Selfridges has launched six new labelling categories as it ramps up its commitment to sustainable products across fashion, beauty and homewares.
The iconic department store business said the move would more than double the Buying Better scheme it launched in 2017 to include more than 3,000 items from over 100 brands.
Selfridges said the expansion of the range would “increase clarity for customers” who are seeking to shop in an eco-friendly way by “highlighting specific sustainable product attributes”.
The retailer has introduced six new Buying Better labelling categories: Responsible Leather, Vegan, Reducing Waste, Forest Friendly, Cruelty Free and Reducing Waste.
Selfridges said it will work with its wholesale partners to pinpoint which products should fall into each category before adding the Buying Better labels in-store and online.
Selfridges director of sustainability Daniella Vega said: “We know our customers care more than ever about the products they buy and they want clear information from us about them.
“With just 10 years left to secure a sustainable future, collaboration – from working with our brands to create products which are better for people and the planet, to being part of cross-industry coalitions such as the Fashion Pact of which we are a founding signatory – is key to achieving the level of change we need to see.”
The move to introduce the six new labels comes after Selfridges’ own research revealed that 57% of Brits expect more action from luxury retailers than those on the high street when it comes to tackling sustainability.
Some 72% of shoppers surveyed said they were concerned with reducing waste, while 64% want to buy products that have been produced cruelty-free, with no animal testing involved in the manufacturing process.
The research and Selfridges’ new labelling commitments form part of its broader sustainability drive.
Selfridges became fur-free back in 2005 and launched Project Ocean in 2011 – a partnership with the Zoological Society of London designed to help protect oceans from overfishing and plastic pollution.
In 2014, it became the first department store to be awarded the Carbon Trust Triple Standard for reducing energy and water use, and improving waste management, and a year later the business removed all plastic carrier bags and single-use plastic water bottles from its stores.
Selfridges has also removed all plastic straws from its food halls, converted to green electricity, stripped out single-use plastic carbonated drinks and axed the use of palm oil in its own-label products during the past three years.
And just last month it became one of the first retailers to sign the Fashion Pact, a series of commitments around the climate, biodiversity and oceans aimed at reducing the sector’s overall environmental impact.
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