Nordstrom Announces a Pair of Sustainability Initiatives

Nordstrom announced last Friday that it has launched Sustainable Style, an online shopping category that consists entirely of responsibly made products. The featured items are sustainably sourced, manufactured in factories that meet higher social or environmental standards, and/or give back. The category includes more than 2,000 items from 90 brands, including Nordstrom-made Treasure & Bond, Patagonia, Reformation, Eileen Fisher, S'well, TOMS, Veja, and Caudalie. This news comes on the heels of Nordstrom's commitment to the G7 Fashion Pact, a new coalition of 32 global luxury retailers working to address the global climate crisis. The pact, a first for U.S.-based multiline fashion retailers, serves as a mission statement for a global industry intrinsically linked to complex sustainability issues and consumption.

Total Retail's Take: Consumers are increasingly making purchase decisions based on social issues and brands’ values, such as their commitment to environmental sustainability, and Nordstrom wants to be at the forefront of that conversation. Not only is Nordstrom committing itself to helping improve the environment, but it's making it easier for consumers to do the same when shopping its website. Rather than placing responsibility on the shopper to do the legwork, Nordstrom is curating high-end, guilt-free options in a special section of its site that consumers can quickly and easily access. It makes sense, as consumers want the brands they shop with to share common values, but they also want the purchase experience to be as convenient and easy as possible. Nordstrom is wisely marrying the two components with its Sustainable Style category.