Ones to Watch in Sustainable Fashion | Weekly Report by Luxe.CO

In this the 38th week of 2020, Luxe.CO's Sustainable Fashion Power List contains a total of 11 luxury, fashion and lifestyle brands and the latest developments from corporate groups. American luxury brand Tom Ford, American personal care giant Johnson & Johnson, and Chinese womenswear group Yaying were selected as the top ones to watch.

Top Ones to Watch in Sustainable Fashion

1. American designer brand Tom Ford has launched the BANNISTER series of environmentally friendly shoes. The upper is made of tanned vegan leather and does not contain harmful chemicals. The belt element on the shoes is also made of leather without any chemical oil treatment. The sole is made of 35% natural degradable materials. In addition, the brand is also cooperating with an Italian juice company to recycle apple peels for sneaker production.

Tom Ford has also announced the launch of a 100% marine plastic watch. The plastic is collected from coastlines and garbage dumps, and the packaging is made of recyclable materials. It is reported that every 1,000 marine plastic watches produced and sold by Tom Ford will permanently remove and prevent 490 pounds of plastic waste from entering the ocean. This series of watches is priced at US$995 and will be available from Tom Ford’s global boutiques and official website from November.

2. American personal care products giant Johnson & Johnson has announced the "Healthy Lives Mission", and promised to invest US$800 million by 2030 in a series of initiatives to improve the health of humans and the planet. Their plan includes improving product ingredient transparency, reducing its reliance on plastic packaging, and improving people's awareness of sun safety .

Johnson & Johnson’s long-term goal is for its brands to use 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable plastic packaging, 100% renewable energy to provide power, and 100% sustainable palm oil certified by RSPO (the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil). In the short term, the focus will be achieving transparency of sourcing for its ingredients.

3. Chinese womenswear group Yaying has launched the 2020 autumn and winter yak cashmere series, utilizing the "Jiaxing, Zhejiang - Aba, Sichuan" cooperation mode to source raw materials from the grasslands of western Sichuan. This series of products has not undergone any chemical treatment, which greatly reduces pollution. Notably, the warmth of yak wool is 30% higher than that of sheep wool, and yak stockings have a less negative impact on the environment than their sheep-derived equivalents.

The Yaying Group has been exploring sustainable development with China’s natural prime animal fiber - yak wool - and is combining this with a stimulation of the local economy. This not only benefits the grassland ecology, but also enables Tibetan herdsmen to increase their incomes and preserve their yak culture.

Other sustainable fashion trends

4. French footwear brand M. Moustache has launched the (Re)colte series, which are made with recycled shoes. M. Moustache first separates wearable from non-wearable  recovered second-hand shoes: the wearable ones will be shipped to local charities, and among the remaining shoes, those manufactured in Europe will be used as the raw materials for (Re)colte; the rest will be shipped to different processing plants for the production of insulation materials and stadium track.

5.  Italian luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo has announced its greenhouse gas emission goal, promising to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2029 (compared to 2019). This target aligns with scientific research and can help prevent global warming. This initiative has received support from the Carbon Disclosure Project.

6. American apparel group Gap Inc. has teamed up with the global non-profit Textile Exchange to create the Preferred Fiber Toolkit, which aims to assist procurement and design teams to show companies how to achieve sustainable development goals. The Toolkit also seeks to show businesses how to develop a holistic approach to sourcing based on the Higg Index - a self-evaluation standard for the apparel and footwear industry launched by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

7. British luxury group Burberry has announced plans to issue medium-term, benchmark-scale, pound-denominated "sustainable" bonds. The funds raised will be used for current and future sustainable development projects. These are the first "sustainable bonds" issued by the company, and will enrich Burberry's funding sources and introduce long-term debt financing to the company's capital structure.

8. British outdoor apparel brand Vollebak recently launched an environmentally friendly hoodie, which can be composted and degraded within eight weeks. The eco-friendly hoodie is made of eucalyptus and beech wood and comes from sustainably managed forests. In addition, the hoodie also uses plant dyes made of natural pomegranate peel, which is biodegradable after use.

9. British fast fashion retail giant Primark has launched an event called "Time For Change: A Better Future" with the purpose of making sustainable fashion more affordable. Primark has significantly increased the number of products it makes from recycled materials such as sustainable cotton, plastic bottles, and nylon. It has also launched an eco-friendly everyday wear series for men, women and children this month.

10. American fashion group PVH has responded to an appeal by PETA and announced that it has agreed to stop using rare animal fur as part of its long-term strategy. Tommy Hilfiger, a subsidiary of the group, said that the brand is committed to creating fashion that does not waste anything and welcomes everyone. The brand claims to be highly aware of environmental, human rights and community-related issues, and that it will not use rare animal leather in any series.

11. Local Chinese designer brand Untitlab has launched its 2021 spring and summer shoe collection. In this series, Untitlab has used persimmon dyed hand-twisted yarn, hand-woven fabric, raffia, eco-friendly microfiber suede, and other eco-friendly materials for the first time, combining these with recycled TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) soles and plant-based insole technology.

About Ones to Watch in Sustainable Fashion

More and more customers are beginning to express their environmental awareness through daily fashion consumption choices. This trend is enlarging the market space for sustainable fashion, but is also challenging the whole fashion supply chain. For the fashion industry, practicing sustainability is not only a noble act to protect the environment and reduce waste, but also an important business strategy to foster innovation in the industry, create value and impress a new generation of consumers.

In August 2020, Luxe.CO started to publish Ones to Watch in Sustainable Fashion on a weekly basis. The list selects initiatives in sustainability from fashion and lifestyle brands, companies and corporate groups. Our committee will select the best initiatives based on the criteria of “power to innovate” and “power to implement strategy”. It is our hope that this list will inspire every brand, retailer, and manufacturer that focuses on sustainable fashion.

| By Lingli Shu & Mireya

| Photo Credit: Brand Website