco Age (more of their clients this way). Here, we have rounded up a list of eco warrior Emma Watson’s recommended sustainable brands – and don’t forget to keep an eye out for sustainable ranges in some of the high street’s biggest shops, like H&M’s Conscious Collection. Look for slow fashion vintage shops, or search for sustainable brands in your local neighbourhood,
SHOP VINTAGE “Every new item of clothing made has a substantial carbon fovotprint attached to its manufacturing; but the amount of new energy needed to produce vintage clothing is zero,” Emma Watson said on her Press Tour account. “Vintage clothing has a huge role to play in making fashion more sustainable and reducing a global footprint that includes the 132m metric tons of coal used yearly through the production of new fibres, dyeing and bleaching of garments and the 6-9 trillion litres of water used by the industry.” William Vintage,Vestiaire Collective and Edit Second Hand are all great options. More best designer resale sites below.
INVEST IN TRANSSEASONAL CLOTHES Only buy items that you know are going to work for you all-year-round. Don’t shell out on an entire summer wardrobe each year when you live in cold and rainy London – you won’t pass the 30 wears test. Instead, spend the bulk of your money on pieces that will see you through more than one season. Jeans, T-shirts, classic dresses, timeless coats and jackets will make for a much more.
DONATE YOUR UNWANTED CLOTHES Donating your unwanted clothes to a good cause, rather than leaving them hanging in your wardrobe will help others to be more sustainable. who will invest in your old pieces, rather than.
10 SIMPLE STEPS PAGE 19
Zara Sewing Clubs are being opened all around Spain. Learn how to sew and take care of your family’s clothes.
Reusing old swetaers is always a good idea.
10 SIMPLE STEPS PAGE 21
LOOK AFTER YOUR CLOTHES SO THEY LAST LONGER It sounds obvious, but it’s so important. Of course if you are buying better quality clothes, they are likely to last longer (and you’re also more likely to treat them better because they were more expensive) but this goes for everything hanging in your wardrobe. Look after them properly and you will have to replace things less often. From caring for your cashmere to washing your denim inside out, go the extra mile to ensure your clothes stay at their best for longer.
LEARN HOW TO REPAIR CLOTHING YOURSELF When something rips or a heel breaks, you don’t necessarily have to throw it away. Learn how to repair your clothes and accessories – or, even easier, pay a professional to do it. Think twice before before using it as an excuse for something new.
GO FOR QUALITY OVER QUANTITY It’s all about planning. Buying better quality, more sustainable pieces is likely to cost you more money than buying a cheap high-street product that doesn’t tick the right boxes. However, it’s all about changing your mindset.Yes this costs more, but I am only going to buy one. Buying high-quality items a year, rather than 60 cheaper, less eco-friendly pieces will dramatically reduce your carbon footprint. Basically, save up, invest and buy less.
ADJUST HOW YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY Change what you splurge on. Instead of spending your savings on a dress for a wedding or a pair of shoes you will only wear for special occasions, spend your ‘investment’ cash on the things you wear every day. Stop thinking, ‘I would never spend that much on a pair of jeans,’ consider that you are only going to buy one pair of jeans this year, or one item this month – and make it this. After a few seasons, you will have a high-quality, sustainable wardrobe to be proud of.
CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE ”I don’t think that ‘eco’ should be a word that immediately conjures up images of oatmeal-coloured garments or garments that are oversized or lacking in any sort of luxury or beauty or detailing or desirability,” Stella McCartney writes on her website. “I don’t think that things have to look ugly because they’re organic; why can’t they be beautiful as well? You can’t ask a consumer to compromise. I don’t think you can say, ‘Here is this jacket that looks terrible but it’s organic, and here is a really beautiful jacket that’s cheaper but don’t buy it because it’s not organic’.”
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Rather than shopping all the time, invest in versatile clothing like this organic cotton jumpsuit.
That Are Built to Last by Kendra Pierre-Louis
Y
ou may have removed last season’s hot fashion trend from your closet, but the effect of that item still lingers, from the energy used in its production to its continued presence in one of the nation’s landfills. The total environmental impact of our outfit choices are a growing concern because, buoyed by the rise of so-called fast fashion, we’re consuming and discarding more clothes than ever before.
In 2015, the last year for which the Environmental Protection Agency has data, the United States generated 11.9 million tons — or about 75 pounds per person — of textile waste, most of which ended up in landfills. That’s more than a 750 percent increase since 1960. For reference, that’s nearly 10 times more than the increase in the country’s population over the same time period. This growth in clothing waste coincides with the dominance of fast fashion brands such as H&M and Zara, whose business models are based on selling low-priced items at high volumes. Zara, for example, releases 20,000 new designs a year, according to a spokesman, unveiling new lines during micro seasons beyond the traditional winter/fall and summer/spring lines. The strategy is designed to encourage customers to shop regularly for new looks. The company is in
step with broader industry trends, which saw clothing production double between 2000 to 2014, according to a report released by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Over the same period, according to the report, the number of garments the average person purchased each year also increased by 60 percent. A separate study found that fast fashions are constructed so that they typically last no more than 10 wearings. On average, each American produces about 75 pounds of textile waste per year. Even though many retailers say they’re addressing sustainability, “the clothing that they make still doesn’t have any greater longevity,” said Elaine Ritch, a senior lecturer in marketing at Glasgow Caledonian University. Faced with this reality, the concept of “slow fashion” has emerged over the past decade as a kind of counterbalance to fast fashion. The idea: slow down the rapid pace of clothing consumption and instead buy fewer morxe durable items. It’s an idea championed, for example, by the fashion blogger Cat Chiang, Natalie Live of the brand The Tiny Closet, and Emma Kidd, a doctoral researcher in Britain who launched a 10-week “fashion detox.” They are sounding the alarm, in part, because the negative impacts of clothing extend beyond the landfill. The chemicals used in making, dyeing and treating many fabrics
HOW TO BUY CLOTHES? PAGE 25
are so harmful that the E.P.A. regulates many textile factories as hazardous waste generators. And overall, apparel and footwear produce more than 8 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions associated with the harmful effects of human-caused climate change. The news that Forever 21, the brand perhaps most synonymous with fast fashion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, along with the emergence of brands that say they explicitly focus on quality, suggests that shoppers themselves may be weary of the churn. Which raises the question, in a culture accustomed to the ephemeral, how can shoppers select clothes that are built to last? Here’s what to consider.
Will I wear it again? When deciding on a shirt, or a pair of shoes, ask yourself: Do I really like it? Does it fit well? Is it versatile? “I always say if you’re going to buy a pair of boots for the winter, buy winter boots. Don’t go out buying a vv,000 pair of Chanel winter boots that look really cool because that’s not something you want to be wearing in the snow,” said David Mesquita, co-owner of Leather Spa, which repairs shoes and handbags. “It might look like a winter boot, but it’s not.”You’d be better served buying boots that are insulated and waterproof and designed to actually tromp around in the snow.
We can rewear an outfit that our friends saw us in on Instagram. “People feel that if they have their photograph taken wearing a dress on social media then they can never wear that dress again,” said Dr. Ritch. According to a survey commissioned by the credit card company Barclay, 9 percent of shoppers in Britain admitted to buying clothes online for Instagram. After posting pictures of themselves wearing the item online, they return it. Given that even British royalty rewear clothing, and the actress Tiffany Haddish wore a $4,000 Alexander McQueen dress so many times to public events that it became a pop culture reference, we can rewear an outfit that our friends saw us in on social media. Does it feel good to the touch? “If something feels rough to the touch it’s not going to feel comfortable on your body,” said Cora Harrington, the author of the book “In Intimate Detail” and the founder and editor-in chief of The Lingerie Addict website. This is especially true for undergarments, like bras, but it extends to all garments. “If it doesn’t feel comfortable, you’re going to dispose of it more quickly.”
If wool sweaters make you itch, for example, don’t buy them. Of course as with much of navigating the current fashion landscape, this means factoring in trade-offs. Growing cotton, a comfortable fabric mainstay, is one of the largest uses of agricultural pesticides. And while organic cotton uses fewer pesticides, it uses more water. And while cotton can be recycled, it tends to lower the quality of the resulting fabric.
Can I see my hand through it? As a rule of thumb, thicker fabrics last longer than thinner ones. For T-shirts, you should look for a fabric weight of around six ounces per square yard. “Imagine a 36 by 36-inch piece, and when you put it on a scale it will weigh six ounces,” said Sean Cormier, a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Since most of us don’t go shopping with a scale, it’s easier to simply put a hand between the top and bottom layer of the T-shirt. If you can see through it, it’s too thin.
If you can see your hand through it, it’s too thin. And while jeans tend to come in heavier fabric weights (typically 10 ounces per square yard for women’s jeans and either 12 or 14 ounces per square yard for men), the general idea still applies. “If you were to buy jeans and they were heavier, they would definitely be more durable,” he said. Shoes also get a durability boost when constructed by thicker materials, which is partially responsible for men’s shoes outlasting women’s. “The men’s shoes are just made with different materials and they also have thicker soles,” Mr. Mesquita said.
Does it pass the tug test? It’s important to make sure your clothes are stitched together well. For bras, Ms. Harrington recommends, “making sure your stitches are even, that you don’t have skipped stitches or loose stitches or places where you already see the stitching coming apart.” For other items, like shirts, the norm is about eight stitches per inch according to Mr. Cormier. Since that would be hard to measure while shopping, he suggests tugging on stitches and buttons. “Not too hard, you know, but just to pull on it and make sure that it’s not going to fall apart,” he said.
Do the pockets square? When buying a patterned shirt, a good tip is to check whether the pattern on the pocket lines up to that on the body.
PAGE 26 HOW TO BUY CLOTHES?
Also check to see if there are a few centimeters of additional fabric outside of the stitching. These details may seem small, but mismatched pockets suggest that the manufacturer prioritizes volume, not quality. And a little bit of excess fabric in a hem or seam gives a tailor space to take a garment out if you gain a few pounds, or to fix a tear, allowing you to repair a piece or extend its life, instead of discarding it right away. “If it was a cheaper fabric then they would just flick it to one side and put the overlocker through it, whereas if it’s more expensive than they would be to either side of the seam,” said Dr. Ritch. “When you buy kind of cheap fashion from H&M the seams never lie right, and they just don’t seem to fit you as well.”
Is it a good blend? When it’s appropriate, a lining can go a long way toward helping a garment last. For dress slacks, Mr. Cormier recommends a lined wool pair. For everyday work pants, he recommends a pair made of tencel fabric, citing its strength, durability and comfort. (It’s made from dissolving wood pulp.) When choosing a sweater, pilling is often a major concern — no one wants to be covered in those small balls of unsightly fluff. Synthetic fibers and blends tend to pill more than natural fibers like cotton or wool, while loose knits pill more than tighter ones. But when it comes to things like T-shirts and dress shirts, a tension emerges. That’s because many cotton items are made from shorter-strand cotton, which is more likely to pill. Clothes made from a long fiber cotton, like Pima cotton, tend to be more durable but more expensive. A third option is to buy shirts that mix those short blend fibers with polyester to make them stronger.
Look for high-quality cotton. Mr. Cormier’s recommendation for a dress shirt is to keep the polyester content between 20 and 40 percent so the shirt is absorbent and soft but reasonably durable. He added that jeans can contain some polyester for added strength while still maintaining the look and feel of denim or jeans. But the use of polyester can be a problem, said Céline Semaan, founder of The Slow Factory, a sustainability agency and lab, because “polyester is made out of oil. It’s only plastic essentially.” And that plastic ends up in
our waterways when we wash our clothes. Microfiber filters for washing machines (or so-called guppy bags for those of us who use laundromats) can help reduce the amount of microplastics released when we wash clothes daily.
Can I maintain it? Buying quality clothes is the first step in ensuring that your outfits last. Once they make it into your closet, you also have to maintain them properly. Fine fabrics like silk, for example, “require a lot more attention and a lot more care,” said Ms. Harrington. As an example, bras last longer when hand washed — or at least placed in a lingerie bag and washed on the gentle cycle. They should also be hung to dry, because “the worst thing for your underwear is putting it in the dryer,” said Ms. Harrington. “And that’s because heat destroys elastic materials.” That is a rule of thumb that extends to other elastic items, like workout gear, and even T-shirts and jeans. Wash in cold water and hang to dry, or at least tumble dry at low temperatures or higher. Beyond keeping your clothes clean, Ms. Semaan said, “you need to learn how to care for your item if you care about sustainability because if a seam falls out, or a button falls out, you have to learn how to care for your items.” And it’s not just clothes that that can benefit from a little extra care.You can extend the life of a pair of shoes by spraying them with a water and stain-repellent spray. “It’s just an added layer of protection on the skin or the suede and what it basically is going to do is create a little shield,” said Mr. Mesquita.
We have launched a Zara Slow Kids Fashion School where children learn how to take care of their clothing and dress sustainably.
Zara Men’s Shoes Collection for 2020 Summer is entirely made of recycled plastic bottles.
the next time you buy shoes.
PAGE 30 FOUR QUESTIONS TO ASK
But the search for “good” shoes is easier said than done. In the process I stumbled upon dark reports on the shoe industry’s supply chain issues.Then I was dazzled by the bright images and eco jargon of “good” footwear brands. Organic, vegan, recycled, high-tech, fairtrade or “one for one” – how to make sense of it all? article by Louisa Hawkes
T
his guide is in two parts. Next week I will list some shoe brands pushing towards good and worth looking into. But today I address the elephant in the room: what is a sustainable and ethical shoe, really? I will break it down with four questions to ask yourself the next time you buy shoes. Consider yourself warned: there is no black and white answer. What makes a shoe ethical? While we are well accustomed to the terms ‘sustainable’, ‘green’ and ‘ethical’, it is not easy to translate these big words into concrete action. For there are the environmental, social and economic impacts to consider, and not only through production but also through consumption, use and waste. There are limits on available information, but also limits to the amount of information we can absorb as individual consumers.
them to have complete overview, not mentioning control, over their entire supply chain. Made in Europe is no guarantee of good The garment and shoe sectors in Eastern European countries are notorious for bad working conditions and poverty wages, according to the report “Labour on a shoe string” by the European collaborative initiative Change Your Shoes. In fact, the report states that there are European countries where workers in the shoe industry have about the same purchasing power as equivalent workers in Indonesia and China. Noticing a problem is the first step towards solving it. Yet transparency is not a solution in itself. In all practicality, it is impossible to trace where a pair of shoes were made on the basis of a brand’s list of hundreds or thousands of supplier factories. Smaller brands dealing with fewer suppliers are easier to hold accountable.
1. Who made them? Demanding respect of
2. How long will they last? Seeing that the
human rights and a living wage for the workers who made your shoes is a perfectly fair request to set any shoe producer in Europe. Unfortunately, this demand is difficult to bring about in practice. Subcontracting production to suppliers abroad is just business as usual in the shoe and garment industry. This leads to fierce competition that pushes prices down. There are also many women who take part in the invisible workforce of home workers who earn poverty wages and retain no job security.
big brands are the ones making the most money as things are, one could argue they are also the least likely to change the system and disrupt status quo.
As the average brand is the end station of complex and far-spread supply chains, it is challenging for
They have made successful business on their “one for one” model, donating a pair of shoes to someone in need for every pair sold. Ten years in and they have given away 60 million pairs of shoes, but they have received some criticism concerning the effect of their donations in reality. This paper published in the World Bank Economic Review found no significant negative effectnated shoes make a big impact on the live who received them.
Zara 2020 Summer Beachware is entirely made of recycled plastic bottles collected on the shores of Goa, India.
Zara Sandals are hand made and produced of used shopping bags.
FOUR QUESTIONS TO ASK PAGE 33
3.What are the they made of? Choosing recycled materials seems a good option when looking for sustainable shoes. The Adidas Recycled Ocean Waste shoes, for instance, are made partly from drifting fish nets. The production of these shoes involve both reusing a waste material and clearing the ocean of nets that cause problems for dolphins, sharks and other sea animals around the world. While shoes made of recycled plastic bottles and fish nets divert waste materials from landfills and oceans, they may contribute to another problem: micro synthetics seeping into our drinking water and food. Almost all materials pose some environmental challenges, but you can look for certifications like the fairtrade label, GOTS cotton and other multi-stakeholder initiatives worldwide. Quality leather shoes, for instance, can last for years if well cared for. But then again, the leather industry is not the cleanest. Apart from the fact that animals were killed in the process, the leather industry generates a large amounts of chemical waste, including chromium and sulphide.
4. What can you do? One thing is clear: there is no easy answer. The number one thing you can do is to choose a pair of shoes that fit you well, both on your feet and with your lifestyle. Shoes you will want to use until they are worn out. We all have some limits in terms of money to spend, time to research or access to better brands. Not everyone can afford shoes handmade in Western Europe or the US. Not everyone has the time or patience to read lengthy sustainability reports. And no one can change the whole system on their own. Aim for the 80% rule. It is hard to get it all right, both as consumers and producers. Even the best brands will falter and stumble upon their way. So will you and I. Do what you can when you can and whereevefr you can, and I am cheering for you!
PAGE 34 MASTHEAD
Editor-in-chief Pablo Isla Creative Director Agnes Keltai Deputy Editor Lili Marton Managing Editor Zoe Jones Features Director Andras Gonci Executive Assistant Donna Wase Editorial Co-ordinator Soey Kim Administrative Assistant Eszter Marton Contributing Fashion Directors Venetia Scott, Kate Phelan Fashion Market & Accessories Director Dena Giannini Fashion & Accessories Editor Edward Golyo Fashion Manager Daniel Gonci Senior Contributing Fashion Editor Poppy Kain Fashion Assistants Carolina Augustin, Eniola Dare Junior Fashion Assistants Anointed Charis, Thalia Metallinou Jewellery & Watch Director Rachel Garrahan Merchandise Editor Helen Hibbird Contributing Fashion Editors Benjamin Bruno Contributing Jewellery Director Carol Woolton Fashion Bookings Director Rosie Vogel-Eades Fashion Bookings Assistant Janay Bailey Contributing Casting Director Ashley Brokaw
Agnes Keltai, Lili Marton, Venetia Scott, Kate Phelan and Carol Woolton