Mango, Boohoo, H&M Moves: While H&M Group recently joined Fashion for Good’s Sorting for Circularity initiative tackling waste, Mango, Boohoo and other fast-fashion players are marching into new recycled territory.
On the cusp of launching a 50-piece cruelty-free beauty line called “Boohoo Beauty” this month, Boohoo recently worked on a 34-piece capsule collection (made with recycled cotton and polyester) as well as an education hub.
“The 34-piece recycled wardrobe essentials capsule is just one small part of the boohoo sustainability strategy/commitment,” Rosie Howells, head of sustainability at Boohoo, told WWD. “Over the last 18 months the business has strengthened its corporate governance, substantially increased our responsible sourcing, ethical compliance, and sustainability teams, mapped our global supply chain, adapted our processes and invested [resources] and funds to support garment workers. We’ve set ourselves bold targets to switch our materials to more sustainably sourced alternatives, some of which are featured in this collection.”
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Asked what progress Boohoo has seen since Leicester supply chain overhaul, Howells described efforts like publishing both UK and international supplier lists, auditing services and compliance with human rights groups and specialists.
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“In terms of the UK we are committed to supporting British manufacturing. The Boohoo group are one of the only retailers working collaboratively with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. We have also worked with human rights specialists, Slave Free Alliance to develop training and a new whistleblowing program,” Howells said. “The Boohoo Group have opened a new factory in Leicester called Thurmaston Lane which is a center of excellence with dedicated training facilities that we will make available to our suppliers. Our subject matter experts will also run training classes on a variety of subjects from HR to H&S for factory owners. We are rolling out Modern-Day Slavery and Ethical Compliance training across our entire business.”
In another push, Mango announced bolder progress on its percentage of recycled polyester as of Tuesday.
The company forecasts that by 2025, 100 percent of the polyester it uses across its assortment will be recycled, and all cellulosic fibers will be of “controlled and traceable origin” as it looks to ensure all of its garments align with its sustainable sourcing strategy called “Committed.” Eighty percent of its garments today are considered to be Committed.
Committed garments are those which contain “at least 30 percent of more sustainable fibers (such as organic cotton, recycled cotton, Better Cotton Initiative cotton, recycled polyester, recycled wool or Tencel, among others) and/or have been manufactured using more sustainable production processes,” while abiding by social audits, per the company.
In 2021, Mango reported 91 percent of its garments employed “sustainable cotton,” 59 percent cellulose fibers of “controlled origin,” while 54 percent of polyester was of recycled origins, a target achieved four years ahead of time, per the release.
“Aware of the environmental impact of our product, and in line with our goals and international commitments, we work garment-by-garment, promoting the use of fibers with a lower environmental impact in our collection. Bringing forward the sustainable fiber targets allows us to move toward a more sustainable fashion future”, Toni Ruiz, Mango’s chief executive officer, said on the announcement.
Mango, along with Zalando, Ba&sh, Ardene and Nicholas Kirkwood are among 40 brands, producers and innovation firms that recently joined Canopy’s Pack4Good initiative (a strategy for more sustainable paper sourcing).
