Group 4

Kira Van den Ende

Andrea Taylor

Janika Magi

Maja Cornelius

Pauliina Varis

Silvia Gonzalez

New design and business models for sustainable consumption:

Table of Contents

1.Topic Selection

2.Problem Statement

3.Stakeholders

4.Etnoraid

5.Zara Environmental

6.Zara Materials

7. Shop of the Future

7.1 Transparency7.2 Technology7.3 Education7.4 Up-cycling

8. Conclusion

The development team’s decision was to focus

on a well-known compa-ny that has the ability to influence consumers.

Zara as a company showed power to invest which is

why choosing this com-pany appeared realistic.

They are a very wide-spread retailer and al-ready have sustainable values in their envi-

ronmental policy. This policy is shown on the

Zara website through their mission statement.

Taking a company that has an environmental and

sustainable background means it would be natu-

ral for them to build on that policy. This

development team is at hand to propose an idea

that will include a more sustainable approach

within Zara.

1. Topic Selection

The fashion industry is deal-ing with issues that extend to different fields. First, there is the superficial way we con-sume garments, As if there was

no link between the final piece of clothing and the original

material. Second, the way tra-ditional way clothes are made is out-dated in a world where

sustainable thinking is becom-ing more and more important.

As a solution to this, the team will propose a new ‘Future

Shop’ to the fashion distribu-tors of Zara, Inditex Group, to have a new and successful ini-

tiative for the store. The new business model for the retailer

would have to be accepted by the board members within In-

ditex. This project focuses on the sustainable factors that

already exist in Zara, taking a bigger step towards more envi-

ronmentally conscious responsi-bility. The team’s final idea is to create a Shop of the Fu-

ture that will improve consumer awareness, create sustainable ranges and up cycle old Zara

garments that can be re-sold. Overall, it will have a large focus on lifestyle. The team

has developed a road-map which portrays the business goals in

chronological order (See Appen-dice 1).

Stakeholders in the company are extremely important because of the way they will be af-fected through a change in the business. Mr. Amancia Orte-ga, Chairman of Inditex Group, opened up his own store origi-nally in Arteixo. This small shop was successful because the clothes he sold were of good quality and reasonably priced. The development team’s idea will reflect back to the origi-nal idea of quality over quan-tity. Ortega will also find the fast fashion side of producing the sustainable garments co-hesive with the way Zara as a company works today. Customers as stakeholders would be the new shop’s target mar-ket. The consumers would be both men and women and would be shopping for quality clothing at a reasonable price. The group did market research by asking questions, in Copenha-gen’s Zara store, to find out what customer’s think about the ‘Future Shop.’

2. Problem Statement 3.Stakeholders

When the team asked customers questions relating to the project in the Zara store it gave a good insight into the consumer behaviour. The ques-tions asked were:

Why Zara? (Good/bad things)What makes you value a garment?Would you like to know something about the pro-duction? (Perhaps whilst in the store or knowing what’s really behind the price)What do you think the shops will look like in the future?

4. Etnoraid

In Zara’s environmental policy there are valuable methods that the company already works with for example see Appendice 2. When Zara talks further about what each of their policies

stated entails they start talk-ing about ‘We save energy. The eco-friendly store.’ This part of the policy is interesting be-cause Zara talk about how much

they want to save energy through their lighting, heating and cool-

ing systems. They also go on to talk about recycling furni-ture and decoration as a method of being sustainable and effi-

cient. This caught the develop-ment team’s attention because the clothing that Zara produce that aren’t sold haven’t been men-

tioned in the topic of energy or waste. This formed an idea that Zara should have less waste and

more of an ‘up cycling’ method in order to be sustainably fashion-able. If the clothing is recycled back into Zara, employed design-ers could be re-using materials

and reducing waste.

4. Zara Environmental

4. Zara Materials

Zara stated that they use ecolog-ical materials. Within the team

it was suggested that in order to follow a ‘cradle to cradle’ ap-

proach, garments would have to be made without mixing different ma-terials. When a garment is made with only one type of material

throughout it can then be up-cy-cle into different things and be re-used. Zara would have to in-vest in a new range of clothing

that would be completely sustain-able.

Zara already uses:

-Ecological fabrics -Organic cotton

-PVC-free footwear

Based on the C2C principles the new collection uses eco-friendly materials, which can be recycled either in a biological or a tech-nical loop. Having the control for material supply, Zara is

able to produce fabrics for the new collection in their own fac-tories. The new collection al-ters the composition of fabrics from the mixed one to using only one material at a time. The more ecological alternatives for ma-terial in use make the fibre-to-fibre recycling of the materials less burdening for the environ-ment. The table below shows the

material in us and more eco-friendly alternatives for the fi-

bres.

The process of reviewing and comparing fibres makes opportunities to reduce en-vironmental impact more visible. As an example switching to organic production

brings a major reduction in the toxicity profile for cotton. The main factor lim-iting the increased use of organic cotton is its limited supply (0.18 per cent of world fibre demand and around 1 per cent of the total cotton market). Productiv-

ity of organic production is usually less than for conventional production, by up to 50 per cent, and this has given rise

to skepticism in the fibre industry about organic cotton’s viability as a true re-placement for conventionally grown fibre, as lower yields require more land in or-

der to meet demand. Also interest in renewable resource based fibres such lyocell, bamboo, PLA and soya bean is growing and these are promoted

as replacements for petrochemical-derived synthetic fibres like polyester. For ex-ample as an substitute for viscose lyo-cell (made of wood pulp, normally euca-

lyptus) is an environmentally responsible fibre utilising renewable resources as its raw materials. In the production

other than evaporation of water, the man-ufacturing process recovers 99,5 per cent

of the solvent, which is purified and then recycled back into the main process. The solvent itself is non-toxic and all the effluent produced is nonhazardous. Lyocell is also fully biodegradable.

Although Zara already uses organic cot-ton in their products, the intension of the the new collection is to increase the use of organic cotton and other environ-mentally low-impact-materials. For more material alternatives see Table1 ( Ap-

pendice 3.)

Walking in to Zara in the future will give you a whole new shopping experience. The lay-out will be a lot more spacious. Using natural materials and colors in

the shop design and furniture, choosing for example wood, leather and non-toxic paint, will create a more relaxed atmos-

phere.

TRANSPARENCYTransparency is the key word in the new

concept. This means that the intention is to create a glass wall between the cus-

tomers and the production of the clothes. There are three things the team is focus-ing on: technology, education and a vis-

ible workroom.

TECHNOLOGYIn some places in the store touch screens

will be found. These screens would be used as an interaction between Zara and its customers. They contain all the in-

formation regarding the garments. For ex-ample, if the customer finds a t-shirt (s)he likes, he can look it up on the screen and discover where the cotton

comes from, how it was spun and woven, what materials were used etc.

Customers could also use it to look up information about how Zara, amongst oth-ers, saves resources, recycles and takes

care of good labor conditions.

7.Shop of the Future

When the screens are not being used, they broadcast a conceptual film about the way clothes are made. All this is to raise people’s interest and awareness about

everything that is behind the clothes and thereby make them have more appreciation.

EDUCATIONWhen customers have an interest in the production of clothes, they should be

able to ask questions about it. And who better to answer them than the staff in

the store? In the Shop of the Future, Zara’s staff will have a good knowledge about materi-als, production and the Zara way of work-ing. This is interesting for Zara in more than one way: it would improve custom-er relationships and it would be a very

clever marketing tool. Like Hutten L (2010) said, employees are the first step to get information about the company out into the world, without

advertisement.

UP-CYCLING

The third tool to make Zara into a more sustainable company is an up-cycling vis-ible workroom, in the back of the store. This is where old clothes are given new life. The old clothes come from custom-

ers who bring the Zara items that they no longer wear to the store, in return for

a small discount. This is truly a win-win situation, as it is profitable for the company, the costumers and the environ-

ment. Having a visible workroom will, again, raise consumer awareness. It is the most direct way of seeing how much effort goes into every piece of clothing and subcon-sciously urge people to treat clothing

with respect.

Appendice 2:

OUR MISSION STATEMENTEnvironmental policy

Through Zara’s business model, we aim to contribute to the sus-tainable development of society and that of the environment with which we interacts. The company’s commitment to the envi-ronment is included in Inditex Group’s Corporate Responsibility Statement, published on our website: www.inditex.com.The following are some of the objectives and actions included in the framework of the group’s environmental commitment and have a direct impact on our shops and customers:

AT THE STORE

- We save energy.- The eco-friendly shop.- We produce less waste, and recycle.- Our commitment extends to all our staff.- An environmentally aware team.We save energy. The eco-friendly store.We are implementing an eco-friendly management model in our shops in order to reduce energy consumption by 20%, introducing sustainability and efficiency criteria. This management model sets out measures to be applied to all processes, including the design of the shop itself, the lighting, heating and cooling systems and the possibility of recycling furniture and decora-tion.We produce less waste and recycle. Recycling hangers and alarms, which are picked up from our shops and processed into other plastic elements, is an example of our waste management policy. Millions of hangers and alarms are processed each year and both the cardboard and plastic used for packaging are also recycled.

- Our commitment extends to all our staff. Increased awareness among our team members.We hold In-company awareness campaigns and specific multimedia-based training programmes to educate our staff in sustainable practices, such as limiting energy consumption, using sustain-able transport and modifying behaviour patterns.We produce PVC-free footwear. No petroleum derivatives or non-biodegradable materials are used in the production of our foot-wear (PVC free).

WITH THE PRODUCT

- We use ecological fabrics.- Organic cotton.- We manufacture PVC-free footwear.We use ecological fabrics. Organic cotton.Zara supports organic farming and makes some of its garments out of organic cotton (100% cotton, completely free of pesticides, chemicals and bleach). They have specific labels and are easy to spot in our shops.We produce PVC-free footwear. No petroleum derivatives or non-biodegradable materials are used in the production of our foot-wear (PVC free).

IN TRANSPORT

- We use biodiesel fuel.Zara’s fleet of lorries, which transport more than 200 million items of clothing a year, use 5% biodiesel fuel. This allows us to reduce our CO2 emissions by 500 tons.Animal welfare policy

All products of animal origin sold in our shops, including fur and leather, come exclusively from animals raised on food farms and under no circumstances come from animals sacrificed exclu-sively for the sale of their hide.

Appendice 1

Conclusion

The starting point of this project was that the issues in fash-ion comprise two major points: the way we consume things and the way we produce things. The main focus of this assignment was to find a practical manner to tackle both of these problems. Work-ing with the company Zara was an obvious choice, as they not

only have the power to invest, but also the power to influence a wide range of consumers.

The resolution presented in this essay is the ‘Shop of the Fu-ture’. This is a new concept where the keyword is transparency, meaning that a glass wall between the consumer and the produc-tion is created; it will establish a more profound relationship between the clothes and the owners. This is obtained through

three focuses: technology, education and up-cycling.Technology finds its utilization in the touchscreen to be found throughout the store, where customers can interactively find in-formation on the clothing. When they have further questions they can be directed by staff. The employees will be thoroughly edu-cated on materials, production and the Zara mission. Education

for the staff has a second purpose; spreading the knowledge in a word-to-mouth fashion. The third focus, up-cycling, is a way to close the ‘Cradle to Cradle’- circle. Customers can return old Zara garments, and witness in a visible workroom how they are

given new life.All the garments that are to be sold in this shop have to be de-signed according to the guidelines presented by this team. The organic and technological materials will have to be separated

as much as possible. While up-cycling the returned clothes, this should also be considered.

In a world changing as rapidly as it does today, it is important to stay ahead of your game. That is exactly what Zara would be

doing by introducing the Shop of the Future. Due to the upcoming lack of materials it will become inevitable to work more with a sustainable approach and think Cradle to Cradle. Marketing

wise, the best move is to be a pioneer in this worldwide change. It shows in their mission that they are already aware of this. Hopefully they will consider this innovating idea to take the

enactment of their mission to the next level.

Bibliography

Fletcher, K. (2008): Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: De-sign Journeys. London: Earthscan.Hutten, L., Cappozucca, P., Nayyan, S. (2010) A Roadmap for Sustainable Consumption. Delittereview.com 1 (1), 1.Inditex. (2010) http://www.inditex.com/en/who_we_are/board_members. 13.7.2011Trend Tablet. (2010) http://www.trentablet.com. 13.7.2011.Zara. (2010) Our Mission of Statement. http://www.zara.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category/uk/en/zara-S2011-s/18001/Our%2BMission%2Bstatement. 13.7.2011.