Zara clothing to be made using 100 per cent sustainable fabrics by 2025 (2024)

Zara clothing to be made using 100 per cent sustainable fabrics by 2025 (1)

Share:

Spanish fashion retailer Zara has announced that 100 per cent of the cotton, linen and polyester used in its clothing will be more sustainable, organic or recycled by 2025.

Zara's holding group, Inditex – the world's third largest clothing company according to Forbes – made the sustainability pledge at its annual shareholders' meeting on 16 July.

The company statedthatit will only use cotton, linen and polyester that is "organic, more sustainable or recycled", as one of a number of sustainable targets for the next six years.

"Sustainability is a never-ending task"

Cotton, linen and polyester– along with viscose, which the company plans to make more sustainable by 2023 – make up 90 per cent of all raw materials purchased by the brand.

The target will be enacted by all eight of Inditex'sbrands – Zara, Zara Home, Massimo Dutti, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Uterqüe, Oyshoand Stradivarius.

"Sustainability is a never-ending task in which everyone here at Inditex is involved and in which we are successfully engaging all of our suppliers," said Inditex chairman and CEO Pablo Isla.

"Our digital transformation and determined progress towards the most demanding sustainability standards are complementary and underpinned by the efficiency of our long-standing business model, which is based on offering our customers the best in quality fashion."

Zara plans to make buildingseco-efficient

Along with the commitment to use more sustainable fabrics Inditex announced a range of other aims. The first goal for this year is for all of its head offices to meet the "highest green building certificates", and for 100 per cent of stores to be eco-efficient.

With this in mind, it plans to use 80 per cent renewable energy across all of the company's activities, including in its stores, logistic centres and offices.

By 2020, Inditex hopes to fully eliminate the use of plastic bags across all its brands – a goal it has already achieved at Zara, Zara Home, Massimo Dutti and Uterqüe.

The company also claims that by 2023 it will have fully eliminated single-use plastics from customer sales, and will be sending 100 per cent of the waste generated at its head offices and stores for recycling or reuse.

According to Inditex, it is currently recycling or reusing 88 per cent of its waste.

Clothing recycling to be available at all stores

The company is also committing to introducing collection and recycling systems for all of the materials used in its store displays for reuse.

Next year, the retailer claims that all of its stores will have been fitted with containers for collecting used clothing to either be reused, recycled or sent to charity, in an effort to make a move towards a circular economy.

Since its launch in 2015, these dedicated clothes banks have collected over 34,000 tonnes of used garments, footwear and accessories.

The announcements come in the midst of wider recognition of the impact of textile production on climate change. In February, the UK Parliament issued a report on "Fixing Fashion", stressing the need to change the unsustainable way we make, use and throw away our clothes.

Royal College of Art fashion student Laura Kraup Frandsen refused to present a physical collection at her graduate show as a protest against overconsumption in the climate crisis.

Instead, she staged a "die-in" demonstration at her degree show with the help of 20 Extinction Rebellion members to encourage consumers to sign a pledge to not buy any new clothes for a year.

Zara clothing to be made using 100 per cent sustainable fabrics by 2025 (2024)

FAQs

Does Zara use sustainable fabrics? ›

The company that owns Zara has announced all clothing will be made from sustainable fabrics by 2025. The company that owns Zara has announced all clothing will be made from sustainable fabrics by 2025.

Is Zara trying to be more sustainable? ›

Zara has recently publicized a list of environmental commitments. These goals span the next five years and include everything from water conservation to reducing waste in landfills. They've also worked to ban some harmful chemicals in production.

Why Zara is not sustainable? ›

Put simply, brands like Zara are responsible for perpetuating a culture that encourages people to consume as much clothing as possible, allowing them to continue producing tonnes of clothing every day which likely will end up in a landfill with an extremely short lifecycle.

What type of fabric does Zara use? ›

Zara only uses a very small proportion of organic materials such as organic cotton, hemp, and linen, or recycled materials such as recycled cotton, recycled polyester, and regenerated nylon. Only very few of its collections are dedicated to sustainable fashion.

Is Zara toxic free? ›

As mentioned above, some of the factories Zara uses have been proven to release toxic chemicals and waste. Not only does this harm the environment, but it also harms the people working in clothing production facilities.

What are the three most sustainable fabrics? ›

10 sustainable and eco-friendly fabrics
  • Organic hemp. Hemp is a versatile plant that can be used to make anything from food and building materials to cosmetics and fabrics. ...
  • Organic cotton. ...
  • Organic linen. ...
  • Recycled fabrics. ...
  • Lyocell. ...
  • Econyl. ...
  • Piñatex. ...
  • Qmonos.
Oct 13, 2021

What is the biggest threat to Zara? ›

Competition: Many apparel makers are coming to the market and offering trendy clothes at a competitive price. Although Zara offers unique designs at a competitive price, the stiff market competition is a threat.

What advantage does Zara gain against? ›

1) What advantage does Zara gain against the Competition by having a very responsive supply Chain? They can introduce new design every week and thus change 75% display every 3-4 weeks. Reduce inventory overhead and forecast errors.

What are the major challenges that Zara has been facing recently? ›

Can its heiress-turned-leader make the brand fast, cheap, and green? Lightning-quick product releases and low prices propelled Zara to the top of the fashion industry. But the climate costs have become impossible to ignore.

What are the weaknesses of Zara? ›

What are some of Zara's weaknesses? Fast-Fashion: Interestingly, the trend that helped propel Zara to the top is the cause of its most pressing weakness. With the focus on sustainability increasing among customers and policymakers Zara's weakness is balancing sustainability with fast-fashion.

What is the disadvantage of Zara? ›

The biggest disadvantage of Zara's supply chain is that since Zara owned all the channels of supply chain, it becomes difficult to expand to far location as it is very expensive to distribute such products.

What is greenwashing Zara? ›

Greenwashing is when companies or brands use environmentally friendly marketing tactics to make customers think they care, when they're really just trying to increase profits. The idea is that by using buzzwords like 'natural', or 'eco-friendly', you're letting customers know that you care about the environment.

Does Zara use cheap material? ›

In one word, NO. Zara has actually been named the “true king of fast fashion” and of course, you know fast fashion brands produce large volumes of cheap clothing made from low quality materials. That said, Zara has made some commitment to become more sustainable.

Where does Zara buy fabric from? ›

While most fashion and sportswear firms rely on Asian manufacturing for the bulk of their products, Inditex makes more than half its products in what it calls “proximity” markets — mainly Spain, Portugal, Morocco and, to a lesser degree, Turkey.

Where do Zara get their fabrics from? ›

50% of all items are manufactured in Spain. 26% in the rest of Europe. 24% in Asia and Africa.

Does Zara do child labor? ›

Labor-wise, Zara does have a code of conduct that covers no forced or child labor, fair wages, and safe working conditions.

Why is Zara controversial? ›

Zara prides itself on giving consumers the “latest fashion trends” every 13 days. The promotion of such rapid consumption is inherently harmful to both people and the planet.

Does Zara use sweatshop labor? ›

In 2011 AHA, the contractor reportedly responsible for 90% of Zara's Brazilian production was found to have subcontracted work to a factory employing migrant workers from Bolivia and Peru in sweatshop conditions in Sao Paulo to make garments for the Spanish company.

What are the worst fabrics for the environment? ›

Polyester and nylon, for example, are made using fossil fuels. Cotton production, too, requires a significant amount of carbon dioxide. Fast fashion also leads to pollution with a dangerously high level of chemicals leaching into our environment.

What is the most unsustainable fabric? ›

1) Fabrics to Avoid: Polyester

Most polyesters are non-biodegradable, meaning that it may take anywhere from 20 and 200 years to break down if it's put into the landfill. Polyester is partially derived from oil, which is a major source of pollution.

What is the strongest eco-friendly material? ›

Bamboo. Sustainability experts nearly universally agree bamboo is one of the best eco-friendly building materials on the planet. Its rate of self-generation is incredibly high, with some species growing up to three feet in 24 hours.

Who is Zara's biggest competitors? ›

H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo are three international clothing retailers with over 2,000 stores each worldwide. The competitive companies target similar markets but employ different strategies in their business models to manage the distribution of product lines.

Does Zara use forced labor? ›

Inditex released a statement which read “at Inditex we take a zero-tolerance approach toward forced labor of any kind and have stringent policies and actions in place to ensure that it does not take place anywhere in our apparel and textiles supply chain.” The statement stressed that “various of these types of reports ...

Who is Zara target customer? ›

The Zara target market includes women and men, mainly younger adults in the age range of 18 to 40. This places the Zara segmentation strategy as largely focusing on Millennials and Gen Z, who are both fashion conscious and tech savvy.

How does Zara keep costs low? ›

Zara's total cost is minimized because merchandise that is marked down is reduced dramatically as compared to competitors. Zara makes 85 percent of the full price on its clothes, while the industry average is 60 to 70 percent.

What makes Zara better than H&M? ›

Pricing System for H&M vs Zara

On the other hand, Zara offers their products at a reasonable price as long as they match the quality. They don't underprice to keep people trooping in. Similarly, they give discounts but not as much as the H&M brand. Instead, they focus more on the quality of what they offer.

Does Zara have a sustainable competitive advantage? ›

Zara's generic strategy is cost leadership. The brand holds a competitive advantage in the market by offering products similar to high-end fashion and designer brands' styles at modest prices.

What are the 3 most critical factors of Zara? ›

Zara's Three Success Factors: Speed, Speed, and Speed.

Is Zara exploiting workers? ›

Major international fashion brands, including Zara, H&M and GAP, are exploiting Bangladesh garment industry workers, with some of them involved in unfair practices and paying the suppliers below the cost of production, according to a study published on Wednesday.

What strategic issues are Zara facing? ›

Zara's fast-fashion problem in focus
  • Consumers for sustainable clothing.
  • Sustainable supply chain not enough.
  • Recycling in focus.
  • Sustainability good for corporate image.
  • Consumers need to rethink.
Jan 27, 2020

Where does Zara source their fabric? ›

Most of the products Zara sells are manufactured in Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Morocco, Bangladesh and more recently - Armenia.

Where does Zara get their material from? ›

The suppliers are from the far East. Zara's supplier list, therefore, includes twelve clusters that concentrate 92-97% of the production: Spain, Turkey, Morocco, Portugal, India, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, Brazil, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Argentina.

Does Zara use recycled materials? ›

Inditex-owned Zara has tapped textile innovations company Evrnu for the supply of what the brand called a 'breakthrough recycled' waste material which has been designed as a replacement of man-made fibres and other materials, for its new capsule collection.

Where do Zara source their materials from? ›

The group has twelve clusters in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Turkey, India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Pakistan, Vietnam, Argentina and Brazil, which concentrate 92% of its production.

Who is Zara owned by? ›

Zara is one of the world's largest international fashion companies . It belongs to Inditex, the world's biggest fashion group. Zara is a Spanish clothing retailer based in Galicia, Spain. Founded by Amancio Ortega in 1975, it is the flagship chain store of the Inditex group, the world's largest apparel retailer.

What company is Zara owned by? ›

Zara is one of the biggest international fashion companies, and it belongs to Inditex, one of the world's largest distribution groups. The customer is at the heart of our unique business model, which includes design, production, distribution, and sales, through our extensive retail network.

Does Zara use plastic? ›

Packaging. Impressive – this arrived in a 100% recycled box, there was no plastic packaging and even the tape was paper. All bags in-store are paper too. The company has pledged to eradicate all single-use plastic by 2023.

Does Zara use recycled cotton? ›

Zara has launched a new collection with recycled textile manufacturer Evrnu. Zara has teamed with textile innovation firm Evrnu on a circular capsule collection made with 100-percent cotton waste.

Does Zara use recycled polyester? ›

Zara is a Spanish fashion retailer that launched many eco-friendly collections such as Join Life. It uses sustainable materials like organic cotton, recycled polyester, and Tencel to lower its environmental impact.

What does Zara do with the unsold products? ›

Faulty items, the company says, are either sold through its Clearance operation or donated to charity. Inditex, the parent company of Zara, says it focuses on reducing stock levels to cut down excess inventory, through short production runs and its proximity manufacturing model.

Why not to buy from Zara? ›

In the past they have been accused of anti-Semitism, ripping off young designers, using child and slave labor (including young Syrian refugees) and have even been sued by a woman who found a dead mouse stitched into an article of their clothing, according to British online newspaper, The Independent.

Is Zara the same as Shein? ›

As one TikTokker points out, Zara is still considered a fast fashion brand, despite its higher price point to Shein. Zara is part of the Inditex Group, whose brands include Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius and Oysho.

Are Zara clothes made in China? ›

Zara makes about half their goods in Spain, in factories they own themselves. The rest of Zara's goods are made in cheap, long-lead factories in China and other Asian countries.

What is the issue with Zara supply chain? ›

According to the Financial Times, the Spanish fashion group was facing “possible supply chain tensions”, and as a result had temporarily increased production “in order to increase product availability without any change to commitment levels”.

What production method does Zara use? ›

Reactive production model

Through their just-in-time production model, Zara is also able to drop new products in smaller collections multiple times per season based on must-have trends.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Amb. Frankie Simonis

Last Updated:

Views: 6015

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (76 voted)

Reviews: 91% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Amb. Frankie Simonis

Birthday: 1998-02-19

Address: 64841 Delmar Isle, North Wiley, OR 74073

Phone: +17844167847676

Job: Forward IT Agent

Hobby: LARPing, Kitesurfing, Sewing, Digital arts, Sand art, Gardening, Dance

Introduction: My name is Amb. Frankie Simonis, I am a hilarious, enchanting, energetic, cooperative, innocent, cute, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.