Dondup, the premium denim brand, has presented its first sustainability report, covering the period from May 2021 to April 2022.
The document was voluntarily prepared by Arcadia Srl, the company that owns the brand, according to the internationally recognized guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards.
Following a stakeholder survey, the company has identified 12 issues on which Arcadia can take action. The company's actions have also been grouped into three pillars according to their primary audiences: Product, Planet and People.
Caring for the product
Arcadia's product strategies include the goal of sourcing raw materials with an increasingly lower environmental impact and the adoption of practices aimed at moving towards a circular consumption model, in line with the change set by the company for 2020, when it decided to shift all its production to be entirely Made in Italy.
As part of these goals, the company intends to work with partners to create products such as D/zero, a denim offered in a range of washes with drastically reduced environmental impact.
It also offers the 3D Stretch Couture collection, a capsule collection of garments made with a recycled nylon fiber from the recovery of so-called “ghost nets”, such as fishing nets recovered from the seabed, and uses Candiani Denim's Coreva denim, the first biodegradable stretch fabric made from natural rubber fibers.
In addition, the company aims to further refine the selection of raw materials it uses. For this reason, its design department is evaluating with interest fabrics made from cotton certified according to the criteria of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Recycled Pre-consumer Cotton (PRCO - GRS or RCS certified), Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS), Organic Cotton Standards (OCS), Recycled Post-consumer Cotton (PCRD - GRS or RCS certified) or, for fabrics containing polyester fibers used to provide elasticity and strength to products, Recycled Post-consumer Polyester (REPES - GRS or RCS certified) or Recycled Pre-consumer Polyester (PRPES - GRS or RCS certified) certified products are preferred.
In 2022, the company increased its use of sustainable fabrics to 24.94%, up from 22.15% in the previous fiscal year.
Arcadia supports and prioritizes suppliers who are committed to reducing the use of plastic, especially single-use plastic, by using recycled plastic or replacing it with other materials where possible.
From 2020, when its tags, pouches and hangers were not made from recycled materials, they grew to 85.22%, 91.01% and 53.55%, respectively, in 2022.
In terms of environmental protection, the company has launched a plan to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency and the use of energy from renewable sources.
It also began to reduce water consumption and control the quality of water discharges, and it worked to manage the disposal and, where possible, recovery of waste generated by the organization. By working with Green Line, Arcadia now recovers 100% of the textile waste it generates and, overall, 91.25% of the waste it generates does not need to be disposed of because it is recycled or recovered.
In addition, Arcadia has implemented a number of initiatives to reduce its energy consumption, including the installation of LED or fluorescent lighting systems in all of its offices and stores, as these are significantly more efficient than the use of incandescent bulbs.
It also increased the use of video calls as a more sustainable alternative to business travel, and introduced environmentally friendly vehicles into the company car fleet through a policy of downsizing engines and encouraging the use of hybrid or electric vehicles where possible.
Social responsibility counts
Among its social care policies, Dondup focuses on various practices to ensure the well-being of employees, occupational health and safety, and inclusion and promotion of diversity.
As part of its new sustainability plan, we also intend to undertake a series of activities and improvement projects aimed at achieving ISO 45001 certification for its offices and stores worldwide in the next few years.
As of 2020, the company aims to make Dondup a 100% Made in Italy brand. It also intends to support and maintain the industrial texture of the Marche region, specialized in jeans production, by selecting local suppliers.
To date, 100% of its suppliers are located in the national territory and 43% of its purchases of industrialized and marketed products come from suppliers in the Marche region.
"This makes us happy and proud, but it increases our responsibility towards our employees and towards the territory and its communities. There can be no growth without sustainability. The preparation of our first sustainability report is a starting point for us. In fact, hand in hand with the report, we are working on an SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) plan as part of the company's strategy for the coming years."
Dondup was founded in 1999 in Italy, in the Marche region, and is part of Fine Sun srl, a holding company controlled by the Made in Italy Fund, which owns majority stakes in several brands, including Rosantica, a brand specialized in the production of jewelry bags and precious accessories, 120% Lino, a leading Italian company in the production of linen and natural fiber clothing.
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