Yoox Net-a-Porter introduces new sustainable goals

The Yoox Net-a-Porter Group (YNAP) has introduced its new sustainability strategy called Infinity. According to its slogan “Lasting Luxury Fashion. Lasting Positive Impact,” the online fashion retailer aims to change the way fashion is made, sold and used. The focus will be on quality craftsmanship, durable designs and the ability to be remade again and again. The ten-year strategy is based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

“We see a future where the clothes we love last for longer and if they fade, may start a new beginning, forming part of a circular fashion system. A future where customers are empowered to make informed choices, and where luxury and fashion can play a role in restoring our planet,” comments the YNAP Group on the motivation behind its strategy.

YNAP’s Infinity strategy rests on four pillars

The strategy rests on four pillars: a circular business model and circular culture as well as being planet- and people-positive. The company refers to its many years of experience in the field of fashion that few would have linked to technology the way it did 20 years ago when it started.

“We believe in an inclusive future where our industry is truly diverse, and where the next generation is equipped with the skills to make a difference. Through our technology capabilities and the global influence we’ve grown over the past 20 years, our aim is to collaborate and foster an enabling environment for our people, industry peers, brand partners and customers, who want to see a change and create a sustainable future together,” adds the fashion e-tailer.

A circular business model

In the first area, the Yoox Net-a-Porter Group wants to develop a sustainable and circular product and procurement framework by 2021 that includes guidelines and toolkits for in-house private labels and brand partners to establish and amplify the best practice in circular design. By the same time, the company also wants to train its in-house private label teams to embed sustainability and circularity considerations into their design practices, increasing the share of circular products within these collections year-on-year.

And by 2021 as well, YNAP wants to train its multi-brand buying teams to embed sustainability and circularity considerations into their buying practices. It also wants to share best practices with its broader brand partner community and collaborate with at least one strategic brand partner each year to work on its extensive and ongoing sustainable and circular product offer.

## Circular culture In this area, YNAP wants to use its sustainable and circular product and procurement framework to support and expand the YooxyGen and Net Sustain platforms, providing a greater amount of choice to customers. In addition, the framework will be used as the basis for communicating sustainability credentials of all relevant brands and products across the company’s four online stores.

Positive planet

In the third area, YNAP has set itself the goal to deliver CO2 reductions in line with a Science Based Target (SBT) and become climate positive across its operations and private label value chain by 2030. It will work with the Richemont Group to set this SBT-based emission reduction target.

By the end of 2020, it aims to complete the journey to switch to 100 percent renewable power for all owned and/or operated facilities as part of RE100 and to continue to lower energy use as much as possible through advanced energy monitoring and building management systems. The company also wants to expand its current carbon emissions compensation program (covering scope 1, scope 2 and travel and logistics emissions) by including more scope 3 categories and progressively taking more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits.

Positive people

In this area, YNAP plans to launch a group-wide Volunteering Policy by the end of 2020 giving two days per year of volunteering to all its part-time and full-time employees, with a focus on providing mentorship and training to future talent and underrepresented groups.

It also wants to ensure that every one of its four online stores offer a platform, like Net-a-Porters’s The Vanguard and the Vogue Yoox Challenge, that supports and develops new talent by 2022. The company also wants to continue training people in STEM skills, with a particular focus on women, changing perceptions and encouraging greater consideration for careers in technology, creating a strong and diverse talent pipeline. More information can be found on the strategy’s website, ynap.com/pages/sustainability/infinity.

Images: Yoox Net-a-Porter