Nanushka Releases Its First-Ever Sustainability Report

Known for its vegan leather products, Hungary-based fashion brand Nanushka has just published its first-ever sustainability report. 

According to Nanushka, the goal of the 61-page report is to present an accurate account of their sustainability initiatives introduced in 2019, and the impact of such initiatives by the end of 2020.

In order to bring this sustainability report to life, Nanushka hired a dedicated team over a year ago, to both monitor the brand’s sustainability progress, as well as invest in initiatives that would further their sustainability-related missions. The team was meant to centre their actions on three main tenets: circularity, community, and earth. Further, Nanushka also partnered with Deloitte in order to measure the environmental and social impact of their own supply chain. Deloitte helped them gather data from local manufacturers in Hungary, as well as their internal operations.

Some of the standout findings from the report included that 47% of the men’s wear and 48% of the women’s wear for the fall 2020 collections were made with sustainable materials (up from just 5% and 35%, respectively, in the spring 2020 collections). This is proof that Nanushka is getting closer to reaching their goal of having 100% of their collections be made out of sustainable materials by 2025.

Further, the report found that nearly 5,000 trees were planted in 2019 to offset Nanushka’s aviation air emissions. The trees are also helping to restore a naturally degrading area of Northern Hungary. In addition, as part of the MacArthur Make Fashion Circular program, which the brand has been a member of since 2018, they increased their use of recycled materials and deadstock fabrics in their collections. They also chose to repurpose some of their deadstock fabric by donating it to the Green Theatre Movement in Hungary and several other design schools.

The report goes on to note that in 2020, Nanushka introduced a returnable and reusable packaging option via an initiative called RePack. They partnered with TheRealReal to support the second-hand consignments of customers, to provide a repair and tailoring service to customers at its retail stores, and to develop rental programs through Rent the Runway and HURR. Nanushka also announced a partnership with Eon, to begin next year with the brand’s resort 2021 collection. The collaboration with Eon means that when a customer buys a piece of clothing from Nanushka, they will be able to scan a QR code and unlock a variety of services and information, such as the sustainability credentials of the piece, instructions for resale, and services for rental sharing.

Lastly, the brand took a close look at its ethics and Code of Conduct over the past year. They visited 83% of their manufacturers in 2020 to ensure they complied with Nanushka’s standards. In light of the Black Lives Matter movement, they also established the Design For Life Mentorship Program, dedicated to supporting and fostering young talent in the fashion industry, specifically from Black, Asian, and minority communities by offering paid internships within their design department.