Our vegan sneakers sell just like leather sneakers
Hugo Boss is one of the leading companies in the premium segment of the global apparel market. The Boss and Hugo menswear and womenswear cover businesswear, casual outfits, eveningwear and athleisurewear. The Group takes concrete measures to fulfil its commitments towards the people and environment. Director Global CR, Product and Supply Chain Integrity, Andreas Streubig spoke to Fibre2Fashion about sustainability in luxury apparel and the group's efforts to keep a clean supply chain.
What kind of innovations and technologies has Hugo Boss adopted to keep the supply chain clean?
To begin with, I would like to emphasise that for all innovations and technologies, cooperation with our long-standing suppliers in the supply chain is essential. This means when we develop in this respect it always happens together. For example, we encourage our suppliers to join the ZDHC Roadmap to Zero. Within this framework, some styles are now processed using alternative methods in order to save chemicals such as laser technology or an innovative technology with nano bubbles in denim production.
There are also high effects with regard to the use of chemicals especially in leather processing. In this area, we are driving developments within the Leather Working Group and advocating alternative tanning processes. Recently, for example, we were the first global fashion brand to launch leather products tanned with olive extract.
Technologies are also playing an increasingly important role in the manufacturing of the products in order to conserve resources. Hugo Boss is setting new standards for the industry with its Smart Factory, at the company's own production facility in Izmir (Turkey) with around 4,000 employees. Digitisation such as intelligent cutting programmes can help to further reduce textile waste for example. Our colleagues there are continuously working on new technologies and passing them on to the industry.
Last, an important technology that we believe can facilitate and improve transparency and sustainability in the supply chain is blockchain. To this end, we are involved in an OECD project to introduce such a system throughout the industry.
Are the number of consumers switching to more conscious choices growing in the luxury apparel segment?
In the premium segment, in which we operate with our Boss and Hugo brands, consumers have always had high expectations on the longevity and quality of the products. In the same way, they expect the products to comply with certain social standards in the supply chain as they pay a higher price for it. One can say that sustainability, to a certain extent, is regarded as an integral part of the high product quality customers are expecting. So, the luxury and premium fashion consumer has always expected a high standard compared to fast fashion and other segments for example.
What we are seeing increasingly now is that more customers are also looking at sustainable materials or, for example, questioning the environmental friendliness of packaging. A few years ago, we received far fewer enquiries about this. In this regard, we also have a good demand for our "responsible" styles-products produced with particularly environment-friendly materials and processes. For example, our vegan sneaker made from pineapple leaf fibres sells like a conventional leather sneaker. The sustainable range of other brands in our segment is also growing steadily.
We therefore believe that more customers in this segment want to make more conscious decisions. This, of course, requires a corresponding range of products and services. Thereby, it has to be said that quality and design are still the primary purchasing criteria. That's why we are always looking for sustainable solutions not compromising on these aspects or standing aside our core product range, giving the customer an attractive sustainable product offer.
What sustainable changes and initiatives have been taken at the Hugo Boss Group?
We have been pursuing the topic of sustainability in our company for a very long time. The long-standing and good cooperation with our suppliers has always been a core aspect, as has the longevity and safety of our products. These issues continue to be of central importance to us.
Thus, we have a strong social programme for the supply chain, which is accredited by the Fair Labor Association (FLA). Here, we also actively engage in various initiatives such as the Bangladesh Accord to continuously improve working conditions in the producing countries.
In the area of chemicals management, we rely on cooperation within the industry, especially with our suppliers. We are a member of the ZDHC Roadmap to Zero programme and work continuously with our suppliers to replace hazardous chemicals with new alternatives.
When it comes to our product, we were one of the first premium fashion brands to promote animal welfare and have therefore stopped using exotic leathers and farmed fur since 2016. We are currently working continuously to convert our materials to more sustainable sources. For example, around 40 per cent of our cotton already comes from more sustainable sources and we have set ourselves ambitious targets for other materials as well. In recent months, we have worked intensively on increasing customer communication on our sustainable products so that our customers can make informed decisions. For example, they can now filter products in our online shop accordingly and receive additional information on sustainable materials used.
Another elementary factor, of course, is our impact on climate change. Here, we have already been able to reduce our impact at our own sites through energy efficiency measures and the use of renewable energies. We have also developed a sustainable concept for our stores, according to which they are being renovated step by step. To reduce the main impacts of climate change in the supply chain, we have signed the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action and are working with various industry stakeholders on systemic improvements such as improved access to renewable energies.
Given the fact that in less than 30 years this planet will have to feed and clothe more than 9 billion people it is imperative to think of how to decouple the necessary growth in production from the limited natural resources. We have to close our loops. As a signatory to the Circular Fashion System Commitment, Hugo Boss committed itself to develop appropriate measures to improve for instance the recyclability of our goods and increase the use of recycled inputs into our supply chains. Since up to 80 per cent of the later recyclability of a style is determined already during design and technical development, we considered it necessary to start with dedicated trainings for designers from this end of our business to make their work in a way future-proof.
What kind of changes have been made at Hugo Boss at the design, manufacturing, and retail level to incorporate sustainability?
Our designers have clear guidelines regarding the use of sustainable materials, which is, of course, already taken into account in the design of the products. In addition, all design briefings from the spring/summer collection 2020 onwards include circular design principles, to increasingly realise such aspects in the collection design process. We want to create the basis for products that can be returned to a cycle after wearing where possible and our designers have been trained accordingly.
An important aspect in this step is also the way we work. Hugo Boss is already developing a portion of its products digitally and are working with our suppliers on a digital material library for example. In this development step, resources can be saved through unnecessary physical samples.
In manufacturing, we are working on using new technologies that conserve resources. This primarily involves chemicals, water and textile waste.
On the retail side, in addition to our sustainable store concept, we are working on making the packaging of our products more sustainable. For example, we have already converted most of our shopping bags to FSC-certified paper, which where possible is even made from post-consumer recycled paper.
Which are the main most conscious markets for Hugo Boss? How are you catering to them?
Sustainability for us is an overarching topic that we manage globally. We do not differentiate by markets when it comes to this aspect, as our customers are rather defined by their general lifestyle, their personal preferences and interests than by national criteria.
What goes into designing and developing a sustainable product at Hugo Boss?
We have carried out comprehensive lifecycle assessments for each of our product categories in order to be able to say exactly where the greatest environmental impacts occur during production. When we develop a sustainable product, we put a focus on these hot spots. Therefore, we focus on using more sustainable cotton or substituting it as it has the highest impact on water withdrawal in the whole production for example.
In addition to these scientific aspects, we also focus on what is particularly important to our customers in terms of a sustainable product. We conduct regular surveys to find out what our customers expect and what they consider to be an added value. As a result, for example, we stopped using fur at a very early stage and are expanding our range of vegan products, as animal welfare is a particularly important issue for our customers.
We always have to make sure that, for example, a sustainable material used meets our high-quality requirements, as the longevity of the product is still the most important aspect for us-from the customer's point of view as well as in terms of the environmental impact. This sometimes means that we cannot use a specific material for quality reasons and so we look for appropriate alternatives.
What are the long-term sustainable goals at the Hugo Boss Group?
We have set ourselves a comprehensive target programme to continuously improve ourselves over the long term in all areas of sustainability, from the supply chain through our own employees to the product.
Particularly noteworthy, we want to increase transparency along the entire supply chain in the long-term and work closely with our suppliers to this end. By 2025, for example, we want to achieve complete transparency for all our finished goods suppliers with regard to social, environmental and economic factors and their digitally supported supply chains.
As part of the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, we have also pledged to reduce our CO2 emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. In particular, we aim to achieve long-term progress in the supply chains. Of course, it is also a long-term goal to convert our used materials to more sustainable options wherever possible. By 2025, at least 90 per cent of our cotton should come from more sustainable sources.
All our further targets can be found in our Sustainability Report - https://group.hugoboss.com/en/responsibility/news-and-downloads/sustainability-reports. (HO)
