Under the claim "We care–for people, planet and the future," s.Oliver Group has combined numerous initiatives to implement sustainability. CEO Bernd Freier says: "As a family business, the s.Oliver Group has special social and ecological responsibility. At the same time, consideration for people and nature is a prerequisite for our continued entrepreneurial success in the future. Sustainability is therefore a central building block on our way into the next 50 years.”
The Group has its own sustainability board for this purpose. Located at the highest management level, it drives the implementation of the goals from the top of the company across all divisions. Essential new features include active communication on the subject of sustainability, for example through the company's own information area on the company's website, as well as the adoption of a new strategy for the sustainable products. In particular, sustainable cotton, recycled polyester and environmentally friendly denim production are on the project agenda. It is expected that from 2020 the first products will be placed on the surface and provided with a specially developed We Care hangtag. By 2030, the s.Oliver Group will gradually increase the share of sustainably produced cotton to 100%. The majority of these projects were carried out in cooperation with the Cotton Made in Africa and Better Cotton initiatives. The largest product share of cotton lies with the core brand s.Oliver. "Already this year, we will be 5% which corresponds to a seven-digit number of units. In 2020 we want to increase this share to 15% and in the next five years to 50%,” says Kristina Szasz, chief product and marketing officer.
The company also intends to significantly increase the use of recycled fibers in the coming years, especially in the s.Oliver Black Label and Comma brands. Sonja Balodis, CEO of Comma, says, "Our female customers expect from us modern, stylish looks with that certain something. It is also part of this to create our clothes to feel good about yourself–knowing that it was made in a responsible manner."
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