Retail Sector
Sustainable Apparel
Sustainable Apparel, Footwear + Textiles through Strategy, Transparency & Integration
Sustainability in the Apparel Industry
Far-reaching change in the apparel industry is being driven externally from the media, NGOs and consumers and internally through commercial performance and risk profiling. To thrive in the industry requires innovation, careful market consideration and the integration of a solid, sustainable apparel business model to match future ambitions.
Our team are trusted advisors to some of the most well-known clothing companies – including 4 of the top 10 most valuable apparel brands in the world. Expertise, experience and passion along the whole value chain allows us to put our clients on a strategic pathway to sustainability and success.
Our Framework for Sustainable Apparel
Apparel Sustainability Consulting
Building productive, long-lasting relationships with clients is at the heart of the Anthesis approach. With extensive experience in the sector, we support several apparel clients and are proud members of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC). Anthesis has a strong track record in realistic, easy-to-use solutions that help companies reduce carbon & energy use. Our experts are members of the SBT Apparel & Footwear Expert Advisory Group.
We have proven experience in delivering sustainabile solutions for fashion and apparel clients in a range of areas, including:
- Carbon & energy
- Sustainable chemistry
- Data analytics & visualization
- Reporting & communications
- Strategy development & goal-setting
- Resources, waste & circular economy
- Supply chains & risk
- Policies, standards & certification
The HIGG Brand & Retail Module (BRM)
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition, representing more than one-third of the global apparel and footwear industries, was formed by sustainability leaders and leading organizations to address current social and environmental challenges. Recognizing that improved supply chain practices are both a business imperative and an opportunity, the Coalition seeks to lead a shared vision of industry supply chain sustainability through the creation and use of the Higg Index.
Tackling the Growing Apparel Waste Problem
Honor Cowen, Anthesis Retail Sector Lead for North America was featured in the CNBC’s special, “what Retailers like Amazon do with Unsold Inventory.” The growing quantity of unsold and returned inventory funneled directly into waste streams puts massive pressure on our already ineffective waste infrastructure. Returns in the U.S. alone create more than 5 billion pounds of waste and 15 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.
The immense waste problem creates an opportunity for retail companies to step up and create strategies around waste reduction, garment circularity, and sustainable sourcing and supply chains. Honor cited Apple and H&M as examples of retailers taking steps to minimize their environmental impact with take back systems, energy and carbon management, and by making their supply chains more sustainable.
Tools to Support the Apparel Sector
We build custom tools and leverage leading technology solutions to support our apparel, fashion, textiles and footwear clients. While we are software agnostic, we are experts in deploying, using and training clients on the following software tools:
Footprinter – Footprinter supports clients in a number of ways; from sustainable product design assessments to operational level footprints. Our clients using the software include Reckitt Benckiser, Target and Pepsico.
Clean CO2 – Clean CO2 is a carbon management tool that allows companies to offset and reduce their carbon footprint. It accompanies users throughout the process of neutralising their company’s activities and greenhouse gas emissions, helping them to achieve carbon neutrality by investing in projects to reduce emissions, such as energy efficiency, renewable energies and carbon sinks.
ACDC – Anthesis Compliance Data Collection is a free spreadsheet-based tool designed to alleviate the common barriers to efficient data exchange and promote reuse of declarations across the supply chain.
Supply Shift – This is a leading software tool for collecting data from supply chains, helping drive action on sustainability and ESG performance specifically.
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Our Latest Thinking
Other Contributions, Mentions and Publications
Apparel Sustainability Services
Energy and Carbon Management– we have a strong track record in solutions that help companies cut costs across stores, manufacturing facilities, warehouses and logistics through energy efficiency programs.
Chemicals and Material Substitution– we help organizations develop and implement leading chemical management programs, hotspot substances of concern and develop substitution strategies. We have also been trained by ZDHC to implement their processes in textile factories and mills.
Waste and Resource Sustainability– we have world-leading expertise in waste and resources, particularly around the risk and opportunity in plastic use, including microplastics and microfibres.
Strategy Development– with a wealth of experience in developing strategy and targets for apparel businesses; we’ll support you to identify and prioritize the environmental and social challenges specific to you and your value chain.
Human Rights and Ethical Trade – We help organisations develop comprehensive Human Rights and Ethical Trade programmes, supporting with design, benchmarking, impact assessments, capacity building and training, research and more.
Modern Slavery – We help organisations create Modern slavery statements, policies and map supply chains.
Supply Chain Risk– we understand how complex and nuanced supply chains can be. We can assess the Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) risks of any supply chain.
Supply Chain Engagement – communicating, educating and supporting suppliers is the foundation for successful implementation of any sustainability initiative or goal. Anthesis has a team in Asia who specialize in exactly this; day in, day out.
Policies, Standards and Certification– our specialists have deep and detailed knowledge on how best to develop, leverage and implement anything from setting sustainable cotton policies to assessing the feasibility of recycled polyester supply.
Reporting and Assessment – as a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), we have partnered with the SAC on supporting services for their Higg Index tools. The Higg Brand Retail Module recently launched and Anthesis is uniquely placed to support this assessment in a number of ways. In addition we have decades of experience in reporting to all relevant frameworks and leading CSR reports.
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