Asos outlines plans for lower carbon footprint
Online fashion retailer Asos has set out plans to minimise its impact on the planet over the next few years.
Under its Fashion with Integrity (“FWI”) 2030 programme, the company intends to become a verified net zero emissions business and use more sustainable and recycled materials by 2030.
Consumers are increasingly concerned with fast fashion’s impact on the environment while the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh in 2013 caused a spotlight to be pointed at textile factory conditions.
Asos is among online retailers to come under fire for promoting a throwaway fashion culture, where consumers do not re-wear items for long periods.
The company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals include a goal to be carbon neutral in its direct operations by 2025 and achieve net zero across its value chain by 2030.
Asos said it would ensure 100 per cent of its own-brand products and packaging were made from more sustainable or recycled materials by 2030, to become more circular.
It also pledged to be transparent and publish a detailed human rights strategy and implementation reports annually from 2023 and provide full public transparency of every own-brand product by 2030.
Leadership representation will also be a key focus moving forward, with an aim for at least 50 per cent female representation and over 15 per cent ethnic minority representation at every level by 2030.
Nick Beighton, CEO, said: “The responsibility for a sustainable future lies with all of us and businesses must lead the way. We will make sure we deliver products and brands that allow our customers to shop ethically and responsibly, safe in the knowledge that they are reducing their impact on the planet and contributing to a fairer world.”
The retailer’s news comes just after budget chain Primark set out its first measurable environmental impact goals on Wednesday.