Desigual is taking its 2020-2023 Sustainability and CSR strategy very seriously and is meeting the objectives it had set itself ahead of schedule. Thus, the Barcelona-based company has ensured that its collections will be 70% sustainable by 2023. The road travelled has been a long one, as until just three years ago its collections were only 2% sustainable.
«Our commitment to the environment begins with the choice of raw materials with which we manufacture our collections and transcends the entire creation process,» said Clara Delmuns, Product Director at Desigual, in a press release.
It should be noted that the autumn-winter 2021 collection presents 53% of sustainable references in its Woman category and 46% if all its lines are taken into account. Likewise, the customer is kept better informed about the company’s planet-friendly initiatives.
«Desigual has developed a new labeling model that qualifies garments according to the amount of recycled, eco-friendly or organic material. In this way the consumer can know that the piece is duly certified and what the minimum requirements are,» the document detailed.
In this classification, recycled garments are those that have a minimum of 30% recycled materials or 20% if they are made of cotton. To be considered eco-friendly, items must have 50 % of sustainable materials. On the other hand, BCI (Better Cotton Initiative) certified clothing has a distinctive label, being made of at least 50% of the initiative’s cotton.
As one of Desigual’s most popular materials, the cotton used in 2021 by the brand has a more sustainable origin at 67 % and is projected to reach 100 % by 2025.
In addition, Desigual has set a goal that 100 % of cellulose-based man-made fibers, such as viscose, lyocell and acetate, will be sourced from certified sustainable forests.
In addition, the brand also distinguishes with the label «upcycling» clothing made with second-hand products, while «Love Processes» indicates clothing obtained through processes with less environmental impact, through less use of energy, water or chemicals.
In December 2020, Desigual joined the Fashion Pact, a French initiative launched at the G7 summit that brings together international fashion and textile companies committed to limiting the industry’s impact on the climate, biodiversity and the oceans, through targets to be met between 2030 and 2050. One of the most important goals of the pact is net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Founded in 1984, Desigual is a Spanish company that reflects a positive and original lifestyle in its garments marked by its famous slogan: «La vida es chula» (Life is cool). It currently has more than 2,700 employees, is present in 109 countries and has six categories: Woman, Man, Kids, Accessories, Shoes and Sport.
After experiencing difficult times due to the pandemic, which caused it to fall into the red for the first time in its history in 2020, with losses of 89 million euros, Desigual has rebounded and closed 2021 with a net profit of 3 million and a turnover of 371 million euros.
