Environmental nonprofit Canopy has added eight global fashion brands to its stable of partners working toward eliminating the use of ancient and endangered forests in their paper packaging and manmade cellulosic fiber-based (MMCF) textiles.
The organization announced that Victoria’s Secret & Co., Swedish brand Marc O’Polo, United Kingdom-based Akyn and Mint Velvet, Australian brand Spell, Shanghai-based OutnAbout and Icicle, along with California label DÔEN, have all joined its Pack4Good and CanopyStyle initiatives. Next Gen materials companies Red Leaf, Zylotex and Chempolis also joined Canopy’s partner network.
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CanopyStyle works to protect ancient and endangered forests by working with fashion brands, retailers, designers and their MMCF suppliers to advance forest conservation and ensure sustainable harvesting. Pack4Good has a similar forest-protecting mission, supporting its partners as they switch from traditional paper packaging to more sustainable next gen alternatives. Nearly 500 companies representing more than $403 billion in annual revenue have signed onto Pack4Good, while nearly 600 fashion industry stakeholders representing more than $2 trillion in yearly revenue have committed to CanopyStyle.
“These brands from the U.S., U.K., Germany, China, and Australia reflect the growing global momentum to make circularity and forest protection a core part of business in the fashion and lifestyle sectors,” said Nicole Rycroft, founder and executive director of Canopy. “Implementing their commitments will help keep the world’s forests standing, accelerate the scaling of next gen solutions, and demonstrate that style and sustainability go hand in hand.”
Due to the global demand for paper packaging such as delivery and gift boxes, as well as production of MMCF textiles such as viscose, Canopy estimates that more than 3.1 billion trees are cut down each year, many of which come from ancient and endangered forests. This deforestation and the biodiversity loss it creates has become a major contributor to climate change, according to Canopy.
“By working to eliminate ancient and endangered forests from our packaging and textile supply chains and accelerating the shift to next gen fibers, we can help safeguard climate-critical forests while building a more resilient, responsible future for fashion,” said Susanne Schwenger, CPO, Marc O’Polo. “We are proud to collaborate with Canopy to drive meaningful change for people, animals and the planet.”
The addition of next gen material companies to Canopy’s initiatives will give its fashion brand partners more built-in resources to replace less sustainable materials in its fabrics and packaging.
“We believe the future of textiles must be rooted in regeneration, not extraction,” said Leila Lawson, founder and CTO, Zylotex. “Partnering with Canopy through the CanopyStyle initiative reflects our commitment to replacing unsustainable fibers with Canadian-grown, circular solutions that protect forests, climate, and communities. Together, we are proving that innovation and responsibility can weave a stronger, more resilient global textile supply chain.”
Efforts such as these seem to be paying off, according to Canopy’s most recent Hot Button Report, which organizes and assesses producers based on their risk of sourcing fibers from ancient and endangered forests. The report, which was released in October, found that nearly 70 percent of producers assessed earned Green, Partial Dark Green or Dark Green status, reflecting a significant effort toward improving forest sourcing practices—a major jump from the report’s inception 10 years ago.
“Supply chain transformation is not only possible—it’s happening,” Rycroft said.
