SUSTAINABLE STORES: THE FUTURE OF RETAIL
RETAIL CAN PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN BETTERING SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS. WeAr EXAMINES HOW FASHION’S KEY PLAYERS ARE INNOVATING SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES IN STORE
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In 2015, United Nations member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. The Agenda sets out 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with Goal 12 outlining “responsible consumption and production”.
Many brands are implementing a 360° approach to commit to the goal, looking to sustainable strategies from concept and creation all the way to store design and energy emissions.
One such concept is Green Pea in Torino, which claims to be the “first green retail park in the world”. Spanning over 15,000 sq m, the park is built from recycled materials, features gardens with over 2,000 plants and claims to reduce air pollution by 88%. Inside, Green Pea features five floors of sustainable shopping, offering everything from clean energy vehicles to ecological furniture and sustainable fashion. An interactive Green Pea App brings the shopping experience to life by combining sustainability and gamification, creating an engaging, educational in-store experience.
Across the pond in Brazil, Conceito ê in São Paulo aims to raise awareness of the Amazon’s rapid rate of deforestation via a space that envisions a world where nature has triumphed over humanity’s consumption. Architects Martina Brusius and André Romitelli composed the structure from reused tiles, placing plants throughout the store within biodegradable cardboard structures, enriching the soil and encouraging greenery to grow wild.
According to LVMH, around 70% of its greenhouse gas emissions currently come from energy consumption within its stores. The group’s 2016 LIFE (LVMH Initiatives For the Environment) in Stores program encourages brands to improve the energy performance of their spaces. Since its implementation, the group has cut in-store emissions by 30% via switching to LED lighting. Their recently launched ‘LIFE 360’ program lays out a comprehensive roadmap for the next three, six and ten years to achieve 100% renewable energy at all group sites, encompassing everything from biodiversity and circularity to building insulation, air-conditioning and waste management.
Waste materials are one of the leading causes of environmental pollution and are a concern for brands at every touchpoint. Both Ganni and Prada are taking environmentally conscious steps while engaging and educating their customers in store. For A/W 21, Prada plans to upcycle their catwalk sets into retail installments and pop-ups worldwide, while Scandinavian super-brand Ganni’s stores are comprised of terrazzo-style fixtures made from recycled plastic waste and soft furnishings composed of dead stock from their own label and furniture retailers. Both initiatives strike a balance between social commerce and sustainable innovation, highlighting a key movement towards raising awareness around a brand’s sustainability initiatives via engaging, eco-friendly and educational retail spaces.