NET-A-PORTER EXPANDS ITS NET SUSTAIN EDIT

 NET-A-PORTER EXPANDS ITS NET SUSTAIN EDIT THROUGH AN ENHANCED CUSTOMER JOURNEY

AUGUST 5, 2021 – NET-A-PORTER expands its NET SUSTAIN edit of consciously crafted fashion and beauty products through a newly considered customer journey. To make sustainable luxury and fashion more visible and easier to navigate, NET-A-PORTER customers are presented with a dynamic shopping experience that includes the introduction of post-purchase solutions such as Digital ID technology, designed to shift consumer mindsets and encourage informed choices.

The extension of NET SUSTAIN marks a new step in a long-term commitment to creating opportunities that contribute to a more circular and sustainable fashion system, in line with YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP’s 2030 sustainability strategy, Infinity.

Conscious buying 

The number of brands within the NET SUSTAIN edit has steadily increased by nearly 500 percent since launch, rising from 26 in 2019 to 153 as of July 2021 – 51 of which are beauty. As part of NET SUSTAIN’s continued expansion, this season NET-A-PORTER has introduced new fashion brands that keep sustainability at the heart of their collections, including Caes, Sindiso Khumalo, Deiji Studios, Joslin, Abysse, Ioannes and Rivet Utility, and welcomes more of its cult beauty brands, including Augustinus Bader, La Bouche Rouge, Lilah B., RMS Beauty and Chantecaille into its more sustainably minded beauty roster, too. 

In order to be eligible for inclusion within the NET SUSTAIN edit, every brand must go through a detailed assessment, which takes into account human, animal and environmental welfare. Furthermore, every item featured within the NET SUSTAIN edit has to meet one or more of nine key attributes, ranging from considered materials, ingredients and processes to reducing waste, as well as aligning with internationally recognized best practices in the fashion and beauty industries.

Designed for Circularity

As part of NET-A-PORTER’s commitment to accelerating circularity, this season sees the introduction of NET SUSTAIN’s ninth attribute, “Designed for Circularity”, which champions brands that help facilitate a shift in behavior away from throwaway culture by focusing on solutions that promote product longevity. These include offering repair and restoration services, take-back schemes and dedicated recycling programs, run independently from NET-A-PORTER. It also includes brands that use upcycling and remanufacturing techniques in the creation of their product. The standards and certifications considered under this attribute include Cradle to Cradle Certified®. 

Within this new attribute, NET-A-PORTER is committed to bringing its customers interesting collaborations in the sustainability space, celebrating the brands that are prioritizing circularity by keeping materials in use for longer. New to NET SUSTAIN, Conner Ives and Rave Review have both diligently created new collections by using reclaimed materials and vintage garments to spearhead a reduction of waste in the fashion industry. 

Digital ID

NET-A-PORTER is also expanding its work in sustainability more broadly by piloting Digital ID, an enabler of post-purchase services. In partnership with EON, leading CircularID™ Protocol items are embedded with a unique ID that records the item’s history as it moves across the life cycle, from provenance and design to resale and recycle – bringing transparency and intelligence to the industry. Customers can scan their item to access initial content and services, providing them with inspiration on ways to style the item, as well as care instructions on how they can treasure it for years to come. From August, this pilot program will be rolled out across selected Porte & Paire shoes, which are available in the NET SUSTAIN edit, with prices starting from £215. During the first phase of the pilot, customers will need to scan the NFC tag embedded in their shoes to be redirected to an immersive-story experience powered by StorifyMe, where they’ll be able to discover the product’s history, plus access additional NET-A-PORTER content and services, which will further expand throughout the pilot rollout. Through the introduction of Digital ID technology NET-A-PORTER is leveraging innovation as a key differentiator that could keep materials in use for longer. This leading-edge technology will enable the Group to unlock future opportunities for circularity as part of its 2030 sustainability strategy, Infinity.

Considered journey

To promote product longevity and provide customers with recommendations of post-purchase solutions, NET-A-PORTER is also offering customers access to regional Care & Repair partners that can provide services such as wet-cleaning using responsible techniques, clothing alterations, tailoring, as well as restoration and repairs – all accessible through the NET SUSTAIN offering and to all customers globally. In order to help customers make more conscious choices and reduce their carbon footprint while shopping, they will now receive information on how they can choose more sustainable options at checkout too, which will help them to consider the impact of their orders. Advice will be broad ranging, from asking customers to be in for their delivery to reduce courier emissions and encouraging them to reuse and recycle an item’s packaging, to showing them different styling options and wardrobe hacks that will make their purchases work harder. To complete the experience, customers will continue to have the choice to receive their purchases in NET-A-PORTER’s signature or discreet boxes. Both are 100 percent recyclable and FSC certified, with the discreet box allowing customers to choose a solution that uses fewer materials overall and is therefore kinder to the environment. Additionally, beauty bags and ribbons are compostable, while cloth bags, suit covers and dust bags can be reused or recycled by waste-management companies. NET-A-PORTER encourages its customers to reuse and recycle their packaging wherever possible, and, as a brand, is continually exploring ways to make it easier for customers to be more conscious of their environmental impact. 

“At NET-A-PORTER we buy mindfully across all our categories to focus on investment pieces that we know our customers can buy now and wear forever. Through the newly considered NET SUSTAIN customer journey and the steady expansion of our sustainable edit, we are taking care and consideration over how we can offer our customers the tools they need to create timeless wardrobes that can be treasured for many years to come. NET SUSTAIN is crucial to how we see our buy developing in the long term.”