Two of Dublin’s biggest retailers, Brown Thomas and Arnotts, have signed the G7 Fashion Pact to improve sustainability standards in retail.
Pledging to improve sustainability standards across their retail sector, Brown Thomas and Arnotts have joined with 32 other industry leading players to launch an unprecedented movement. The Fashion Pact focuses on action in three essential areas for safeguarding the planet: stopping global warming, restoring biodiversity, and protecting the oceans. They have done so alongside their sister companies, Selfridges & Co, De Bijenkorf and Holt Renfrew.
Brown Thomas and Arnotts are already striving to minimise their own environmental impacts against ambitious targets, whilst exploring opportunities to enable customers, suppliers, and employees to reduce their impacts. Their ‘Positive Change’ sustainability approach is at the heart of their business strategy, and is across three pillars of action: Buy & Sell Responsibly, Work Responsibly, and Support our People and Communities.
Donald McDonald, Managing Director of Brown Thomas Arnotts, said “This is an important milestone for the retail industry. We realise that the scale of change required cannot be achieved alone. With just 10 years left to build a sustainable future, we see working with our partners, collaborators, customers and teams as a key part of delivering real results.
“Our Positive Change sustainability approach is at the heart of our business strategy and sustainability runs through everything we do as a business. We are already working towards robust targets across all of the key areas that the Fashion Pact addresses.”
Key highlights from the Brown Thomas and Arnotts ‘Positive Change’ approach include:
- Eliminating all avoidable single use plastic packaging and shifting to low impact alternatives by 2020
- By end 2019, plastic homeware carrier bags will be replaced by reusable carrier bags made from low impact material. By the end 2019, eliminate single use plastics such as plastic q-tips and non-biodegradable wipes from their beauty halls. By the end 2021,eliminate polystyrene in transit packaging
- The business recently launched its online Sustainable Edit and e-zine. The Edit is a curated growing collection of beauty, fashion, living, food, and Irish products that have third party certified sustainability credentials
- Responsibly sourcing products and packaging across its supply chain
- Growing its ranges of responsible beauty, fashion, food, accessories and homewares to support its customers live more sustainable lifestyles;
- All year round, the business nurtures and promotes new and established Irish design talent, for example, the Brown Thomas CREATE design initiative
- Customers can donate clothes or items to raise charity funds for our corporate charity partner SVP by returning their unwanted clothes or items via the online delivery box. Team members also can donate in each of our stores
- Through charity fundraising and volunteering, Brown Thomas and Arnotts support a variety of charity partners relevant to their brands and team members interests through its ‘Helping Hands’ charity partners
