It is no secret that sustainability has become the number one priority for fashion companies. From Zara to Loewe to H&M, fashion brands are working to improve their environmental policy and their commitment to the planet.
Its unknown whether it is simply a marketing strategy or sincere commitment, but in reality, any action to realise a better world is welcome. In the case of Spanish fast fashion giant Zara, the company recently posted what could be considered a manifesto on its website, where it highlights its sustainable mission and some of the actions the brand will carry out.
Under the slogan ‘Working towards sustainability’, Zara highlights in bold letters some of its most significant actions, such as politically fuelled programs, integrating social and environmental sustainability and the health and safety of its products. Garments labelled with ‘Join Life’ are produced using processes and raw materials that help reduce environmental impact. The company is now aiming that 50 percent of its products will meet the ‘Join Life’ standard by 2022.
Its boxes, bags, hangers and alarms are reused and recycled at the end of their useful life. Bags given to customers are already made from 100 percent recycled paper, and by 2023 they will eliminate all single-use plastics given to customers.
Currently, its shops have been renovated to prioritise efficient consumption of energy and water and zara.com’s servers use renewable energy. The goal is that by 2022, 100 percent of the energy in its headquarters, logistics centres and own shops will come exclusively from renewable sources.
Well-informed garments
In addition, the garments in the ‘Join Life’ collection are accompanied by a tag, specifying the material used in its manufacturing, the care required to sustain the quality of the garment and its origin.
Its use of European linen and recycled polyester and its manufacturing in Morocco and Tunisia already show Zara’s progress in fulfilling its sustainable mission. With the addition of global company and consumer actions, an important commitment to eco or recycled fabrics and a more detailed information label, the company is well on its way to making significant steps to achieving its goals.
We pay special attention to the impact of the raw materials that we include in our products, as cotton. That is why we deliver projects to promote organic cotton in countries as India and Spain together with organizations as Organic Cotton Accelerator.
Following its success in 2020, Zara has set many goals relating to sustainability, including reaching net-zero emissions by 2040, 100% more sustainable procurement of cellulose fibres, cotton, linen, and other materials, and becoming free of single-use plastics—to name a few.
The goals encompass the three elements of sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. The SDGs acknowledge companies as key players in achieving these goals.
Last week, Zara's parent company, Inditex, announced its plans to grow more sustainable. The fast-fashion giant pledged that by 2025, all of its eight brands will only use cotton, linen and polyester that's organic, sustainable or recycled, which is 90% of the raw materials its uses.
No, Zara is not sustainable. As of now! First and foremost, it produces way more clothes than the world actually needs, resulting in massive textile waste, with barely-used garments ending up in landfills.
Fashion giant Zara is under fire after Head Designer women's department, Vanessa Perilman, attacked Palestinian model Qaher Harhash on Instagram. Caught spewing anti-Palestinian rhetoric, Vanessa allegedly sent controversial messages to Qaher in response to pro-Palestine posts by the model from occupied east Jerusalem.
In brief, Zara's statement is "to give customers what they want, and get it to them faster than anyone else." An effective mission statement is something clear and concise, and Zara's mission statement definitely gets a check-in both these criteria.
The company focuses on responding to current fashion needs rather than forecasting fashion trends for a distant future: 85% of its production is done during the current season. By doing so, Zara can avoid overproduction, an issue its rival H&M also faces, and become more sustainable.
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.
Strategic Issue Zara's main concern is how to sustainably and successfully expand its fast fashion business into new and existing markets without sacrificing the firm's unique advantages.
H&M. The fast-fashion brand, H&M, faced accusations of greenwashing after a 2022 investigation from the news publication Quartz claimed the brand misled consumers with its environmental scorecards.
Zara's focus largely lies on imitation of original products which misleads the customer. Those who are aware of this replication or who have lack of fashion consciousness do not suffer, but those interested in purchasing original brands are deceived by these fast fashion trends.
Zara's international market strategies are based on the vertical model of production, centralized control over the production process, and flexibility to the environments of different markets in different countries, as well as diverse and rapidly changing preferences of the customers.
While H&M does make good promises and sustainability commitments for the future which include using recycled and sustainability-produced materials only by year 2030, the fast fashion business model per se isn't sustainable in itself as it supports the “buy-and-throwaway” consumer mentality and still produces waste.
Zara has sustained a competitive advantage globally by expanding into new markets and becoming more efficient. In a monopolistically competitive industry, Zara is expected to make profits in the short run but will break even in the long run because demand will decrease as average total costs increase.
In 2019, Zara was ranked 29th on global brand consultancy Interbrand's list of best global brands. Its core values are found in four simple terms: beauty, clarity, functionality and sustainability.
H&M is the oldest, has the largest number of physical stores, and has expanded from its budget roots to include seven other brands. Zara is most prominent in its native Spain but has managed to expand globally, expanding its brand to include Zara Home.
The main difference in fast vs. sustainable fashion is the amount of waste that each one produces. Sustainable fashion decreases waste by making clothing that is significantly better quality. Less waste leads to both less water pollution and fewer carbon emissions during production.
Is Sustainable Fashion Completely Sustainable? If we're honest with you, what we call sustainable fashion right now is not actually, technically, truly sustainable. All fashion creates greenhouse gas emissions during manufacture and shipping. Less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new clothing.
Zara's highly responsive, vertically integrated supply chain enables the export of garments 24 hours, 365 days of the year, resulting in the shipping of new products to stores twice a week. After products are designed, they take around 10 to 15 days to reach the stores.
Here are a few commitments made by Zara on their website: In 2022, Zara promised to use 100% renewable energy in their own operations. In 2023 they promise to eliminate single-use plastics for customers. By 2025 they plan to introduce more sustainable 100% linen and sustainable or recycled polyester.
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