Published
Oct 30, 2019
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Zalando adds thousands more products to sustainability offer

Published
Oct 30, 2019

E-tail giant Zalando is aiming to boost its sustainability credentials and said it now has over 20,000 articles in its eco offer, a 65% rise in the course of just five months. It has also added seven new sustainability attributes to its Fashion Store “with an increased focus on recycled materials and leather processing.”


Zalando



Any moves the company makes in this area can potentially have a big impact as it has 28 million customers in 17 markets and more than 2,000 brand partners.

Despite it having introduced a sustainability flag in 2016 to highlight products with an eco benefit, the e-tailer said its customers have been calling “for more sustainable choices in fashion” and this has led it to increase the number of products that meet its requirements and to introduce the new labels for eco products.

This is a trend being seen more widely with upscale UK department store Selfridges, for instance, only recently widening its own labelling categories for eco and ethical products.

The new labels allow Zalando to flag up more environmentally-friendly materials and processes, and third-party standards such as the Responsible Down Standard, the Responsible Wool Standard and the Leather Working Group, So, as an example, it can now direct shoppers to leather shoes made with fewer resource-intensive processing techniques for the first time.

To discover the sustainability assortment, customers can browse through the catalogue, use the sustainability filter or search for such products in the search bar. The filtering uses those “trusted third-party certifications”, but with not all brands being certified to third-party standards “due to reasons such as cost, time and complexity in their supply chains,” the company said it wants to encourage the adoption of more sustainable practices across the industry, which is why it also offers a range of general attributes.

The so-called Zalando labels highlight products using more environmentally-friendly materials or processes that use less water, energy or chemicals. For example, its Eco Material label highlights products made of at least 50% more sustainable materials like Tencel, lyocell, and hemp.

As well as being good for the environment, the move makes strong commercial sense with Zalando saying that sustainability-related search terms have increased by 66% over the last year. And “two in three consumers think brands that make a public promise to be sustainable are more trustworthy.”

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