For status and progress on all Fashion FWD goals, please see our sustainability reporting.
All consumer-facing packaging will be 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable.
We will have phased out single use virgin plastic wherever possible
BESTSELLER uses plastic packaging for our polybags, for wrapping, and for how we present our fashion products (such as shorts and shirts) to our customers. Our biggest consumption of plastics is for polybags. Annually, it is estimated that we use more than 250,000,000 polybags – equaling more than 3,750 tons of plastics – to protect the clothes we sell, plus more than 10 million shipping bags and at least 60 tons of transparent shrink wrap film for wrapping pallets.
For this reason, we have set up design criteria to support high quality recycling of plastics. These criteria constitute our BESTSELLER policy for plastic packaging which covers all of our activities from sourcing from our suppliers to selling to our wholesale, retail, and E-Commerce customers.
The vast majority of paper-based packaging is recyclable. But it provides challenges when it is combined with other material to form composite multi-layers.
Every year, we use a significant amount of paper-based packaging. Our biggest consumption is for shipping boxes of our fashion products. Annually, it is estimated that we annually use almost 13 million shipping boxes– equaling more than 7,000 tons of paper-based packaging material.
Every year, BESTSELLER also uses a significant amount of pallets and paper. For this reason, we have included design criteria in our sourcing requirements for paper based packaging materials. By doing so, we also help to optimise the quality and quantity of paper-based packaging that can be reused, recycled or composted.
All packaging materials including for shoes and accessories, bags, tags and labels are included in our policies, which is line with the new French and Italian packaging regulations.
BESTSELLER has substituted all polybags made of virgin plastic used for packaging with 100 percent recycled alternatives. The new polybags are made of 100 percent recycled polyethylene (PE) certified by Global Recycling Standard and are also designed for subsequent high-quality recycling.
Fibres and materials are essential to fashion. Year round we create accessories and garments made from a range of natural and man-made fibres that can be cut and sewn into clothing.
We need innovation to meet future requirements and reach the ambitions of the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. That’s why we’re investigating and scaling early-stage fibre developments and working cross-sectoral.
Innovation in textiles is strategically important for BESTSELLER and through Invest FWD and our involvement in Fashion for Good, we’re exploring innovative material solutions and help bring them to scale.