Adidas customers will be able to send “worn-out” products to The Seam. With the collaboration aiming to repair, clean and refurbish products to give them “a new lease of life”.

“This is an exciting moment for The Seam and a much bigger shift for the wider industry as care and repair is being embraced by more accessible brands,” said Layla Sargent, founder & CEO at The Seam

“This partnership meets growing demand from high street customers to extend the life of their belongings, and I’m grateful to everyone who has helped to bring it to life.”

Read more: INTERVIEW eBay and The Seam on the Circular Fashion Fund

Services, which can be booked online, include sneaker clean & repair; bag & accessory repair; outdoor gear repair; activewear repair and zip replacement. Most repairs take about seven to 10 days, with items returned by post.

If items are unable to be repaired, Adidas will return the cost of the service. However, the delivery charges will be deducted so the partnership can return the item to consumers.

Adidas was recently profiled in the the newly published RetailX Germany 360° report. The case study looks at previous sustainable partnerships with the likes of Stella McCartney, and how research into design and circularity saw it launch a 100% recyclable performance running shoe.

The profile also highlights that inclusivity is important to the brand, both in terms of the sports for which it designs apparel and in its sponsorship of athletes. Nine teams at the Paris 2024 Olympics and six Paralympic teams are sponsored by adidas, including athletes from the UK, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Ethiopia, Ireland, Bahrain, Cuba and Turkey.

Adidas is one of eight company profiles in the RetailX Germany 360° report, with it also looking at Douglas, Hornbach, Lidl, Otto, Rewe, Rossmann and Zalando.

Our first edition of the RetailX Germany 360° report. This new format reports on the German digital landscape, its consumers’ attitudes to shopping online and details of the retailers that lead the market. These are analysed through charts and the RetailX ranking.

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The prototype is designed to help Barker and Stonehouse with its wider emissions reduction plans, and could one day replace its current delivery fleet.

Based at the retailer’s Lincoln test centre, the zero-emission prototype will enable delivery drivers to test it for 12 months from July. If found to be viable, Barker and Stonehouse will look to roll the vehicles on a national basis, gradually replacing its delivery fleet.

James Barker, managing director of Barker and Stonehouse, said: “Further exploring the use of hydrogen-powered vehicles forms part of our commitment to environmental responsibility and aligns with our goal of minimising our impact on the planet. We are proud to be pioneers in exploring the possibilities of this exciting potential shift.”

As part of this shift, the furniture retailer is also working to optimise delivery routes for efficiency. It has also invested in renewable energy sources for its stores and warehouses, and sustainable packaging materials where possible.

Barker and Stonehouse became a Carbon Neutral Plus company in April 2021 and was the first UK furniture retailer to receive the certification. 

Learn more about homeware retailers turning to sustainable delivery methods in the RetailX European Homeware report. It highlights how as younger customers become home-makers, speedy delivery, ethical sourcing, sustainable production and delivery are becoming key drivers of the sector.

The full report includes 49 illustrative RetailX figures, charts and graphs, nine company profiles including: Blinds2Go, Displate, Plumbworld, Jardiland and Dunelm and three case studies including: E.Leclerc, Furniturebox and Wayfair.

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Blister packs, which are made of plastic and foil and used for vitamins and medicines, cannot typically be recycled through household kerbside collections. Boots hopes this new initiative will enable millions of used blister packs to be recycled and diverted from landfill over the next few years.

The blister pack recycling scheme is an extension of the popular Recycle at Boots initiative, which rewards customers for bringing empty health and beauty products that cannot be recycled at home to collection bins at Boots.

Recycle at Boots collection bins are available at over 700 stores across the UK and over 3.1 million products have been recycled since it launched in 2020. 

Now, customers near participating stores can now drop off their used blister packs for recycling in dedicated collection bins and get rewarded for it. Boots Advantage Card holders will receive 150 Boots Advantage Card points when they recycle 15 empty blister packs and spend £10 or more in store.

The Recycle at Boots initiative is brand agnostic, meaning that customers can recycle blister packs from any brand and track their recycling, as long as they have a Boots Advantage Card.

Natalie Gourlay, head of ESG at Boots, said: “At Boots we want to make it easy for our customers to make sustainable choices for a healthy planet – from the products they buy to how they dispose of the packaging once they have used them.

“Customers can now simply drop off their empty blister packs at Boots with the assurance that the materials will be given a second life and get rewarded for it too just like they can when they drop off other hard-to-recycle empties through Recycle at Boots. We will be taking the learnings of this initial pilot on board as we look to roll the scheme out more widely within the next year.”

Both this latest blister pack recycling scheme and wider Recycle at Boots initiative is run in partnership with technology partner Metrisk and recycling partner MYGroup. 

After the blister packs or health and beauty empties have been dropped off at Boots stores, they are sent to MYGroup to be separated using a specialised machine, the metal foil is recycled conventionally, as aluminium is infinitely recyclable, while the plastic is processed into a useable form again, where possible, or made into a material called MYBoard^TM to be used for construction, furniture and more.

Furthermore, Boots is taking steps to reduce the amount of plastic in the products it sells. For example, in 2022 it banned plastic-based wet wipes from sale and called on other retailers to follow suit.

Discover why retailers, spanning a range of sectors, are changing their packaging for the good of the planet in the DeliveryX Packaging 2023 report. Access the full digital report for an exclusive interview with meal-kit company HelloFresh. And case studies on Boohoo, H&M and L’Occitane’s new approach to packaging.

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The majority of the material came from worn-out clothes returned by co-workers, with a small addition of overstock of pre-ordered uniforms that were left unused due to the transition to the new design. The collected uniforms formed part of textile recycling trial by Ikea. 

“The fabric is shredded to make fibres, naturally making them much shorter than virgin fibres. This means they have lower mechanical performance, but the performance in every other aspect is just as good as virgin material,” explained Luca Clerici, new business manager at Ikea Group.

“For example, if you make a fabric that’s used for an office chair, the requirements for good quality are quite demanding of mechanical performance in particular, because of the high usage and friction. With, say, a curtain the requirements are different. The stress on the product comes from other things, like light, for which we can ensure the same good quality with these fibres as well.”

It has now introduced VÄXELBRUK, a collection of throws, cushion covers, curtains, and bags made using 300 tonnes of recycled uniforms collected across European between 2020 to 2022. The homeware retailer will soon launch this collection in stores across Europe.

Ikea explained that while the VÄXELBRUK products don’t quite reveal their origins at first glance, they still feature the recognisable colours of the Ikea coworker uniform.

“We got a lot of good ideas from the supplier in the development process and ended up introducing other fabric colours from industrial textile surplus to create a different fabric,” Clerici added. “It helped make the yellow less yellow and the blue less blue.”

A challenge of this project was managing and repurposing its own potential waste at scale.”We had to learn to navigate quite a complex landscape in terms of requirements, legislation, and logistics. How to move the material, working with the right carriers with special licenses to receive and manage them. We studied all of these things very closely,” Clerici explained.

He stressed it was a real team effort and sets an example for recycling and repurposing materials within Ikea.

“There were so many cross-disciplinary learnings, not only about textiles. We’re sharing these across IKEA for people to use in everything from the supply chain to product development and design. Many good things have happened because of this project.”

Read an exclusive interview with Ikea’s vice president of engineering Anca Iordanescu in the RetailX Europe Top1000 report. Discover how Ikea is among the brands thinking again about how they sell as shoppers change their shopping habits once more.

The report also features seven case studies including KPI comparisons. Includes: Albert Heijn, H&M, Empik, Oysho, Castorama, GuitarGuitar and River Island.

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The retailer has already made progress in this regard, with 94% of all product launches from its own brands were vegan in 2022/23. Additionally, almost 30% of product launches from its own brands contained at least 90% ingredients of natural origin.

Its latest ESG report also highlighted that Douglas is committed to reducing its environmental footprint – from reducing energy consumption in stores and offices to minimising waste and CO2 emissions throughout the supply chain. The company has also set itself the goal of reducing its CO2 footprint in the so-called scopes 1 and 2 by 50% by 2025 compared to the base financial year 2018/19. In the 2022/23 financial year, the corresponding emissions have already been reduced by 32% compared to the base financial year 2018/19.

For further reduction targets, Douglas intends to align its climate targets with the Science Based Targets (SBTs), which then also include a target for reducing Scope 3 emissions. The company has also signed the UN Global Compact. This is a United Nations pact that motivates companies worldwide to pursue sustainable and socially responsible policies.

“We want to lead the way in terms of sustainability in the industry. We have already made good progress along this path, for example in reducing our combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in recent years. We remain committed to our ambitious goals to further reduce our carbon footprint and promote sustainability,” said Sander van der Laan, CEO Douglas group and chairman of the ESG Committee.

Learn more about Douglas in a dedicated company spotlight in the RetailX Beauty & Cosmetics sector report 2023. Discover how Douglas became an international success story selling a wide mix of health and beauty items across cosmetics, skincare, haircare and perfume in multiple countries in Europe.

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How much does sustainable shopping matter to UK shoppers? RetailX asked UK shoppers this question, along with the extent to which their beliefs affect the way that they buy. The findings suggest that 66% of respondents agree or strongly agree that the ecological impact of the products that they buy matters. A similar proportion (67.3%) want retailers to behave in sustainable ways. 

To what extent do customers’ values drive real action? 46.4% say they would be willing to spend more on products produced in more sustainable ways. Asked which environmental measures matter most to them, 71.5% say environmentally friendly packaging is important or very important, while 60% say the same about carbon-neutral home delivery. 

The research investigates how often shoppers act around sustainability issues and finds that 29.5% say they look for sustainability information when buying, although more (33.1%) never do so. Not all act on this information, with 16.9% saying that they will change their purchase on sustainability grounds all or most of the time, and a further 28.4% doing so only some of the time. Yet 33.7% will always or most often opt for a cheaper alternative, in contrast to the 19.7% who will always or most often opt for a green alternative even when it is more expensive or inconvenient. Smaller groups will tend to return a used item for recycling or resale, or opt to rent instead of buying, as shown in the frequency of usage graphic. 

Sustainability by sector
Green choices vary by sector. Shoppers are most likely to opt for more sustainable versions of groceries – 34.9% say they have done so in the last year. That’s followed by clothing (34.7%) and footwear (17.6%). 

12.7% say they have actively chosen a more sustainable option when buying books and 11.8% when buying homewares. While relatively low numbers of respondents have opted for more sustainable versions of luxury products (8.2%), consumer electronics (6.7%) or jewellery (7%), this can nonetheless add up to a relatively high value market for retailers in these sectors that may grow quickly in coming years. The fact that most make green choices at least some of the time is reflected in the fact that only a third (33.8%) say they haven’t opted for any sustainable purchases in the last year. 

Buying a second-hand item is a popular way to make purchases that have a relatively low impact on the environment. RetailX research suggests respondents are most likely to buy second-hand clothing (37.5%) and books (25.9%). 

Categories where more than one in ten have bought second-hand items include homewares (15.3%) and footwear (15.8%). 36.3% say they haven’t bought anything second-hand in the previous year. 

But while environmentally friendly shopping matters to UK shoppers, it seems that Growth 1000 retail businesses lag behind in their response. Data suggests that only 4.2% of those listed here set out their sustainability goals and commitments on their websites, while 4.3% have a team that is focused on corporate sustainability or sustainability issues.

This may reflect the relatively smaller size of these businesses but it does seem that those who respond to relatively high levels of consumer interest in these issues stand to be rewarded through increased sales and profits.

This feature was authored by Chloe Rigby, and originally featured in the RetailX UK Growth 1000 report. This report features the latest ConsumerX research into UK shopper expectations – in areas from fulfilment to subscriptions, from loyalty to sustainability and more. It illustrates how customers are constantly looking for ways to shop smarter – and even as they look for competitive prices, they also expect to buy in ways that are convenient for them.

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The shift avoids significant greenhouse gas emissions, as mining requires more energy and resources than recycling. The carbon footprint of recycled silver is one-third compared to mined silver, while the recycling of gold emits less than 1% of the carbon emissions from mining new gold.

“Precious metals can be recycled forever without any loss of quality. Silver originally mined centuries ago is just as good as new, and improved recycling can significantly reduce the climate footprint of the jewellery industry,” said Alexander Lacik, CEO of Pandora.

Silver and gold are the most used precious metals in Pandora jewellery. In 2020, Pandora set a target to source 100% recycled silver and gold by 2025, and now the company has reached this milestone earlier than expected – by the end of 2023 ­– thanks to strong commitment from its suppliers.

All suppliers have had to switch their operations to only source materials that are certified recycled according to the Responsible Jewellery Council Chain of Custody, one of the strictest standards in the industry. For many, this has introduced new processes and equipment to ensure complete segregation of mined and recycled metals across the entire supply chain including sorting, melting, and manufacturing. More than 100 Pandora employees have been involved in the transition work.

Allowing time for the depletion of existing inventory of metals, Pandora expects that it will craft all new jewellery with 100% recycled silver and gold from the second half of 2024. In 2023, 97% of the silver and gold sourced for Pandora’s jewellery was recycled.

Currently, less than 20% of the world’s silver supply comes from recycled sources, typically from discarded electronics, old jewellery, silverware, manufacturing scrap and other waste from industry. Once collected, recycled silver undergoes a refining process where impurities are removed, and the metal is recast to be used again.

Discover how Pandora became the third-largest jewellery company, behind Cartier and Tiffany & Co, in an exclusive company profile in the RetailX European Luxury 2023 report.

Download the full report for a look at why is the luxury sector is still highly reliant on physical retail; how inflation is affecting the behaviour of domestic consumers; and what role the metaverse is playing.

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As it makes the news more often, consumers are becoming far more concerned and informed about the environment, along with the welfare of people who make the products they buy. Issues such as animal welfare, carbon footprint, food miles, the destruction of the rainforest, producers being paid a fair amount, slavery and child labour are just some of the many concerns raised by shoppers. 

Overall, less than 5% of consumers say they aren’t worried about the environmental impact of the retail industry, according to RetailX research. 77% of Gen Z shoppers, plus the same percentage of Millennials, want retailers to be ecologically sustainable, with one-third of them feeling very strongly about this. 

These concerns, combined with high inflation and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, have resulted in rise of second-hand sales in parallel to a culture in which it’s acceptable to ‘mend and make do’. 

Sales have been booming over the last year on sites such as eBay and Vinted, which enable consumers to buy and sell second-hand fashion. Indeed, the market for second-hand luxury items is growing faster than sales of their full-price equivalents. This, in turn, is leading to sites introducing services to verify the authenticity of designer items being sold, as well as the brands themselves entering the market in a bid to control and profit from the resale of their goods. 

Shoppers also want to know about the impact of goods when they buy new. They actively seek out information on brand and retail ecommerce sites before making a purchase and while some retailers are sharing information about their own sustainability journey, there is still a lot more that could be done. The majority of shoppers think the ecological impact of purchases needs to be made clearer. 

Those retailers and brands that have been working on measuring their environmental impact and making supply chains more sustainable are trying to translate these efforts into understandable messaging for consumers. What is effectively a science, mathematical and data exercise is being turned into brand-led, heart-felt messaging by marketers. Yet increasingly stiff regulation against ‘greenwashing’ protects consumers from claims of sustainability that cannot be backed up by facts. 

At the same time, retailers are testing new business models, adopting more circular practices and designing products to make them easier to mend or recycle, thus extending their usable lives. Department store Selfridges aims to make its Reselfridges rental, refill and resale operation account for 45% of all transactions by 2030. It is not alone in being so ambitious.

RetailX research
The attitude-behaviour gap: There is a gap between the products consumers want to buy and what they actually purchase. Price is a major factor here, since consumers say they often opt to buy a cheaper product that doesn’t have the same environmental criteria as the one they would prefer to purchase. Consumers in China and India are the most likely to choose a sustainable product when one is available, even if they have to pay a premium. 24% of Chinese consumers have bought a sustainable product when available every time they shopped in the last 12 months, as did a quarter of consumers in India. Shoppers in the US, UK, Canada and Australia are more reluctant to pay a premium. 

Sharing sustainability goals: 11.4% of the RetailX Global Top1000 retailers and brands outline their sustainability goals and commitments on their ecommerce sites, making the information easily accessible to consumers. Some make the information prominent while others include a link in the site footer or the top navigation. Fashion companies are the most likely to share sustainability targets with browsing consumers. 21.7% of fashion companies do so. 

Sustainability roadmap: Fashion retailers are the most likely to share details of how they intend to reach their sustainability targets. 18.9% of the fashion companies in the RetailX Global Top1000 publish plans of action to achieve their stated sustainability goals. Homeware retailers are almost as likely to share their targets online. 18% have done so, with 16.9% giving more data about their roadmap to achieving the goals. 10.2% of multi-sector stores share plans, with 8.7% of consumer electronics retailers also doing so.

Coming soon: The second annual Year in Data report, brings together the highlights and key points from all of the RetailX reports published over the past 12 months. Through 66 pages, we share the data highlights from the more than 40 reports that RetailX produced in 2023.

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The survey of over 1,000 UK business decision makers conducted by the YouGov analysis institute, explored attitudes towards, and engagements with, the circular economy. Results showed that 63% of retail businesses surveyed have an established sustainability strategy, with larger businesses the most committed.  

Biffa stressed to achieve sustainability goals, the journey towards a circular economy must be clearly defined. Retail businesses surveyed identify the need for support for financial incentives (42%), clearer legislation (36%), incentivised partnerships (25%), and reduced regulation (26%).  

While most retail businesses surveyed are aware of sustainability and committed to it, 63% of decision makers in this sector that Biffa spoke to consider sustainability to be their least important priority. This is compared to cost efficiency (92%), revenue growth and brand strength (88%), and data and reporting (82%).

Moreover, evidence indicating primary barriers hindering retail businesses surveyed include sustainability cost (48%), competing business priorities (30%), and lack of infrastructure (29%).  

Roger Wright, waste strategy & packaging manager at Biffa, said: “We’re pleased to see the UK retail businesses surveyed are going through a noticeable change, with a growing focus on protecting the environment and tackling climate change. Small businesses, in particular, are leading this shift by adopting metrics like increase in recycling volume and reduction of general waste.

“The early adopters already recognise the importance of environmentally friendly practices and also see a great opportunity to meet consumers’ increasing demand for sustainable options by providing them with innovative sustainable solutions. For instance, supermarkets providing eco-friendly food packaging choices.  

“The upcoming Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (EPR) and Simpler Recycling legislation collectively play a crucial role in achieving net-zero and sustainability goals. Together, these policies provide a comprehensive framework for reducing waste and promoting long-term sustainability by influencing product design, material usage, and end-of-life management.  

“Retail industry call for collaboration – industry partners and suppliers, through incentivised partnerships and education, empower retailers in navigating complexities like managing Scope 3 emissions. Governments contribute by providing clear legislation, reducing regulatory hurdles, fostering innovation, and ensuring retailers exceed their sustainability goals.  

“However, with regarding to support from incentivised partnerships. Biffa, in collaboration with Zellar offers valuable assistance by equipping its customers with user-friendly tools to tackle significant obstacles, simplifying the process of adopting sustainable business practices and making it more economically viable”.  

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eBay stressed that these fast fashion habits have made seasonal styles a throwaway affair, which is fuelling the mounting issue of fashion waste. On average, 18-35 year olds purchase nine new items for each changing season, which adds up to 36 new items every year.

Additionally, only 5% of UK consumers wear their wardrobes all year round, with over half (58%) of 18-35 year olds only ever shopping just before, at the start of, or during a new season. 

eBay is working to turn the tables on traditional seasonal dressing, and is encouraging UK shoppers to build their forever wardrobes by shopping for pre-loved fashion over new and re-styling their clothes for multiple seasons.

According to Amy Bannerman, eBay’s pre-loved style director, shoppers can save big without sacrificing on style by buying pre-loved staples ahead of season.

For example, coats and jackets cost 30% less on average in July than in December and similarly, shorts sell on average for 15% less in December versus June. As budget is considered an important factor to 93% of consumers when shopping, out of season shopping is the best kept fashion secret.

Jemma Tadd, head of fashion, eBay UK, commented: “We’ve seen an incredible shift towards shopping pre-loved since we first partnered with Love Island, but there’s still more to be done. Just as the Islanders are getting a second chance at love this series, we want shoppers to give clothes a second chance too.

“A change of seasons is too often coupled with new collections and last minute consumption, so if we can inspire shoppers to ditch single-season wear and build a pre-loved wardrobe they can wear all year round, we’re heading in the right direction.”

Learn more about eBay’s journey to become the de facto leader in second-hand and vintage fashion in the ChannelX European Marketplaces 2023 report.

Download the full report to discover how marketplaces are working to try and protect both brands and customers from fraud, counterfeits, and piracy; and what technology is driving the sector.

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