The Revolution

In the race for a more-sustainable future, here’s what brands need to address now..

The sustainability conversation has been going on for years in the footwear and fashion industries, but never has it had the kind momentum now in evidence. On a daily basis, companies are launching new sustainable product and announcing plans to change their operations.

Part of the credit goes to the pandemic. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, many companies were able to take a step back and assess the situation through a different lens. And as other discussions about corporate responsibility ramped up in the past year, so too did the focus on the environment.

However, Ugg president Andrea O’Donnell also told FN it was simply a matter of time — literally.

The UN Paris Agreement established in 2015 a goal to significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, to prevent the Earth’s temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius. Nearly every nation signed on to the pact, and thousands of corporations joined the United Nations Global Compact, including Ugg parent Deckers Brands. But O’Donnell said at the time, leaders lacked the knowledge to take action. “The kind of

In its End Plastic Waste effort, Adidas has dubbed the Stan Smith as an experimental canvas to test new materials

infrastructures to support businesses and help them understand what they needed to do wasn’t necessarily there,” she explained. “Now the UN and other organizations have come into this space [and can advise] on where to focus, how to strategize and how to build targets.”

But for all the progress that companies are making now, experts say much more needs to be done — and fast. “The pace is glacial at best. And when I hear that we’ve set a target of doing X, Y, Z by 2050, we may not have that option,” said Samata Pattinson, CEO of Red Carpet Green Dress. “When you recognize how much fashion is producing, these time frames and deadlines are too far in the future.”

According to the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, the shoe industry contributes an estimated 700 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions. In a recent survey, FDRA found that there is increased focus on sustainability among shoe companies, with 70% of respondents listing it as a priority. However, the study also found that a number of constraints are keeping brands from moving forward, including concerns about cost, knowledge and a lack of leadership.

Leadership Matters

Experts say that in order for the shoe industry to move the needle, the drive must come from the top. And for Lauren Fay, founder and executive director of The New Fashion Initiative, the key is for leadership to be diverse and inclusive.

“It’s getting different ideas to the table with different voices,” she said. “Power has been siloed in really specific hands in fashion — whether that’s white males or from an editorial perspective, a lot of white females, and that needs to change for the benefit of people and the planet overall.”

She added that one person heading the sustainability initiative internally is simply not enough. Teams needs to be place.

Rothy’s is one brand that’s broadening its knowledge base by establishing an advisory council of scientists and academics. The group will be composed of Pattinson from Red Carpet Green Dress, as well as Lewis Perkins, president of the Apparel Impact Institute; sustainability expert Michael Sadowski; Brittany Sierra, founder and CEO of the Sustainable Fashion Forum; and Jing Wang, director of North Asia for Green Building Certification Inc.

“The opportunity with the council is to make sure that we are getting outside thinking into our sustainability plans, but also making real progress against the goals that we have in place,” said Saskia van Gendt, Rothy’s head of sustainability. “The aspiration is to create something that works for Rothy’s, but to open-source that to the industry because we know it’s an industry-wide problem.”

Another essential step is to embed those eco-conscious principles into company culture, explained FDRA SVP Andy Polk, noting that will in turn reinforce the magnitude of the issue and its importance. “It’s empowering employees to think innovatively and what they’re doing and why they’re doing it,” he said.

At New Balance, eco-friendly initiatives have been on the rise for the past decade, culminating in the company’s declaration this month that it will use 100% renewable electricity across its global operations and will attempt to send zero waste to landfills from its footwear factories by 2025. It also aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 as a signatory of the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, as well as source 50% recycled polyester and 100% preferred leather by 2025.

“These are in our reach,” Chris Davis, New Balance’s chief marketing officer and SVP of global merchandising, told FN during the Fairchild Media Group Sustainability Summit. “I believe that as an industry, it’s essential to integrate our goals with our corporate business practices and KPIs to drive circular business models to [create] real change.”

Since launching

Veja, the brand has used more than 390 tons of organic and fairtrade cotton