New design and business models for sustainable consumption:

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1 New design and business models for sustainable consumption: Group 4 Kira Van den Ende Andrea Taylor Janika Magi Maja Cornelius Pauliina Varis Silvia Gonzalez

2 Table of Contents 1.Topic Selection 2.Problem Statement 3.Stakeholders 4.Etnoraid 5.Zara Environmental 6.Zara Materials 7. Shop of the Future 7.1 Transparency 7.2 Technology 7.3 Education 7.4 Up-cycling 8. Conclusion

3 1. Topic Selection The development team s decision was to focus on a well-known company that has the ability to influence consumers. Zara as a company showed power to invest which is why choosing this company appeared realistic. They are a very widespread retailer and already have sustainable values in their environmental policy. This policy is shown on the Zara website through their mission statement. Taking a company that has an environmental and sustainable background means it would be natural for them to build on that policy. This development team is at hand to propose an idea that will include a more sustainable approach within Zara.

4 2. Problem Statement 3.Stakeholders The fashion industry is dealing with issues that extend to different fields. First, there is the superficial way we consume garments, As if there was no link between the final piece of clothing and the original material. Second, the way traditional way clothes are made is out-dated in a world where sustainable thinking is becoming more and more important. As a solution to this, the team will propose a new Future Shop to the fashion distributors of Zara, Inditex Group, to have a new and successful initiative for the store. The new business model for the retailer would have to be accepted by the board members within Inditex. This project focuses on the sustainable factors that already exist in Zara, taking a bigger step towards more environmentally conscious responsibility. The team s final idea is to create a Shop of the Future that will improve consumer awareness, create sustainable ranges and up cycle old Zara garments that can be re-sold. Overall, it will have a large focus on lifestyle. The team has developed a road-map which portrays the business goals in chronological order (See Appendice 1). Stakeholders in the company are extremely important because of the way they will be affected through a change in the business. Mr. Amancia Ortega, Chairman of Inditex Group, opened up his own store originally in Arteixo. This small shop was successful because the clothes he sold were of good quality and reasonably priced. The development team s idea will reflect back to the original idea of quality over quantity. Ortega will also find the fast fashion side of producing the sustainable garments cohesive with the way Zara as a company works today. Customers as stakeholders would be the new shop s target market. The consumers would be both men and women and would be shopping for quality clothing at a reasonable price. The group did market research by asking questions, in Copenhagen s Zara store, to find out what customer s think about the Future Shop.

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6 4. Etnoraid When the team asked customers questions relating to the project in the Zara store it gave a good insight into the consumer behaviour. The questions asked were: Why Zara? (Good/bad things) What makes you value a garment? Would you like to know something about the production? (Perhaps whilst in the store or knowing what s really behind the price) What do you think the shops will look like in the future?

7 4. Zara Environmental In Zara s environmental policy there are valuable methods that the company already works with for example see Appendice 2. When Zara talks further about what each of their policies stated entails they start talking about We save energy. The eco-friendly store. This part of the policy is interesting because Zara talk about how much they want to save energy through their lighting, heating and cooling systems. They also go on to talk about recycling furniture and decoration as a method of being sustainable and efficient. This caught the development team s attention because the clothing that Zara produce that aren t sold haven t been mentioned in the topic of energy or waste. This formed an idea that Zara should have less waste and more of an up cycling method in order to be sustainably fashionable. If the clothing is recycled back into Zara, employed designers could be re-using materials and reducing waste.

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9 4. Zara Materials Zara stated that they use ecological materials. Within the team it was suggested that in order to follow a cradle to cradle approach, garments would have to be made without mixing different materials. When a garment is made with only one type of material throughout it can then be up-cycle into different things and be re-used. Zara would have to invest in a new range of clothing that would be completely sustainable. Zara already uses: -Ecological fabrics -Organic cotton -PVC-free footwear

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11 Based on the C2C principles the new collection uses eco-friendly materials, which can be recycled either in a biological or a technical loop. Having the control for material supply, Zara is able to produce fabrics for the new collection in their own factories. The new collection alters the composition of fabrics from the mixed one to using only one material at a time. The more ecological alternatives for material in use make the fibre-tofibre recycling of the materials less burdening for the environment. The table below shows the material in us and more ecofriendly alternatives for the fibres.

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13 The process of reviewing and comparing fibres makes opportunities to reduce environmental impact more visible. As an example switching to organic production brings a major reduction in the toxicity profile for cotton. The main factor limiting the increased use of organic cotton is its limited supply (0.18 per cent of world fibre demand and around 1 per cent of the total cotton market). Productivity of organic production is usually less than for conventional production, by up to 50 per cent, and this has given rise to skepticism in the fibre industry about organic cotton s viability as a true replacement for conventionally grown fibre, as lower yields require more land in order to meet demand. Also interest in renewable resource based fibres such lyocell, bamboo, PLA and soya bean is growing and these are promoted as replacements for petrochemical-derived synthetic fibres like polyester. For example as an substitute for viscose lyocell (made of wood pulp, normally eucalyptus) is an environmentally responsible fibre utilising renewable resources as its raw materials. In the production other than evaporation of water, the manufacturing process recovers 99,5 per cent of the solvent, which is purified and then recycled back into the main process. The solvent itself is non-toxic and all the effluent produced is nonhazardous. Lyocell is also fully biodegradable. Although Zara already uses organic cotton in their products, the intension of the the new collection is to increase the use of organic cotton and other environmentally low-impact-materials. For more material alternatives see Table1 ( Appendice 3.)

14 7.Shop of the Future Walking in to Zara in the future will give you a whole new shopping experience. The lay-out will be a lot more spacious. Using natural materials and colors in the shop design and furniture, choosing for example wood, leather and non-toxic paint, will create a more relaxed atmosphere. TRANSPARENCY Transparency is the key word in the new concept. This means that the intention is to create a glass wall between the customers and the production of the clothes. There are three things the team is focusing on: technology, education and a visible workroom. TECHNOLOGY In some places in the store touch screens will be found. These screens would be used as an interaction between Zara and its customers. They contain all the information regarding the garments. For example, if the customer finds a t-shirt (s)he likes, he can look it up on the screen and discover where the cotton comes from, how it was spun and woven, what materials were used etc. Customers could also use it to look up information about how Zara, amongst others, saves resources, recycles and takes care of good labor conditions.

15 When the screens are not being used, they broadcast a conceptual film about the way clothes are made. All this is to raise people s interest and awareness about everything that is behind the clothes and thereby make them have more appreciation. EDUCATION When customers have an interest in the production of clothes, they should be able to ask questions about it. And who better to answer them than the staff in the store? In the Shop of the Future, Zara s staff will have a good knowledge about materials, production and the Zara way of working. This is interesting for Zara in more than one way: it would improve customer relationships and it would be a very clever marketing tool. Like Hutten L (2010) said, employees are the first step to get information about the company out into the world, without advertisement.

16 UP-CYCLING The third tool to make Zara into a more sustainable company is an up-cycling visible workroom, in the back of the store. This is where old clothes are given new life. The old clothes come from customers who bring the Zara items that they no longer wear to the store, in return for a small discount. This is truly a win-win situation, as it is profitable for the company, the costumers and the environment. Having a visible workroom will, again, raise consumer awareness. It is the most direct way of seeing how much effort goes into every piece of clothing and subconsciously urge people to treat clothing with respect.

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18 Appendice 2: OUR MISSION STATEMENT Environmental policy Through Zara s business model, we aim to contribute to the sustainable development of society and that of the environment with which we interacts. The company s commitment to the environment is included in Inditex Group s Corporate Responsibility Statement, published on our website: The following are some of the objectives and actions included in the framework of the group s environmental commitment and have a direct impact on our shops and customers: AT THE STORE - We save energy. - The eco-friendly shop. - We produce less waste, and recycle. - Our commitment extends to all our staff. - An environmentally aware team. We save energy. The eco-friendly store. We are implementing an eco-friendly management model in our shops in order to reduce energy consumption by 20%, introducing sustainability and efficiency criteria. This management model sets out measures to be applied to all processes, including the design of the shop itself, the lighting, heating and cooling systems and the possibility of recycling furniture and decoration. We produce less waste and recycle. Recycling hangers and alarms, which are picked up from our shops and processed into other plastic elements, is an example of our waste management policy. Millions of hangers and alarms are processed each year and both the cardboard and plastic used for packaging are also recycled.

19 - Our commitment extends to all our staff. Increased awareness among our team members. We hold In-company awareness campaigns and specific multimediabased training programmes to educate our staff in sustainable practices, such as limiting energy consumption, using sustainable transport and modifying behaviour patterns. We produce PVC-free footwear. No petroleum derivatives or nonbiodegradable materials are used in the production of our footwear (PVC free). WITH THE PRODUCT - We use ecological fabrics. - Organic cotton. - We manufacture PVC-free footwear. We use ecological fabrics. Organic cotton. Zara supports organic farming and makes some of its garments out of organic cotton (100% cotton, completely free of pesticides, chemicals and bleach). They have specific labels and are easy to spot in our shops. We produce PVC-free footwear. No petroleum derivatives or nonbiodegradable materials are used in the production of our footwear (PVC free). IN TRANSPORT - We use biodiesel fuel. Zara s fleet of lorries, which transport more than 200 million items of clothing a year, use 5% biodiesel fuel. This allows us to reduce our CO2 emissions by 500 tons. Animal welfare policy All products of animal origin sold in our shops, including fur and leather, come exclusively from animals raised on food farms and under no circumstances come from animals sacrificed exclusively for the sale of their hide.

20 Appendice 1

21 Conclusion The starting point of this project was that the issues in fashion comprise two major points: the way we consume things and the way we produce things. The main focus of this assignment was to find a practical manner to tackle both of these problems. Working with the company Zara was an obvious choice, as they not only have the power to invest, but also the power to influence a wide range of consumers. The resolution presented in this essay is the Shop of the Future. This is a new concept where the keyword is transparency, meaning that a glass wall between the consumer and the production is created; it will establish a more profound relationship between the clothes and the owners. This is obtained through three focuses: technology, education and up-cycling. Technology finds its utilization in the touchscreen to be found throughout the store, where customers can interactively find information on the clothing. When they have further questions they can be directed by staff. The employees will be thoroughly educated on materials, production and the Zara mission. Education for the staff has a second purpose; spreading the knowledge in a word-to-mouth fashion. The third focus, up-cycling, is a way to close the Cradle to Cradle - circle. Customers can return old Zara garments, and witness in a visible workroom how they are given new life. All the garments that are to be sold in this shop have to be designed according to the guidelines presented by this team. The organic and technological materials will have to be separated as much as possible. While up-cycling the returned clothes, this should also be considered. In a world changing as rapidly as it does today, it is important to stay ahead of your game. That is exactly what Zara would be doing by introducing the Shop of the Future. Due to the upcoming lack of materials it will become inevitable to work more with a sustainable approach and think Cradle to Cradle. Marketing wise, the best move is to be a pioneer in this worldwide change. It shows in their mission that they are already aware of this. Hopefully they will consider this innovating idea to take the enactment of their mission to the next level.

22 Bibliography Fletcher, K. (2008): Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys. London: Earthscan. Hutten, L., Cappozucca, P., Nayyan, S. (2010) A Roadmap for Sustainable Consumption. Delittereview.com 1 (1), 1. Inditex. (2010) members Trend Tablet. (2010) Zara. (2010) Our Mission of Statement. webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category/uk/en/zara-s2011-s/18001/ Our%2BMission%2Bstatement

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