Planet

Since our 2021 Sustainability Report, we have been busy collecting the data we need to measure our carbon footprint as it stands.

We are now in the process of analysing the data - this is the first step in developing our carbon management and reduction strategy. To achieve meaningful carbon reduction as a business, we needed to know where we're at - what base level we are working from. Now we have that information, we'll set our targets and develop a reduction road map.

• what causes climate change
• its impact globally and regionally
• its impact on the fashion industry and the fashion industry's contribution to it
• how our business and personal behaviour impacts it
• how to reduce our impact

The journey ahead will be a challenging one, but one we are excited about. The key to reducing our carbon footprint significantly is education and empowerment, building knowledge and empowering the entire business to act.

Three Rs continue to be our focus - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

We're making good progress reducing our plastic use, but the reality is dealing with plastic in the supply chain is more complicated, as eliminating polybags completely from the supply chain is not always the best environmental solution. That may sound counter-intuitive, but polybags protect garments from soil and damage in transit from factory to store, and the environmental cost of damage to a garment can outweigh that of producing a polybag, if that garment is damaged and needs replacing.

We are rapidly moving toward packaging that's disposed of properly and has less environmental impact. But we are also reducing the amount of packaging we use, and the amount of waste we generate. And where we cannot eliminate waste, we're doing all we can to reuse or recycle. This is our reduce, re-use, recycle policy.

Our 117 retail stores, 3 distribution centres and our head offices in Auckland and Sydney, all generate waste, consume electricity and use resources, so we're always looking for ways to make our stores and operations more efficient and environmentally sustainable.

Managing waste continues to be a priority for the business and a key part of our carbon reduction strategy.

While we can't eliminate waste - there will always be some - we can recycle and reuse more and more if we think smart and laterally. We're ramping up our efforts to reduce the amount of packaging we use and ensure recycling is at an optimum level.

Reducing waste to landfill

We have an ambitious goal - by 2025, to reduce by 50% what goes to landfill from our distribution centres. We are working hard to achieve this and are engaging an independent waste audit later this year to help us plan a robust waste minimisation strategy.

Visual Merchandising

So we can showcase our product the best way possible we use Visual merchandising to enhance the store experience for the consumer. We have always taken pride in our visual merchandising and the attention to detail that goes into the planning and implementation is inspiring. But this comes at a cost and we want to reduce the impact that these materials have on the planet.

Each year we challenge ourselves to reduce the environmental impact of our materials used for visual merchandising. It's an ongoing process of improvement and partnering with key third party suppliers and distributors with a similar mindset has helped.