For a growing number of footwear brands, embracing recycled materials is no longer enough. To be truly circular, they say, a shoe must be recyclable into a new one. But the concept has proven elusive — perhaps more so than with clothing. Much of this has to do with the way shoes are typically designed….
Category: Vogue Business
H&M’s Green Machine: A Recycling Solution?
H&M calls it the Green Machine: a piece of technology it says is the first to separate and recycle polyester and cotton-blended clothing at scale. Later this month, Monki, the Gen Z targeting womenswear brand owned by H&M, will drop the first commercial products made using its recycled fibres. The collection — a £40 hooded…
The Rise in ESG Ratings: What’s the Score?
When Michael Beutler joined Kering’s sustainability operations team as its director in 2011, the fashion conglomerate, then known as PPR, fielded at most four investor requests a year about its environmental practices. Nearly a decade later, the Gucci and Saint Laurent owner receives at least four of these questionnaires a month. “If not double that,”…
Direct-to-Consumer’s Lasting Impact on Fashion
At Art Basel in December, Levi’s hosted a pop-up that offered customers a chance to customize products at every turn. Levi’s Haus Miami let shoppers personalize jeans, screen print T-shirts or have items tailored on the spot. Other attractions included artist workshops and an art gallery, all designed to draw people in and get them…
Why Fashion Needs Chief Diversity Officers
For the world’s leading fashion brands, chief diversity officers have become a hot hire. And with good reason. H&M appointed Annie Wu to the role after an image of a black boy wearing a hoodie with the words “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” sparked allegations of racism in 2018. Gucci hired its first chief diversity…