Environmental Sustainability
May 7, 2020 at 8:07 pm
Sustainability has gained a lot of mindshare in the retail world. We’ve seen everything from retailers’ partnerships with brands like thredUP and TheRealReal to the creation of designers’ fully sustainable clothing lines. These initiatives, coupled with consumers who want to feel connected to brands and embrace things old and new, have created an environment where…
March 5, 2020 at 2:57 pm
Although once mostly limited to tiny local consignment and secondhand shops, fashion and apparel recommerce today includes a range of digitally native companies offering resale, rental, upcycling and/or subscription models. Each of these business models can extend the useful life of apparel and increase the average number of times an item is worn, helping cut…
February 25, 2020 at 1:42 pm
Last week, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) released its 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility report. It included highlights from WBA's sustainability programs and recognitions from 2019. The report was broken down into four parts: healthy communities, sustainable marketplace, healthy planet, and healthy and inclusive workplace. Total Retail spoke to Alain Turenne, vice president, corporate social responsibility, Walgreens, to…
February 24, 2020 at 9:40 am
Gap is the latest retailer to dip its toes into the secondhand apparel market, following the lead of Macy’s, Nordstrom and others, in a bid to stay relevant in an industry shaken by changing consumer tastes. The company announced last week that it has partnered with resale platform thredUP, which bills itself as the largest…
February 23, 2020 at 2:04 pm
Sustainable and eco-friendly products, which may have been just a marketing strategy or half-hearted effort in the early 21st century for companies, are quickly turning into a trend they must address to stay competitive. Today’s consumers, led by millennials and Gen Z, are driving the demand for sustainability and are willing to look past potential savings to…
January 30, 2020 at 12:18 pm
Nordstrom is the latest traditional retailer to join the resale movement, the company announced in a press release. The upscale department store will be selling gently used merchandise in excellent condition online and at its New York flagship in an initiative called See You Tomorrow. The program begins Jan. 31. The press release announced that See…
January 22, 2020 at 3:28 pm
Starbucks announced Tuesday an ambitious plan to cut its waste, water use and carbon emissions in half by 2030, reports The Seattle Times. The coffee giant's CEO and President Kevin Johnson revealed that the new sustainability initiatives would have five main goals: add more menu items that are “plant-based”; shift from single-use to reusable packaging; invest in new…
January 17, 2020 at 11:32 am
In this week’s Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Kristina Stidham and Ashley Chiaradio discuss the top trends to emerge from the 2020 National Retail Federation Big Show in New York City. Here are three trends we heard frequently over the three-day event: the need for retailers to implement diversity and inclusion initiatives; an increased focus…
December 23, 2019 at 12:52 pm
In episode 227 of Total Retail Talks, Executive Editor Joe Keenan interviews Annie Hurlbut, founder and CEO of Peruvian Connection, an internationally renowned brand for luxury Peruvian textiles and fibers. Listen in as Hurlbut discusses the company's 43-year history, how the brand sources fibers from artisans in Peru, and its commitment to environmental sustainability. Peruvian…
December 20, 2019 at 1:14 pm
At this year’s G7 summit in Biarritz, 32 companies banded together to sign the Fashion Pact, a commitment to solving one of the apparel and retail industry’s biggest problems: sustainability. The fast-fashion sector has been a main contributor to the problem. With companies churning out more clothing on a faster production cycle, the fashion world…
