bonprix steps up its commitment to sustainability: launch of second Sustainable Collection and 70 per cent sustainable fibres in all textile ranges by 2025

bonprix continues its strong commitment to corporate responsibility (CR). Today, the international fashion retailer is launching its second ‘Sustainable Collection’, which combines more sustainable materials and production methods with modern styles for its customers. The collection will be available online not only at www.bonprix.de, Germany's second-largest online fashion shop* in terms of sales, but also in 22 other countries. In addition, the Otto Group's focus company has announced its overarching goal of using 70 per cent sustainable fibres in its entire textile range by 2025.

Sustainable Collection, the second: even greener, even more convincing

In the second edition of the Sustainable Collection, which was first launched in April this year, bonprix is once again focusing on high-quality sustainable materials such as recycled cotton, TENCEL™ Lyocell, cotton from the Cotton made in Africa initiative, organic cotton and recycled polyester, and is offering 20 curated styles for the autumn/winter season, including jumpers, cardigans and denim items. However, in line with its own objectives, the Otto Group company has gone one step further in its second collection and made its products even more sustainable. The list of materials in the new Sustainable Collection has been expanded to include LENZING™ ECOVERO™ – currently the most sustainable and environmentally friendly viscose fibre on the market, with 50 per cent water and emission savings in production. In the case of jeans, a new laser process for the used look has also saved water. The dyeing process alone uses 15 per cent less water than conventional jeans production. And there have also been some changes in the accessories: the labels on the styles are now made of recycled polyester or are printed directly onto the fabric, recycled polyester tape is used in the zips and the buttons have been manufactured using a resource-saving method. </em> The highlight of the second edition is the parka made from recycled polyester, which incorporates a total of 25 PET bottles (0.5 litres each). As with the first Sustainable Collection, bonprix uses polybags made from 100 per cent recycled plastic to package the items. The collection is available online in Germany and 22 other countries, as well as at the launch in the fashion connect store in Hamburg.

‘Our aim is to become even more sustainable with each Sustainable Collection, and I am proud of the results of our second collection and what our team has achieved,’ says Rien Jansen, Managing Director of Purchasing, Marketing and Retail at bonprix Handelsgesellschaft mbH and responsible for CR strategy. ‘Of course, we are not resting on our laurels. Not only do we want to continue to develop our sustainable collections in terms of sustainability in production and materials, but we are also incorporating this central theme into all areas of the company and pushing ahead with our CR activities.’

New brand- and collection-wide target: 70 per cent sustainable fibres by 2025

This intensified CR commitment includes, above all, bonprix's ambitious goal of using 70 per cent sustainable fibres in all textile items by 2025, regardless of the collection or brand. Bonprix already uses around 50 per cent more environmentally friendly materials – the majority of these are covered by the main fibre cotton, but there are also promising approaches with the other relevant fibres polyester, polyamide and viscose. In the coming years, conventional fabrics are to be gradually replaced by more sustainable alternatives. The materials currently in use include cotton from the Cotton made in Africa initiative, organic cotton, recycled cotton, TENCEL™ Lyocell, LENZING™ ECOVERO™, recycled polyester and recycled polyamide, including the branded fibres ECONYL® and REPREVE®. To ensure the quality of its materials, bonprix relies on internationally recognised standards such as GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and GRS (Global Recycled Standard). The proportion of these materials in the collections is to be continuously increased and supplemented with new, more sustainable materials.

‘As one of the leading German and internationally successful online fashion retailers, we bear a great responsibility not only for the satisfaction of our customers, but also for the conscious use of the environment and resources,’ says Jansen, explaining the new objective.

Waterless dyeing at the CleanDye factory: machines in operation, first products available at the end of December

bonprix's CR strategy is also taking effect with new developments in various areas of the production and supply chain. At the CleanDye factory in Vietnam, which was officially opened in April this year and is an innovation joint venture founded in 2017 together with Dutch business partners, the machines have now been successfully put into operation and the sustainable dyeing processes, in which special textiles are dyed with carbon dioxide instead of water, are running at full speed. The first products will be available online at the end of December and will also be advertised in catalogues from January 2020.

Greater transparency in the deeper supply chain for more resource-efficient production methods

In order to create more transparency in the deeper supply chain and thus identify potential for improvement, bonprix has been using the Higg Facility Tools from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) since 2018. bonprix is initially focusing on the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM), which covers topics such as energy, water and chemicals. The company is thus relying on industry standards that are designed to enable a uniform assessment of suppliers' sustainability performance. ‘By using the Higg Facility Tools, we can leverage new potential in the implementation of our CR strategy and we are very much looking forward to continuing our collaboration with the SAC,’ explains Jansen.

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) is an association of various players in the textile and footwear industry who are working together to develop uniform standards for assessing sustainability. bonprix and the Otto Group have been members of this association since August 2018.

bonprix has been consistently implementing the Otto Group's sustainability goals for many years. In addition, the fashion company has set further-reaching goals and priority areas in its own CR strategy, which was presented in September 2017. Information on bonprix's CR strategy can be found at https://www.bonprix.de/corporate/verantwortung/.