What is sustainable fashion?
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE FASHION AND WHY YOU SHOULD CARE?
Clothing plays a significant role in our daily lives. Beyond covering our bodies, apparel, footwear, and accessories help us express our personality, ideas, mood… But are we aware of how each item affects the environment?
We may not be able to control every action of fashion companies. Still, we certainly CAN educate ourselves and raise awareness on who makes our clothes, what materials are used, and how the manufacturing process impacts people, animals, and the planet.
Therefore, the only way to create a positive impact is by aiming for sustainability in fashion.
CAN FASHION BE SUSTAINABLE?
However, the pattern that the fashion industry follows is at odds with this concept of sustainability. Some clothing companies exhaust limited natural resources or create synthetic alternatives that are extremely polluting to make and wash. Then, human rights and animal welfare are scorned during the manufacturing process. Finally, garments are sold at little prices to be quickly consumed and thrown away in a linear lifecycle. This unhealthy pattern disrupts our planet’s ecosystem and results in massive waste.
In fact, according to UNEP and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the fashion industry is responsible for a shocking 10% of annual global carbon emissions. Given the urgency of the climate crisis we’re currently facing, it is vital to rethink the way we make and consume apparel, footwear, and accessories.
As strong supporters of change, we believe in the power of people and that it is possible to make the clothing industry harmless for our home planet.
Sustainable fashion, or circular fashion, are terms used to describe clothes, shoes, and accessories made in a way that is mindful of water consumption and contamination, energy emissions, chemical usage, and waste creation.
Besides its environmental impact, the clothing industry must be aware of its social impact as well, from sourcing raw materials to selling the final products. Thus, ethical fashion is a term used to describe a clothing industry that offers staffers fair working conditions while protecting animal welfare. Sustainability and ethic are like two sides of the same coin.
HOW TO SWITCH TO SUSTAINABLE FASHION?
REDUCING OUR IMPACT
We’re reducing our impact by reducing carbon emissions, improving waste management, and sourcing responsibly.
TRANSPARENCY
We create transparency through our impact report, detailed product information, and the Sustainability Hub.
EDUCATION
We educate through product tagging, product impact, and teaching how to recycle.
FACILITATION
We improve our facilitation through green shipping and pick-up options and our recycling programs.
6 ACTIONS THAT FOOT LOCKER IS TAKING TO HAVE A SUSTAINABLE IMPACT
1. SOURCING RESPONSIBLY
We are evaluating multiple initiatives to use less impactful materials. Cotton, for instance, is essential to our apparel production. Therefore, we try to prioritize more sustainable cotton, such as organic, recycled, and from the Better Cotton Initiative.
Our branded partners are also increasing their offer on footwear and apparel with sustainability-related attributes, including recycled content (like rubber, polyester, and ocean plastics), organic and sustainably-sourced cotton and yarns, and products certified through sustainable supply chains (like the Better Cotton Initiative).
As a matter of fact, we are currently working with a zipper supplier, a Bluesign-certified
2. CHEMICALS MANAGEMENT
As part of our efforts to minimize our environmental impacts, we are actively evaluating best practices to reduce energy, water, and chemical usage, while reducing costs. For example, we started using digital printing technologies for dyeing and screen printing.
3. SMART LOGISTICS
You may have heard about Greenhouse gasses (GHG) before. Basically, GHG are a specific group of gasses that trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere and therefore contribute to global warming. Foot Locker’s global supply chain team is actively working on making our transportation processes more efficient while trying to reduce our GHG emissions.
· We prioritize cleaner modes of transportation (like ocean ships using liquified natural gas).
· We encourage fuel-saving strategies and technologies (like our trucks frequently run overnight to reduce idling time and pollution).
· We use modeling software to improve the efficiency of our store delivery network.
The more our processes are improved, the more time and resources are saved.
4. SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT
Our Global Procurement Policy summarizes our practices for balancing the long-term social, economic, and environmental viability of the products and services we procure.
· We are actively considering the lifecycle environmental impact of consumer bags and hangers.
· We are evaluating alternative materials (like reusable plastics, biodegradable plastics, recycled content plastics, and natural sources, such as bamboo, avocado, corn starch for bags, and recycled ocean plastic for hangers).
This upgraded structure will allow us to rapidly fulfill your orders, restock stores more often, and make your overall shopping experience more sustainable.
5. ENCOURAGING REUSE AND WASTE REDUCTION
We proactively manage the waste generated by our business operations and are working to divert less waste to landfills across our global business footprint. Thus, we track and manage the collection of metal fixtures across our stores. Our distribution centers also seek
opportunities to increase the onsite reuse of corrugated boxes. And what cannot be reused is recycled. Learn more about how to recycle your pre-loved sneakers here.
6. THE POWER OF GREEN
Of our 677 stores in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, 91% are powered by green energy. This means that the energy used is created using wind, sun, biogas, or geothermal sources. We continuously upgrade our heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to minimize the GHG released by our stores, offices, and factories. A total of 526 tons of HVAC have already been converted. That’s enough to build 3,5 Statues of Liberty!
