To celebrate World Earth Day 2023, we chatted to Scotch & Soda’s Sustainability Director, Jelle De Jong and National Brand Manager, Sascha Moore, about authentic sustainability vs greenwashing in fashion, the brands current and future environmental actions and how Slyp is playing a part in their carbon reduction.

Tell us about Scotch and Soda’s sustainability initiatives. What led you to make them such an integral part of your mission?

(J) It is our moral obligation and the right thing to do. As a fashion company, we have the opportunity to educate ourselves and our community, and have a much bigger impact on people and planet than any individual would have.We have introduced an Environmental Profit & Loss (EP&L) as the fundament of our environmental sustainability strategy, a method that calculates the impact we have on the environment directly (own operations) and indirectly (supply chain operations) through greenhouse gas emissions, and the use and pollution of land, water and air.

We continue to replace conventional materials with recycled, organic, regenerative or next generation materials that come with a lower environmental footprint. For our most used fibres, such as cotton and viscose, we have set a target to completely replace the conventional counterparts by 2025 latest.

Packaging materials are used to protect the garments from any damage that could happen during transport from the factory to the final consumer. To support our mission in lowering our footprint, we only make use of paper with an FSC or PEFC origin, and have switched to a compostable bioplastic for nearly 20% of all our virgin plastic polybags.

What are the biggest challenges you have faced in implementing these initiatives?

(J)  Breaking conventional thoughts and systems in the supply chain. It has been our priority to first obtain traceability of the supply chain, from growing cotton until the last processing garment factory, and measure the environmental impact of the full lifecycle of a product. It allow us to understand all the risks and opportunities.

Incorporating your sustainability mission into your marketing can be tricky. How have you avoided greenwashing and managed to relay your efforts to your customers authentically?

(J)  Part of our everyday work is to simply understand the complexity of the value chain and finding ways to work with that. We run very precise research and due diligence on the material topics we are working on. Through design thinking we consider any potential risk in the pre-use, use and end-of-use phase, and eliminate negative effects where possible. Whatever we aim to communicate to our customers should be honest, transparent and substantiated with our findings.

Beside from the day-to-day communication, we have recently published our annual Impact Report. This report is our vocal point to reflect on last years achievements and share the results that we have been making across our roadmap with targets. It’s a transparent way for us to educate and create understanding of the difficulties and roadblocks we are facing while aiming for a positive impact.

How have your customers responded to your sustainability efforts?

(J)  We have very loyal consumers, and they have been quite enthusiastic about the sustainable steps Scotch & Soda has taken over the last couple of years.

Do you think sustainability competes with cost/value as an influence on purchasing behaviours in fashion retail?

(J) In the short term, producing sustainable products is often perceived as more expensive in comparison to traditional products. In the long term, if done right, sustainability is implemented into every element of a product or service, reflecting in the emotional and physical durability. Eventually sustainability will be the norm, and will no longer have to compete with price or value.

What are your future goals for sustainability?

(J)  Our journey has just began, and we have lots of exciting initiatives to come. In 2023 we will launch our long-term strategy that will represent a roadmap reflecting Scotch & Soda’s biggest ambitions, as well as a range of comprehensive targets across multiple areas we aim to achieve by 2030.

How was the integration process with Slyp? 

(S)  The integration process was seamless and efficient. The team at Slyp provided support when needed and worked closely with every department involved. From initial set-up to training our team, Slyp was responsive and helpful, addressing any questions or concerns that arose during the process.

What benefits to other areas of your operations has Smart Receipts improved?

(S)  Smart Receipts have been a great addition to our operations, and we see many benefits that they bring to other areas of our business. Smart Receipts give us the opportunity to understand more of our customer’s needs and actions with insights into the purchasing behaviour of our in-store customers.

The ability to integrate promotions into our Smart Receipts has opened up a new marketing channel that has allowed us to personalise our communication with our in-store customers post purchase. With more features on the way, we see it as being integral to our omnichannel vision.

If you want to take the next step in improving your business’ sustainability efforts and customer experience, book a demo and switch on Slyp Smart Receipts today.