In partnership with sustainability platform Green Story, the UK clothing brand Weird Fish has recently introduced environmental impact metrics to its website. This move seeks to enhance transparency with its customers on the positive environmental impact of its products. Consumers will be able to see Weird Fish’s impact on the environment – like how much has the company been saving in car emissions, drinking water, lightbulb energy, and land pesticide usage. The retail company also switched from regular to organic cotton for keeping up with sustainable measures. The positive impact metrics can be viewed on the brand’s website across its organic cotton range for now. In the future, Weird Fish is planning to add this initiative across its bamboo, linen, and recycled polyester ranges as well.
John Stockton, managing director at Weird Fish said that “customer transparency is key in every sustainability journey, particularly as greenwashing continues to be an ongoing issue. We’ve always been honest with customers about not being a 100% sustainable brand – instead, we highlight our initiatives to help us reach realistic targets each year.” Further elaborating, he said, “we are working towards making 55% of our ranges more sustainable by the end of 2021 and by 2026, our target is to increase that figure to 90%. Our metrics are in place to help inspire greener shopping habits and get more people on board with our more sustainable ranges.”
Green Story analysed the impact of Weird Fish’s products from the moment organic cotton is harvested and brought to the brand’s warehouse. The company calculated the total volume of greenhouse gas emissions, primary energy demand, and blue water consumption being saved through the clothing brand’s production chain. Stockton added that “relatable metrics are key to helping customers clearly see the impact we’ve had from switching our products from regular to organic cotton. They not only focus on carbon dioxide savings but also equate those figures to car journeys and drinking water to give a clearer sense of scale.”
The Green Story platform helps Weird Fish to identify how they can make more positive changes within their supply chain to form a key part of their sustainability journey. In the past two years, Weird Fish has swapped out standard cotton with organic cotton yarns whenever possible. Organic cotton production, on average, avoids the use of toxic chemicals and uses 88% less water and 62% less energy than conventional cotton.
According to Green Story, Weird Fish has already achieved a 51% reduction in blue water consumption on average across all its supply chains. Weird Fish is a multi-channel retailer offering clothing and accessories for both, men and women, with 15 branded stores, 300 stockists, and an online channel.
