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How sustainable is Stella McCartney ?

Stella McCartney & sustainability


Stella McCartney

8 out of 18

Sustainability summary

Brand owner: PPR Group
Head office: Haywards Heath, UK
Sector: Premium brands
Categories : Female, Kids, Baby
Free Tags: Stella McCartney, Bags, Pullover, Shirts, Jackets, Jeans, Dress, Shoes, Boots

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What's your sustainability news about Stella McCartney?

Stella McCartney sustainability score report

Last edited: 24 March 2013 by Mario
Last reviewed: 24 March 2013 by Mario

Questions about Climate Change/ Carbon Emissions

1 out of 4
1. Is there a policy for the brand to minimize, reduce or compensate carbon emissions? Stella McCartney has amongst others 2 stores in Dallas and New York which are making use of 100% renewable energy coming from wind, hydro and solar power. In 2012, 34.3 metric tons of waste were diverted from landfill and recycled or reused. Within the UK, all business taxi journeys are booked through Green Tomato Cars–a service that deploys only hybrid cars. Source
2. Has the brand (company) disclosed the annual absolute carbon footprint of its 'own operations' (Scope 1 & 2) and has the brand already reduced or compensated 10% of these emissions in the last 5 years? Stella McCartney claims that 45% of it´s operations are run on 100% renewable, green energy and 65% are run on partially green energy. Although Stella McCartney reduces it's carbon footprint, their is no carbon footprint disclosed. Source
3. Has the brand (company) set a target to reduce its absolute ‘own operations’ carbon emissions by at least 20% within the next 5 years? Stella McCartney states it wants to reduce its carbon emissions, waste and water usage resulting from the production of products and services by 25%, while accounting for the growth of our business by 2016. However, it's not further specified. Source
4. Does the brand (company) also have a policy to reduce/compensate carbon emissions generated from the product supply chain that is beyond own operations (Scope 3)? The PPR has set a target that all luxure good producers must have done an environmental profit and loss (EP&L) by 2016. However, PPR, does not yet communicate a concrete policy to reduce the carbon emissions in the supply chain that is beyond own operations on its website. Source

Questions about Environmental Policy

2 out of 6
1. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials for more than 5% of its volume? Stella McCartney does use several environmentally preferred raw materials such as recycled metals, organic cotton and makes no use of leather, but there is no information about the volumes. Sustainability information should be easily accessible for consumers to make responsible choices. Source
2. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials for more than 10% of its volume? See remark for environmental policy question 1. Source
3. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials for more than 25% of its volume? See remark for environmental policy question 1. Source
4. Is there a policy for the brand (company) to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from the whole lifecycle and all production procedures to make the clothes and footwear? PPR Group (brand owner) states its commited to phasing out and ultimately eliminating all hazardous chemicals from production by 2020. Source
5. Does the brand (company) have a clear and effective policy to minimize environmental pollution of chromium and other harmful substances from leather tanning processes, e.g. by waste water treatment or by vegetable tanning? Neither Stella McCartney nor PPR Group has published specific leather policies on its website. Sustainability information should be easily accesible for consumers to make responsible choices. Source
6. Does the brand (company) have a clear target to phase out PVC in their products, and has the brand already achieved a PVC phase out level of more than 90%? PPR Group (brand owner) already got rid of all PVC. Source

Questions about Labour Conditions/ Fair Trade

5 out of 8
1. Does the brand (company) have a supplier Code of Conduct (CoC) which includes the following standards: No forced or slave labor, no child labor, no discrimination of any kind and a safe and hygienic workplace? Stella McCartney is part of the PPR Group, which is a supporting member of SA8000 and aims to achieve certification of all direct owned production sites of Gucci Group by 2015. All these standards are covered by SA8000 Code of Conduct (See page 5-7). Source
2. Does this CoC include at least two of the following workers rights: 1. to have a formally registered employment relationship 2. to have a maximum working week of 48 hours with voluntary and paid overtime of 12 hours maximum 3. to have a sufficient living wage? In SA8000 standard: 1. Yes, legally-binding employment relationships; 2. Yes, maximum workweek of 48 hours, overtime (max 12 hours) is generally voluntary; 3. Yes, commitment to implement payment of living wages (see page 7). Source
3. Does this Code of Conduct include the right for workers to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively; and in those situations where these rights are restricted under law, the right to facilitate parallel means of independent and free association and bargaining? In SA8000 Standards: This right is mentioned, with reference to parallel means for the situation of law restrictions (see page 6-7). Source
4. Does the brand (company) have a published list of direct suppliers, that have collectively contributed to more than 90% of the purchase volume? Neither Stella McCartney nor PPR Group have a list of direct suppliers published on their websites. Source
5. Is the brand (company) a member of a collective initiative that aims to improve labor conditions, or does the brand (company) purchase its supplies from accredited factories with improved labor conditions? Stella McCartney is a member of the ETI (since 2012). Source
6. Do independent civil society organizations like NGO's and labor unions have a decisive voice in this collective initiative or in these certification schemes? Stella McCartney is a member of ETI, which means that Labor Unions and/or business-independent NGO’s have a formal and co-decisive voice within the initiative and are co-responsible for the integrity and credibility of the initiative. Source
7. Does the brand (company) annually report on the results of its labor conditions policy? PPR reports carrying out 2,884 social accountability audits in 2011. However, there is no comprehensive reporting on the results of their labour conditions policy or the percentage those audits represent in the total production (See page 64). Source
8. Has the brand’s labor conditions policy resulted in a ‘compliance level’ of at least 30% of the purchase volume, or a ‘monitored level' of at least 80%? See remark for former question. SA8000 seems substantially covered for the PPR Group, though the percentage on total volume is not clear and the report does not give any details on the supply chain. Source