The licensed fashion powerhouse, Erve Europe has earmarked 2023 as a big year for CO2 reduction across its operations as it looks to bring 50% of its suppliers into alignment with its environmental targets.
The Belgian apparel specialist has told Products of Change its plans include having a clear overview of its Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, including those of its strategic suppliers and Erve head office and Beconnected offices. Currently, around one quarter of the strategic suppliers Erve works with follow environmental auditing procedures. This year, Erve will work to ensure a further 25% of non-strategic suppliers are following suit.
Under the company’s three pillars of People, Planet, and Product, Erve has made major headway in bringing sustainable practices to its licensing and apparel business, whether that’s delivered through increased use of sustainable materials in its products or in the reduction of water, energy, or chemical usage across its production processes.
Across Erve’s current portfolio, a total of 44% makes use of more sustainable materials such as Better Cotton and GOTS certified cotton. By the end of this year, Erve also aims to have increased the amount of cotton clothing that is recycled, organic, or sustainably sourced to 50%.
“As the first next step, we are launching a supplier questionnaire on responsible purchasing practices to get their feedback on how responsibly we are buying,” said Kyra Claeys, CSR and project officer at Erve Europe.
“We believe the licensing industry can be a sustainable industry, but to achieve that we must collaborate with different stakeholders. We’re currently looking into opportunities to combine forces with licensors to introduce sustainable collections and make sustainability affordable in the licensing industry.”
Source: Products of Change | Spring edition 2023 | p. 29
About ERVE:
Erve is a European leader in character licences and brands. We produce branded fashion and apparel featuring TV, film, cartoon and video game heroes. As part of Erve Group, we have eight offices across three continents and we control the supply chain between raw materials and stores. Starting with our in-house design team and portfolio of licences – we source, produce, pack and transport collections at the request of major fashion retailers. With 37 years in the industry, our dynamic team values growth, transparency and customer focus. Our exceptional quality and sustainable practices have earned us a reputation for excellence.
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