Products
On our pathway towards a circular model, here at Inditex we are trying to maximise the life of each garment and of the materials we use to make them, adapting to our customers’ needs and managing our inventories meticulously.
We pay special attention to the raw materials we include in our products. Last year, 60% were “preferred” fibres as per the Textile Exchange definition: “one which results in improved environmental and/or social sustainability outcomes and impacts compared to conventional production”. In the case of cotton, that percentage rises to 92% of the total.
Moreover, 66% of the manmade cellulosic fibres we used met the requirements championed by the Changing Markets Foundation and CanopyStyle, and we increased our use of recycled materials by 90%. In parallel, we fostered research into new materials and recycling processes in collaboration with universities, start-ups, other companies from ours and other industries and third-sector entities, among many other players.
Through our Sustainability Innovation Hub, in 2022, we collaborated with more than 200 start-ups and participated in over 30 pilot tests. As a result, we launched a range of collections with start-ups, such as Nextevo and Renewcell, framed by a spirit of ongoing partnership, and we entered into our first purchase commitment with Infinited Fiber, worth over €100 million. We also made our first equity investments in start-ups, for example CIRC, whose technology will enable the recycling of textile products made of different blends, including polycotton blends.
Textile recycling is a challenge for our entire industry. Here at Inditex we are backing a number of different projects, some on our own and others in partnership with other organisations, to advance on new ways to recycle clothing and upgrade existing systems. Here it is worth highlighting our work in partnership with Caritas on a mechanical recycling project that has allowed us launch collections with as much as 100% of recycled content (and 30% of post-consumer textile waste); the 100%-recycled denim collection launched by Stradivarius, reusing material from previous collections; and the co-founding, together with other apparel brands, of a textile waste management association with a view to creating a collective extended producer responsibility system (which aptly abbreviates PRO Scheme).
In tandem, we organised other initiatives to offer our customers different ways to make their garments last longer. For example, the first detergent, designed together with BASF, which reduces microfibre shedding and so lengthens garment life; the Zara Pre-owned Zara platform, which provides repair, donation and second-hand sale services in the UK; and our in-store and online used-clothing collection service, which recovered 17,015 tonnes of products donated by our customers.