Tag Archive for: Selo B

Amazon and Fashion

To protect the Amazon, one of the most valuable natural assets and the largest natural reserve on the planet, Brazilian brands have developed initiatives that empower coastal communities and use ecological raw material to renew the local flora and fauna. Brazilian fashion is sustainable and unique in its identity.

Indeed, we are polluters. The fashion market has great challenges ahead. No wonder, several movements and initiatives are spreading throughout the world. For many brands, it is still no possible to be 100% sustainable. There are many factors to consider for restructuring the entire chain, but it is vital to be aware of the tools and pay attention to the transformations that are already in course.

The future of the industry depends on a more sophisticated outlook to reassess the industry’s goals, adapt management schemes and seek strategies not only to meet customer demands, but also to review work processes and the chain as a whole.

Amazon Made in Brazil 

Sustainability is not an option. Now, consumers are seeking transparency and the pandemic has surely accelerated the tendencies that were already underway before the crisis.

“We are aware of the problems and challenges involving our biome, but it is more a question of knowing what tools we need to overcome these issues and the results we must attain. Our job has been geared towards proposing a positive agenda for the sustainable development of the biome. Amazon Day is a day of celebration,” emphasizes Maria Cecília Wey de Brito, general secretary of WWF-Brasil.   

September 5th was chosen as the date to promote awareness regarding the need to preserve the world’s largest tropical rainforest.

OsklenVert, and the sustainable processes in the Amazon

Osklen 

Osklen, a Brazilian brand committed to sustainability, found a way to consciously use the skin of Pirarucu fish from sustainable farms in the state of Rondônia, in the Amazon, which was previously being discarded and becoming a polluting element.

Pirarucu is one of the largest freshwater fish on the planet. It is a native species from the Amazon and a vital part of the ecosystem, in addition to being a source of income for riverside communities that live off non-predatory fishing.”

The process implemented by Osklen protects the species, balances the region’s food supply and economy, while also contributing to the preservation of the Amazon Forest.

“When compared to cattle raising, this system emits far less quantities of carbon dioxide and helps reforest the region. Pirarucu breeders can reach 40% more productivity than cattle breeding using the same amount of land.”

Simultaneous actions unite us in the search for solutions

Hub-E and Pre-COP Conferences are held in September 2021, and it is where Oskar Metsavaht, founder of Osklen, presents workshops to inspire, engage and promote a change in mindset when it comes to sustainability.

Hub-E presents the 6E’s concept of Instituto-E: earth, environment, energy, education, empowerment and economics. Learn more.

Vert 

Vert, a clean urban design footwear brand, features its 100% Brazilian production and raw material, always seeking positive impact, both social and environmental.

Since 2005, the brand has used around 120 tons of organic cotton and 75 tons of wild rubber from the Amazon. During this period, 160 people were given job opportunities in the brand’s cooperatives and over 30 direct jobs were created around the world.

“Vert bets on fair trade as an essential tool for green economy.”

Each pair of sneakers sold generates an average of BRL 1.10 for cotton producers in the Semiarid Northeast and BRL 1.00 for rubber tappers in the state of Acre. As an incentive, Vert pays an additional BRL 2.50 per kilo of cotton, which associations use to improve working conditions.

“We don’t believe in a romantic view of ecology. Our path is economic recovery. At Vert, this involves social work: the rubber tappers and the cotton producers receive a distinctive value for preserving our forests and Brazilian land,” explains François-Ghislain Morillion, co-founder of the brand.

Vert develops shoe soles made from native Amazon rubber, from the Chico Mendes co-op, which in partnership with WWF and the state of Acre’s government, generates income for 90 rubber tapper families who extract the raw material from the heart of the forest.

The process features the Smoked Liquid Sheet (Folha Defumada Líquida – FDL) technology, developed at the University of Brasília by professor Floriano Pastore, that transforms latex into semi-finished rubber sheets, without any intermediate industrial interference, and has a higher resale value.

“For the soles of our sneakers, we buy rubber directly from three rubber tapper associations in the Amazon, paying a differentiated price for latex. This fair pricing values the work of rubber tappers and thus helps combat deforestation.”

Vegan raw material

Transparency is one of the brand’s main commitments and its possible to find information about the chain of production and management, including the stages in which the brand has not yet achieved 100% sustainable solution.

“Our synthetic suede is made in Brazil in a factory that monitors the use of water and chemical products. Even so, synthetic suede is still petroleum-based, and our goal is to find 100% organic alternatives.”

On the brand’s website, they explain the origin of materials used in their production, while also presenting the obstacles and difficulties faced in the process: “CWL is an alternative material to leather we have used since January 2019 in the Camp model. It is of biological origin and composed of corn. Today, it is difficulty to trace the corn production sector, where the large scale ends up hindering the transparency of the bio-plastic industry. We are looking for solutions to accompany the entire organic agricultural waste chain.

It is also important to point out that Vert Shoes (known abroad as Veja Shoes) is a company undergoing certification by B Corp. “Selo B” is a certification that assesses the company’s global impact, “A global community of leaders who use their businesses to build a more inclusive, equitable and regenerative economic system for people and for the planet.” (Learn more about B Corp Certification). Yes, we are polluters, but changes are already underway, and the fashion industry will not be left behind.

“A global Community of leaders who use their businesses to build a more inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economic system for the people and for the planet,” Sistema B Brasil.

Movement B is a future possibility for companies that believe in a new economy.

A survey run by McKinsey & Company highlighted the circular economy and social, environmental, and economic sustainability as the future of fashion.

“Consumers will increasingly expect—and demand—an emphasis on sustainability from fashion brands. Circular business models won’t be optional.”

“Notably, environmentally- and socially-focused companies are considered by younger cohorts to be better prospects as employers, and the vast majority say they would be more loyal to companies that are aligned with those values”, Business of Fashion.

“I think the fact the brand belongs to Kering, and having Kering expressing commitment towards sustainability and values as a group, makes a difference. You work in an environment where this matters”, Cédric Charbit, Balenciaga chief executive.

The Certification of B Companies is administered by B Lab Standards Analysts, a non-profit organization founded in 2006 in the United States. The standards for Certification B are overseen by B Lab’s independent Standards Advisory Board. The Global Governance Council oversees the global growth of B Lab and the B Movement. Currently, Brazil has 202 certified companies, two ABEST associates (Flávia Aranha and Movin), 705 LATAM companies, and 3843 companies worldwide.

“We have been certified by Sistema B since 2016, an initiative operating in more than 50 countries that consolidates transparency in the processes of production and the concerns about social and environmental impacts, equating them to profit in the company’s management priorities”, Flávia Aranha.

“We are the first Brazilian fashion company to be certified as a B Company (B Corp Certification), which recognizes and validates new organizational models that encourage the use of corporate power to solve social and environmental issues, always in synch with the concept of solidary economy,” Movin.

The B Impact Assessment (BIA), a free, online, and exclusive tool, analyzes and monitors the company’s performance and positive impacts recognized by the market in five different areas: Governance, Workers, Clients, Community, and Environment.

“Our certification looks at the entire company, not just the product. It looks at how you treat your workers, your community and the environment”, affirms Katie Kerr, communications director at B Lab.

The purpose of making an impact is at the heart of the business models of companies that are certified by Sistema B. They promote profits and growth as a force for good: generating a triple positive impact for their employees, communities, and the environment.

“B Companies are a new type of business that balances purpose and profit, while considering the impact of its decisions on its workers, clients, suppliers, the community and the environment. These are companies that strive to be better FOR the world and not merely the best IN the world”, Sistema B Brasil.

Certification for a B Company requires four essential attributes: a strong purpose – all actions are driven and committed to generating positive impact for society and the environment; adhesion to Clauses B – the company reinforces and protects its mission of committing to social and environmental responsibilities throughout its operation; commitment to continuous improvement – B Companies are committed to operating with high standards of transparency, in addition to continuously improving the management and impact measurement; acting with interdependence – the power of interdependence and mutual collaboration between companies to develop a more inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy.

“More than a certification, it is a proof of commitment”, Sistema B Brasil.

Vert Transparency

“Vert is a Brazilian ‘look’, it goes beyond the tennis shoe, check out how it’s done.”

“How are Vert shoes made? How much do the workers earn? How much does the organic cotton producer earn? What kind of chemical products are used in a pair of Verts? Vert’s transparency boils down to about ten questions.”

Since 2004, Vert sets the price of organic and agroecological cotton in advance, in accordance with producer associations in Brazil and Peru.

Contracts guarantee greater financial security for producers due to the uncorrelated market prices and its fluctuations. “This financial security is stronger because they know how much they will earn from cotton before even planting it.”

Vert invests in research and new technologies. It also presents fair trade and more economically equitable organic raw materials for all parties involved in the chain of production.

The entire inventory of the Parisian store and e-shop is run by ASF employees (Atelier Sans Frontières), who are responsible for receiving Verts that are shipped from Brazil, organizing storage, as well as preparing and dispatching orders.

Atelier Sans Frontières promotes professional inclusion of people that have been left out of the job market, offering adequately paid employment and personalized social support, so that they can develop a career plan.

Fair Trade

Since 2004 the brand has applied the principles of fair trade: it works directly with producers and eliminates intermediaries.

“We pre-finance harvests by up to 40%. In other words, organic cotton is bought a year before becoming a shoe.”

“At the beginning of the year, we agreed on the cotton price by signing an annual contract with the cotton producers. This way, producers know how much they will earn from the harvest before planting a single seed. This price is market-related to ensure that producers can live decently and reinvest in their lands.”

Vert’s ‘preferred’ materials

Vert regards recycled PET, organic cotton, chrome-free leather, organic jute, CWL and recycled cotton as ‘preferred’ materials. The conventional cotton is used as a complement for specific fabrics.

B Corp

“We decided to carry out this certification to improve Vert in various ways.

Now that Vert’s team is composed of more than 150 talents, B corp is a good way to test how the company actually works. It took us almost a year to go through all the questions and some weak spots were revealed. For instance, Vert’s governance is flawed. There is no board, there are no investors, and exclusively the two founders of the company make many decisions.

Therefore, B Corp will help us to become aware of and highlight our weaknesses as a project, and to come up with better goals and standards.

There is still a long journey ahead of us, and B Corp will be of much help.”

#design #moda #fashion #selob #movimentob #sistemab #sustentabilidade #BTheChange

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