SUSTAINABILITY
GAME CHANGER
FROUKE BRUINSMA
Frouke Bruinsma speaks on G-Star’s corporate responsibility and embracing a sustainable future.
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By Brenna Dixon
iving in the world of fast fashion, we have unfortunately become accustomed to rapidly purchasing and discarding clothing at low costs. Due to a large change in our buying behaviours, the average consumer buys “60% more clothing than 20 years ago” (George Kell, Forbes, “Can fashion be sustainable,” 2018). As a consequence, our world has undoubtedly witnessed a rise in waste due to the industry being directly responsible for “up to 10% of global CO2 emissions, 20% of the world’s industrial wastewater, 24% of insecticides, and 11% of pesticides use” (George Kell, Forbes, “Can fashion be sustainable,” 2018). With growing concerns around climate change, executives have been transforming their business models to improve their supply chains and minimize undesirable environmental effects, while consumers are rounding a phase of heightened awareness in regards to their purchasing habits and the environmental repercussions. One globally renowned brand leading by example is denim mogul, G-Star. Infamous for their cutting-edge approach, G-Star is helping bring fashion into the age of sustainability.
Raw for the Ocean
In order to address environmental issues in relation to the fashion industry, sustainability has become a number one priority for CEOs across the world. Brands today are continuously working to improve all stages of the product lifecycle, from design and manufacturing to transparency and efficient water usage. Denim brand G-Star is notorious for their avant-garde approach to going green and launching world class initiatives such as ‘Raw for the Ocean’ in collaboration with musical artist Pharrell Williams, which is focused on denim spun from recycled ocean plastic. Sustainability has always been of importance to the company, and “in 2006, we realized that sustainability needed to be integrated into the heart of our business in a formal way; that’s when we officially started our Corporate Responsibility department,” states Frouke Bruinsma, the Director of Corporate Responsibility for G-Star. After her career as legal counsel, Bruinsma went on to establish this Corporate Responsibility department reporting directly to the G-STAR RAW SPRING 2019
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