Sustainability
Inditex began with an ambition to make fashionable, quality and life-enhancing clothes for people, at the right price. Many of the social, economic and environmental challenges we all face are now more urgent than ever.
As we move from one generation to the next, guided by our ambition and our passion to create fashion, we continue to innovate and increase our efficiency to make a positive difference for people and the planet.
We don’t do things by halves. This is a challenge we are all in. Together.
Our Path
The impact of climate change, the human influence on the natural world, and a scarcity of natural resources impacts us all. At Inditex, we believe fashion is universal, and it must be a force for good, which is why we are going "all in" to transform our industry.
Inditex is an agent of change. Over the past two decades we have also demonstrated a longstanding commitment to people and environment, beginning with the company becoming a signatory to the UN Global Compact in 2001.
Working alongside expert scientis, leading environmental and social organisations, and distinguished partners from across our sector and beyond, we are going further to radically innovate the fashion world again and transform the future of the industry.
Our Main Goals
2023 / 100% free of single use plastics for all our customers
2023 / 100% more sustainable cotton (organic, BC, and/or recycled cotton)
2023 / 100% sustainable man-made cellulosic fibres from more sustainable sources
2025 / 100% more sustainable linen and recycled polyester
2040 / Inditex reaches Net Zero Emissions
Beginning The Cycle
We have ambitious sustainable targets for our key raw materials. Our move to innovative, organic or recycled raw materials is a key path to transform our industry, reduce our emissions and use clean energy and water.
Circularity goes hand in hand with great design. Our designers are trained in sustainability, while embracing new ideas, constantly experimenting and remaining true to our free-thinking culture. We pay special attention to the impact of the raw materials that we include in our products, as cotton. That is why we deliver projects to promote organic cotton in countries as India and Spain together with organizations as Organic Cotton Accelerator.
Their skills are woven throughout our business and they are central to our Sustainability Innovation Hub — a platform that identifies and promotes the best in new materials, approaches and processes in collaboration with start-ups, innovation accelerators and partners.
We are pioneering new types of recycled fibre, like Infinna, to reduce waste and fund research into new recycling methods with one of the world’s leading scientific institutions, MIT. We are also investing in start-ups such as CIRC, with its disruptive technology that will allow textile products made of polyester and cotton blends to be recycled on an industrial scale one of the main challenges we face as an industry. Our longstanding partnerships with the Textile Exchange, Global Fashion Agenda and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation are also furthering the development of a circular economy and sustainable materials.
Best available technologies and measures to reduce enviromental impact
How Our Items Are Produced
Our aim is to generate a positive impact for the more than three million people working at non-exclusive suppliers and factories that produce for Inditex: for their communities and ecosystems that span 40 countries; and for the broader fashion industry.
We want to lead the transformation of the industry through responsible management based on our stringent Compliance Programme (with recurrent audits and evaluations that are uniform in all the markets where we operate) and with permanent training for our suppliers. Our unique ‘workers at the centre’ strategy is rooted in respect for human and labour rights, social dialogue, worker wellbeing and empowerment in our workplace and across the industry.
Safeguarding human rights and upholding labour standards is key and we operate on a principle of continuous improvement. We work in partnership with many organisations including IndustriALL, the international trade union federation with whom we have a pioneering Global Framework Agreement to achieve strong industrial relations and worker satisfaction.
Inditex is firmly committed to reaching Net Zero in 2040 through the reduction of carbon emissions across our supply chain and across all other areas of our business.
We are also reducing the consumption of water across the supply chain by 25% by 2025 to help deliver a positive impact for local environments, particularly for marine and freshwater habitats and nearby communities. To achieve this and other related initiatives, we have a specific programme that helps wet processing facilities reduce and optimise their water use and to obtain the highest classification in our audits.
In addition, we are moving forward together with the industry in the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals pledge to restrict and eliminate certain chemicals in the product manufacturing process.
Our Delivery
We continuously review our stores and entire distribution chain to see what mechanisms and ideas can be introduced to reduce our impact on the planet.
We will phase out all single-use plastic to customers by 2023 and we are collecting in-store hangers and tags – reusing or transforming them into other items. All plastic bags have been phased out and we are promoting the use of reusable shopping bags while using 100% of the income from paper bags sales for environmental projects.
In addition, we encourage customers to drop off their used clothing, footwear and accessories at our stores, and we team up with organisations that reuse or recycle them. We are on course to have 100% of our stores powered by renewable energy by the end of 2022. Our energy efficient stores and our logistics centres have been awarded with the world’s most respected efficiency certifications.
We are also developing a range of emissions-cutting projects across our distribution and logistics operations. Key initiatives include our association with the world-leading Clean Cargo working group and with the Arctic Corporate Shipping Pledge- an Ocean Conservancy initiative with load optimising efforts.
Beyond
We are committed to protecting the planet and its ecosystems. This commitment goes beyond our borders and beyond the confines of our industry.
We promote community projects to maximize their positive impact. In the last three years, we have directly supported 7.9 million people in need, in collaboration with more than 400 nonprofit entities -such as ACNUR, MSF or Water.org- to tackle activities mainly related to social welfare, education and emergency relief.
When teaming up with leading environmental organisations, we work to reduce the impact on ecosystems around the world. One example is the LEAF Coalition, a global initiative that brings together companies and governments with the aim of mobilising $US1billion for tropical and sub-tropical forests.
Our regenerative agriculture and sustainable sourcing project in India -which covers more than 300,000 hectares- is part of our commitment to restoring and protecting natural ecosystems. This public-private partnership brings significant environmental benefits and helps to improve the living conditions of farmers, their families and broader communities.
Reporting
Transparency and collaboration are key to our company culture. We are always looking to improve what we do through constant experimentation and careful listening while providing the world with inspiringly beautiful, responsibly made fashion. At the same time, we recognise the importance of engaging with all our stakeholders about our progress. Find out more about us, our plans for the future and our achievements.