The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s (EMF) network has welcomed luxury clothing manufacturer Tapestry, which owns labels like Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman.
The EMF’s network unites industry players and supports their goals of advancing sustainability and circularity within their business processes.
Tapestry, which has also joined the EMF’s Fashion Initiative Advisory Board, declares that it is reaffirming its commitment to the three main circularity tenets of reducing waste and pollution, reusing goods and resources, and renewing the environment.
“Circularity is critical to building a more sustainable and resilient fashion industry,” said Logan Duran, Tapestry’s vice president, ESG and sustainability.
“At Tapestry, our brands are contributing to a future that is both beautiful and responsible, and we look forward to collaborating with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Network and Fashion Initiative Advisory Board to continue to tackle pressing climate challenges and generate even more momentum behind the circular economy,” he added.
Tapestry claims that by joining EMF’s network, it is enhancing its brands’ dedication to developing and implementing circular business models, such as the Coach (Re)Loved programme it unveiled in 2021. Coach (Re)Loved offers repair, refurbishment, upcycling, recycling, and customer trade-in services and is now accessible in the US, Canada, the UK, Japan, and China. To far, it has given a second life to more than 20,000 pre-loved and damaged Coach products.
In order to inspire designers at Coach and Kate Spade New York to learn about the principles of circular design and consider how products may flow through circular business models, Tapestry conducted a Circular Design Workshop last year.
In addition, as part of the company’s initial efforts towards creating a more circular future, Kate Spade New York recently announced a partnership with ThredUP that will allow its consumers to purchase previously owned items and exchange them for new ones.
Joe Murphy, executive lead of the EMF network, commented, “A circular economy for fashion creates better products and services for customers, contributes to a resilient and thriving fashion industry, and regenerates the environment.
“We are pleased to welcome Tapestry as a network partner and look forward to facilitating collaboration opportunities with other network organisations and supporting the company on its circular economy journey.”
