CMF

Sustainability Bulletin: July

2021
Your monthly data-led, cross-industry insight into global
sustainability progress and consumer priorities to help
you make better decisions for your brand and the planet.
This bulletin features the rise of resale, new attitudes
toward reforestation and investment in mycelium

Allyson Rees
07.05.21 · 9 minutes

Ecovative
Brands tap into new resale marketplaces
From e-commerce giants to luxury powerhouses, brands are investing in the
resale market. #Deadstock momentum continues to rise, with retail accelerating

In April, fashion conglomerate LVMH launched Nona Source, a B2B platform that Social media Online retail
allows designers and brands to purchase deadstock fabrics. 40 Led by Urban Outfitters, 160
The initiative demonstrates how even luxury brands are recognising resale as a key

media (%)
Free People and Net-a-Porter
investment for both consumers and businesses.

penetration

products
retail
Mentions are still
WGSN has tracked the rise of resale on social media, with mentions of “resale”,

Online
20 80

Social mediaSocial
driven by the most
"secondhand" and “vintage” showing sustained growth on social media and reaching a directional users

New-in
combined 11% penetration in June 2021. According to our e-commerce data, new S/S 21
products labelled as "deadstock" surged 775% in the US, 383% in Germany and 178% in 0 0
the UK YoY, led by Free People, Net-a-Porter, Urban Outfitters and Nordstrom, with 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
big growth in knit tops, dresses, bags and jewellery.
Etsyʼs recent purchase of fashion resale marketplace Depop illustrates how brands An increasing number of consumers consider buying from Depop
are keen to tap into this market. WGSN Barometer shows Depop continues to gain
ground among young shoppers, but 2021 is seeing an increase in older consumers, UK US Germany
particularly aged 25-39. 2020 2021
+ 17
40
Resaleʼs popularity isnʼt limited to fashion. Chinaʼs biggest secondhand consumer

% respondents
points
electronic trading platform, Aihuishou, recently listed on the NYSE at $14 a share, a
market value of $3.5bn.
How you can action this : consider how your brand can create its own resale 3%
7%
0 26% 43% 8% 17% 1% 2%
ecosystem, either through buy-back programmes or deadstock materials sales.
16-24 25-39 40-54 55-74
Age

1/3

WGSN Social media and e-commerce data

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 "Unused fabric and unsold stock profoundly affect the planet and cost companies
billions of dollars, so it’s no surprise that businesses are increasingly looking to tackle
this and explore solutions, from partnering up with resale sites to using deadstock and
offering mending and restoring services. Deadstock design in particular, while not the
easiest, most scalable and most straightforward process, offers a new revenue
stream, a way to recoup waste as well as a more one-off, unique appeal – something
that is becoming increasingly important for the Gen Z consumer"

- Sara Maggioni, Head of Womenswear, Fashion, WGSN

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New attitudes emerge toward reforestation
Reforestation continues to be a buzzword, especially as corporations aim to offset
carbon emissions, but it's not a cure-all x for climate change and tree-growing
projects must be intentional.

Big brands continue to turn to tree planting projects as key pillars of their
sustainability programmes. Earlier this year, IKEA purchased a forest in southeast
Georgia, USA, to conserve the land and protect its ecosystems from development.
Dove recently announced the restoration of 10,000 hectares of forest in Sumatra,
Indonesia, with its Forest Restoration Project. On a smaller scale, Singapore-based
startup Pass It On launched a range of plantable candles. With each purchase, the
company donates 10 trees, to be planted in Indonesia, via a partnership with Eden
Reforestation Projects.
Though reforestation is positive, brands must have intention about how and where they
plant. Historically, projects have taken place in areas of low economic development,
where the concept of 'degraded' land is connected to colonialist ideas of farming.
Corporations must adopt a people-first approach so indigenous communities are
prioritised. For these reasons, UK beauty brand Haeckels is investing in regenerative
aquaculture via a kelp farm in Margate and US-based Blue Evolution offers snacks
made from regeneratively farmed seaweed.
How you can action this : have a clear goal for reforestation, be it protecting
biodiversity, storing carbon or improving agriculture. Respect indigenous ways of
farming and land stewardship.
Procter & Gamble

P&G recently launched its Forests for Good programme in the Sierra Madre mountain range in
the Philippines. The brand entrusted all employees with trees, planted on their behalf

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Brands invest in mycelium
The sustainable bene ts of mycelium are wide reaching: biodegradable and
compostable in its natural form, it’s fast growing compared to animal and food
resources. It can also be grown into any shape, ideal for packaging and cutting
material waste.

As outlined in our Sustainability & Innovation: Mycelium report, the versatile

biomaterial that forms the root system of fungi is being piloted with big investment
across multiple industries.
Fashion brands, from adidas to Stella McCartney and Hermés, are reimagining classic
pieces in mycelium leather alternatives.
Food brands are scaling up their mycelium products. Meati, a company turning
mycelium into healthier meat alternatives, is backed by $28m, while Atlast Food Co.,
maker of mycelium bacon, raised $40m to scale its concept globally.
Mycelium has great potential to replace plastic-based foams. Ecovative, which has
raised $100m to scale its various mycelium products, created Mushroom Packaging,
which is home and marine compostable and Cradle to Cradle Gold Certified.
Mycelium also has a future in tech. A recent study found myceliumʼs sustainable
textiles could be used in eco-friendly versions of bio wearables, potentially replacing
traditional processors.
How you can action this : the future is fungi. Research how mycelium could make your
brand more sustainable via alternatives to meat, leather or plastic packaging. For
information on how mushrooms are taking over beauty and wellness, check out our
Fungi Solutions
Trend Curve.
Australia-based Fungi Solutions is a new packaging company that creates circular packaging
solutions made out of mycelium

4
Pilot programmes offer supply chain traceability
Consumers increasingly desire full transparency in regards to what they put in
and on their bodies. New track-and-trace blockchain tech is making it possible.

Confirming our Future Innovations 2021, blockchain technology is proving key in

helping rebuild trust and transparency in supply chains and retail networks. In May,
the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe backed an Ethereum-based
transparency toolkit for tracking garments and footwear from raw components to the
point of purchase.
Traceability is an important issue within aquaculture. Spanish seafood firm Nueva
Pescanova has partnered with IBM Food Trust traceability platform, a blockchain-
based platform designed for supply chain traceability, to provide details such as catch
location and time, shipping updates and fish feed details. In Argentina, blockchain is
being used to trace beef via cows from birth to slaughter to market,
Since 2019, Aveda has been piloting a blockchain programme with its Madagascan
vanilla supply chain. In partnership with Wholechain, the initiative means to
bring blockchain-enabled, traceable vanilla to more than 125 products by autumn 2021.
How you can action this : create pilot initiatives in which your brand can track and trace
global supply chains. Be proactive now, before consumers demand it.

Mondelēz International

Mondelēz International is piloting traceability with Triscuit, allowing consumers to trace the
journey of wheat back to the co-op of farmers’ elds in Michigan where it was grown

5
Aluminium packaging moves into new formats
Aluminium is becoming the go-to material for packaging for a plethora of markets,
thanks to its ability to be recycled inde nitely.

Though aluminium has been used for generations for beer and so drinks, brands are
making the swap from plastic to aluminium for other types of beverages. Muji is opting
for aluminium cans over PET for its tea and soda, citing data from the Japan Aluminium
Can Recycling Association that 98% of aluminium cans in the country are recycled.
The beauty industry is also recognising the benefits of aluminium packaging,
especially as it pertains to refills and circular packaging schemes. Asa, Indiaʼs premier
clean beauty brand, uses aluminium on cosmetic refills and casings. In the UK, Juni
introduced a new aluminium lipstick tube with a sliding mechanism that makes the
product completely recyclable. German skincare giant Beiersdorf teamed with Swiss
packager Nussbaum on aerosol cans made from post-consumer recycled aluminium,
to be rolled out by the end of 2021.
In the home space, Portland-based Dirty Labs created a bio laundry detergent formula
that comes in a reusable bottle made of 73% recycled aluminium.
How you can action this : develop new product formats that can benefit from
aluminium packaging and utilise recycled aluminium, which saves about 90% of the
energy it takes to make virgin aluminium.

Muji

Japanese brand Muji has swapped PET plastic bottles for aluminium on its sodas and teas

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1 234
Action points

Don't ignore resale  Invest in mycelium Explore traceability solutions Switch to aluminium

Data shows consumer appetite for
secondhand products is growing. Look
for creative ways to repurpose
deadstock fabrics and other waste via
BTC and BTB marketplaces
Across markets and product categories,
mycelium is having a moment.
Experiment with packaging solutions,
alternative leathers and plant-based
meat
Look into how your brand could use Consider aluminium as a great,
blockchain tech to help offer affordable swap for plastic products,
consumers a higher level of particularly relevant for beauty, home
transparency for supply chains cleaning and food and drink

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The Sustainability Bulletin is created by WGSN's team of global experts
Europ e Amer icas As ia
Emma Grace Bailey, Senior Strategist, Beauty Allyson Rees, Senior Strategist, Lifestyle & Interiors Yizhi Chen, China Localisation Editor
Jennifer Creevy, Head of Food & Drink Maria Pascua, Client Services & Onboarding Expert Kelly Lai, 3D CAD Technician
Sarah Housley, Head of Consumer Technology Sofia Martellini, Content Lead Claire Lam, Account Manager
Laura Loszak, Data Analyst Raquel Dommarco, Portuguese Editor Sun Qian, Editor of Insight, WGSN China
Sara Gaspar, Head of Data Analysis Yianni Giovanoglou, Specialist Client Services
Helen Palmer, Head of Materials & Textiles, Fashion
Martina Rocca, Strategist, Insight

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Methodology
S ocial media data: WGSN us es AI and real-time
s ocial lis tening tools to identify trends , keywords
and s entiments on s ocial media. We cap ture
intelligence from millions of p os ts by analys ing text-
bas ed data within p os t cap tions and hashtags .
Data and analysis are based on posts containing
"deadstock" mentions, keywords and hashtags from
accounts within our WGSN Influencer Map
Keywords tracked include: vintage, resale, resell
Data was collected from January 1 2017 to June 1 2021
Penetration rate: the percentage of our Influencer
Map that has interacted with a trend (keyword or
hashtag) in a period of time (# unique users who
posted at least once/total active users) x 100
ppts: percentage points
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WGSN e-commerce data
Data for this report was collected across 46 retailers
(UK, US and Germany) retailers from January 2017 to
June 2021, 2020
Includes products labelled as "deadstock" in product
name, descriptions or materials from the retailers'
websites
Please note, some retailers are excluded to ensure
like-for-like calculations and to avoid inflated product
counts due to the acquisition of new retailers on the
WGSN e-commerce platform
Numbers may fluctuate as we recategorise to help
clarify ambiguous/new products or if retailers
refactor their website
WGSN Barometer
WGSN Barometer is a retail consumer intelligence
and surveys platform. Data used was collected
across women 16-74 UK, US and Germany in the 26
weeks to June 16 2021 and 2020
Definitions
Percentage point (ppts): a percentage is the
proportion of a set of products over a larger set, an
example is new-in trousers over new-in apparel mix.
A percentage point computes the arithmetical
difference between percentages; going from 40% to
44% is a 4 ppts increase
YoY: year-on-year
Related reports

Sustainability & Recommerce: Shifts & Key Trend: Drinks Ones to Watch 2020: Winning Strategies 2020:
Innovation: Mycelium Strategies Packaging Carbon Neutral Sustainably Sourced
Ingredients

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