“At Superdry we have an obligation to make better choices. The urgency of the climate crisis has broadened how we think about ourselves and the way we approach business. As a business we want to effect positive change for present and future generations and build a positive environmental legacy. Our ambition is to be the most sustainable listed global fashion brand on the planet by 2030.”
- Julian Dunkerton, CEO
We’ve designed an outerwear collection using recycled materials. The range is bigger than any other global brand.
How do we know? Well, we’ve done our research. On 8 September 2021 we combed data from the biggest global brands participating in recycled polyester leader boards including the Textile exchange 2020 benchmark. That research showed we had more recycled fill outwear* products in our collection than any of these other brands. Take a look:
- Superdry - 441
- Patagonia - 319
- Zara - 183
- Tommy Hilfiger - 132
- H&M - 103
- North Face - 73
- ASOS (Own brand) - 45
To make sure our recycled bottle fill is genuine, we’ve investigated our supply chain to check that the bottles we’re recycling are post-consumer waste (used by the consumer for an original purpose and then discarded as waste), and not bottles created to go straight into jacket fill. We certify Every. Single. Jacket. We even know how many bottles have gone into creating the fill of each individual jacket. Depending on the size of the jacket, and the fill required, 4-58 recycled bottles are used. This year alone we’ve diverted 43.9m million plastic bottles from landfills, incineration and the ocean. *Our definition of “outerwear” includes heavy and light padded jackets including gilets. It excludes fleeces and jerseys. It also excludes wider sustainable content claims, outerwear shells and liners.
As a global fashion brand, we have a responsibility to make the right decisions. We should make a meaningful difference, and be a motor for change within the industry.
We are committed to engage, empower, and honour the communities we work and live in. And we will continue to decrease our environmental footprint, while producing garments we are proud of.
Our aim is to leave a positive environmental legacy.
“For high street giant Superdry, 2020 has been the year of sustainable reset, doubling down on existing and new environmental initiatives to ensure the business is contributing to a cleaner, greener future for the fashion industry.” - Drapers
Winner of the Drapers Positive Change Award 2021
Superdry tops the list of Europe’s Climate Leaders 2021
The Financial Times’ inaugural Europe’s Climate Leaders 2021 table places Superdry at the top of the list of the 300 companies across Europe that have achieved the greatest reduction in their greenhouse gas emissions intensity between 2014 and 2019. Table leader Superdry has reduced its year-on-year core emissions by more than 50%.
Superdry and Oxfam have partnered to offer a 'Give Back' scheme across the UK and Ireland.
Reuse, recycle and reinvigorate your wardrobe. Give your pre-loved clothes a new lease of life whilst positively impacting someone else's. In the UK, 13 million clothing items go to landfills every week, but by partnering with Oxfam, you are helping Oxfam divert 47 million items away from there and
into someone's wardrobe.
You can visit any* of our UK and ROI stores to donate to your local 'Give back' box (*excludes outlets and airports). Our stores are twinned with their local Oxfam shop, who will collect all clothes donated to be reused or recycled to extend the life of your clothes.
"We're excited to be partnered with Superdry to help people donate clothes to Oxfam, which will raise vital funds to fight poverty around the world."
- Danny Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive of Oxfam GB
In order to achieve our sustainability goals – and to hold ourselves accountable to our customers – we’ve set robust targets to deliver meaningful impact at scale.
PRODUCT
ORGANIC, RECYCLED AND LOW-IMPACT MATERIALS
All our pure cotton items will be organic by 2025, with 20,000 farmers supported to convert to organic production. We plan to use recycled and low-impact fibres at scale, across our range, and convert all remaining cotton in our collections to organic by 2030.
PLANET
CARBON AND WASTE - MOVE TO ZERO
We’re striving towards carbon zero across our operations and logistics supply chain by 2030, and zero waste in our packaging by 2025 – this means we will only use packaging where necessary, and we always opt for the lowest impact when used, ensuring 100% is reusable, recyclable or compostable.
PEOPLE
FAIR AND SAFE SUPPLY CHAIN
We are committed to working with ethically compliant, sustainable factories. We partner with market leading suppliers to produce our garments and accessories in automated and sustainable workplaces, where people are treated with respect and dignity.
product
Organic Cotton
As of 2021, 30% of our cotton range is now organic, an increase of 9% since 2020 and we’re aiming to increase this to 65% within the next four years. We remain committed to making all our cotton 100% organic by 2030.
product
Recycled CONTENT
All padding in our outerwear range is made using recycled bottles and we certify Every. Single. Jacket. We even know how many bottles have gone into creating the fill of each jacket. Depending on the size of the jacket, and the fill required, 4-58 recycled bottles are used. This year alone we’ve diverted 43.9 million plastic bottles from landfills, incineration and the ocean.
product
Low Impact Materials
All in all, 45% of our Autumn Winter 2021 collection contains Organic, Recycled, or Low Impact fibres.
PLANET
Net Zero
We’ve already reduced our direct emissions by 97% since 2014, but we know we need to focus our attention on our indirect emissions.
Organic cotton farming uses natural, local techniques to grow cotton, which in turn respects the local ecosystem.
Organic cotton also reduces water consumption at source by 87%.
Demand for organic is growing quickly, and while supply is catching up, organic cotton accounts for less than 1% of global cotton production.
By switching to 100% Organic Cotton today, Superdry alone would use 4% of the global cotton supply. We are therefore gradually increasing our organic commitment while investing in the future of organic.
By using natural techniques and fertilizers, organic farming improves soil condition, reducing water consumption by 87%. Healthier soil also increases carbon storage within the ground, helping to combat climate change. This all leads to stronger biodiversity and better health among the cotton growers.
We aim to support 20,000 farmers to adopt the latest sustainable organic cotton farming practices by 2025, enough to make what we need and five years ahead of the target we set in 2019. We’re also working with farmers to address challenges around access to credit through upfront seed purchasing and providing guaranteed uptake of cotton.
This year (2021/22) over 6,500 farmers are participating in our organic cotton conversion training programme. These farmers are transforming their land to organic production with the help of local organic experts, we also donated over 57 million organic cotton seeds to these farmers to help them start their season off well.
We’re collaborating with others across the sector to help bring our vision to life – as affiliate members of the Organic Cotton Accelerator we are connected with organic experts, trainers and people who monitor the impacts of our investment.
In January 2020, we trialled recycling our cut fabric waste and unusable second quality products from key factories in Turkey, recycling it into new yarn.
Our initial trial processed 373 tons of waste offcuts into 427 tons of new yarn, enough to produce 1.3 million Superdry sweatshirt-Shirts.
Recycled yarns produced from Superdry waste in 2020 used 90% less energy to produce and saved an estimated 6,000 tons of CO2e and 3 billion litres of water compared to conventional virgin cotton.
In 2020 we converted all (4 million) e-commerce bags from plastic to FSC Certified recyclable paper, and all (8 million) retail carrier bags to a new lighter version manufactured in the UK – reducing their carbon footprint by around 60%.
We are also looking at closing the loop on our polybags – which we use to protect our products in shipping. To do this, we’ve added 70% recycled content. Before sending our products out to stores we collect the polybags at our distribution centre, delivering them to Mainetti which then processes them into new polybags.
This is all part of our New Plastics Commitment to convert all packaging to recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025.
Beyond organic cotton and recycled fibres, we are also using TENCEL TM Modal fibres produced by an Eco Soft technology, which means they have a low environmental impact and are sourced from FSC or PEFC certified forests.
HEMP
One of the fastest growing plants, hemp does not need much water, energy, pesticides, or fertilisers to grow. It is very good for the soil and can be grown in the same place for several years – without exhausting the soil.
YAK
Sourced from the uplands of Himalaya, our yak wool is sustainably sourced through our partnership with Shokay, which donates a percentage of its profits to the local communities.
LINEN
Linen is a natural fibre made from the flax plant. Flax can grow in poor soil with few resources; in some cases, it can even rehabilitate polluted soil.
TENCEL™
TENCEL™ Modal fibres are produced by an Eco Soft technology, which means they have a low environmental impact and are sourced from FSC or PEFC certified forests.
In 2020 we converted all (4 million) e-commerce bags from plastic to FSC Certified recyclable paper, and all (8 million) retail carrier bags to a new lighter version manufactured in the UK – reducing their carbon footprint by around 60%.
We are also looking at closing the loop on our polybags – which we use to protect our products in shipping. To do this, we’ve added 30% recycled content. Before sending our products out to stores we collect the polybags at our distribution centre, delivering them to Mainetti which then processes them into new polybags.
We aim to increase the volume of recycled content in our polybags to 70% by 2025 as part of our New Plastics Commitment.