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Holt Renfrew Announces Sustainability Commitments

Canada's Fashion & Lifestyle Retailer is the First and Only in Canada to Set Approved Science Based Targets in the Retailing Sector TORONTO, June 24, 2021 /CNW/ - Holt Renfrew today announces a series of ambitious sustainability initiatives that reinforce its commitment to create a better future for people and planet. Holts is proud to be the first and only Canadian retailer to set approved science-based targets for carbon reduction. Underpinning these targets is a commitment to exit all animal fur and exotic skins by the end of the year and to ensure some of the most environmentally impactful materials across the business come from certified sustainable sources. Today's announcement places sustainability at the heart of Holt Renfrew. While recognising there is further to go, Holts is committed to reinventing retail for a better future, alongside the global Selfridges Group of stores. Holt Renfrew has had its emissions reductions approved by the Science Based Targets initiative as consistent with levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The targets cover greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their operations (Scope 1 and 2), as well as Scope 3, consistent with reductions required to keep global warming to 1.5°C. Targets are as follows: A reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 65% by 2030, from a 2019 base year A reduction in absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions by 28% by 2030, from a 2019 base year 67% of Holt Renfrew's suppliers from purchased goods and services and upstream and downstream transportation will have science-based targets by 2025. Additional sustainability commitments include:
  • The most environmentally impactful materials across the business will come from certified/verified sustainable sources by the end of 2025 – with a focus on cotton, leather, down and feathers, plastic packaging, palm oil, and forest-derived fibers (paper, wood, and cellulosic)
  • The exit of all animal fur and exotic skins by December 31, 2021, in partnership with the Humane Society International/Canada
  • The exit of cosmetic products that contain plastic glitter
  • All denim assortments will come from certified/verified sustainable sources by end of 2025
  • Improve waste diversion rates in all store locations to 85% by end of 2024
  Holts has developed Green Build Guidelines for design, visual, and construction teams that outline requirements for sustainable building materials and products that are good for the planet and that cultivate healthy indoor air quality . A recently launched partnership with TerraCycle that recycles beauty products and packaging collected in Holt Renfrew stores across the country "Since joining Holt Renfrew last year, the team and I have been listening to our customers, our employees, and our communities across the country to better understand what they want from Holts," says Sebastian Picardo, President & CEO, Holt Renfrew. "Our customers are at the centre of our business, and we want to ensure that sustainability and innovation are at the forefront of their experience at Holts." Picardo said further, "Retail can be a force for good, and we know that our customers want to make trusted, responsible purchases. Our 360-degree commitment to sustainability removes the barriers for them, allowing them to shop with confidence, in a responsible way." For more information about Holt Renfrew's Sustainability commitments and targets, please visit holtrenfrew.com About Holt Renfrew: Holt Renfrew is considered Canada's fashion and lifestyle retailer. Founded in Quebec City in 1837, Holt Renfrew is renowned for unparalleled retail experiences and is Canada's hub for the world's best fashion and beauty brands. Recognized as a leader in personal service and experiences, the company's mission is to empower self-expression and ignite positive change along with overarching commitments to sustainability and diversity and inclusion. With seven stores across Canada, including four in the Greater Toronto Area, plus Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver, customers can also experience Holt Renfrew's offerings via holtrenfrew.com. Holt Renfrew was acquired by the Weston family in 1986 and continues to be privately and Canadian-owned as part of the Selfridges Group. Visit us at www.holtrenfrew.com.

Holt Renfrew 1st Retailer in Canada to Adopt Science-Based Sustainability Targets

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Toronto-based luxury multi-brand retailer Holt Renfrew is the first retailer in Canada to set approved science-based targets for carbon reduction. It’s part of a larger initiative by Holts to make its store operations more sustainable.
In a released statement, Holt Renfrew said that its announcement “places sustainability at the heart of Holt Renfrew” and that the company is “committed to reinventing retail for a better future, alongside the global Selfridges Group of stores.” As part of the initiative, Holts is aiming to reduce its emissions with levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. These targets include reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the retailer’s operations (Scope 1 and 2), as well as Scope 3 which is consistent with reductions required to keep global warming to 1.5°C.
The specific targets include:
  • A reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 65% by 2030 (from a 2019 base year),
  • A reduction in absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions by 28% by 2030 (from a 2019 base year), and
  • a move where 67% of Holt Renfrew’s suppliers, as well upstream and downstream transportation, will have science-based targets by 2025.
Sebastian Picardo
Holt Renfrew’s President and CEO Sebastian Picardo said, “Since joining Holt Renfrew last year, the team and I have been listening to our customers, our employees, and our communities across the country to better understand what they want from Holts. Our customers are at the centre of our business, and we want to ensure that sustainability and innovation are at the forefront of their experience at Holts.”
Picardo went on to say, “Retail can be a force for good, and we know that our customers want to make trusted, responsible purchases. Our 360-degree commitment to sustainability removes the barriers for them, allowing them to shop with confidence, in a responsible way.” Adding to this week’s announcement are other sustainability commitments on the part of the retailer. Holt Renfrew says that the most environmentally impactful materials across its business will come from certified/verified sustainable sources by the end of 2025 which will include a focus on cotton, leather, down and feathers, plastic packaging, palm oil, and forest-derived fibres such as paper, wood and cellulosic. By the end of this year, Holt Renfrew will stop selling all animal fur and exotic skins in a partnership with the Humane Society International/Canada. Holts will also stop selling cosmetic products that contain plastic glitter.
By the end of 2024, Holt Renfrew will improve waste diversion rates in all of its stores by 85% and by the end of 2025, denim sold at Holts will come from certified/verified sustainable sources.
Construction is commonplace in Holt Renfrew stores as the company has been investing heavily in its fleet. In an effort to be more sustainable, the retailer says that it has developed Green Build Guidelines for design, visual and construction teams that outline requirements for sustainable building materials and products that benefit the planet and also cultivate heathy indoor air quality.
A recently announced partnership with TerraCycle has allowed Holt Renfrew to facilitate recycling beauty products and packaging collected in Holt Renfrew stores across the country. It’s an initiative seen in other retailers such as Sephora.
Holt Renfrew operates six large stores in the Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal markets. That includes stores at CF Pacific Centre in downtown Vancouver, The CORE in downtown Calgary, 50 Bloor Street West in Toronto, Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, Square One in Mississauga, and a massive Holt Renfrew Ogilvy store in downtown Montreal. Holts also operates a standalone men’s store at 100 Bloor Street West in Toronto as well as an expanding e-commerce site with thousands of designer products for women and men.

Holt Renfrew goes green: Fashion retailer reveals new sustainability initiatives

Luxury Canadian retailer to stop selling furs and exotic-skin materials by the end of the year. Holt Renfrew will stop selling animal furs and exotic skins by the end of the year. The announcement, part of a larger initiative to promote sustainability by the Canadian luxury retailer, signifies a marked shift for the company, which was founded as a furrier in Quebec City in 1837. “This is a really big deal,” Sebastian Picardo, president and CEO of Holt Renfrew, said via a virtual call. “Holt Renfrew started 184 years ago as a fur shop. So, for us to be exciting this is obviously a very important decision.” The move away from the product categories was “100 per cent based on insight,” according to Picardo. “From our customers, from our teams and from our brand partners,” Picardo says. “What we’re hearing is that people are highly concerned with the impact that certain materials have on people and the planet. As a result, we think that this initiative is 100 per cent customer-centric, rather than something that we are imposing on the customer.” The company worked with the Humane Society International/Canada to outline the exit of the materials. “Holt Renfrew’s progressive suite of sustainability commitments, including ending the sale of animal fur and exotic animal skins, is a tremendous step forward for animal protection and also a sign of changing consumer habits,” Rebecca Aldworth, the executive director of the society, said in a statement. “Today’s consumers are increasingly informed and motivated to ensure that their purchases are cruelty-free and sustainable.” Holt Renfrew’s retail partnership with brands that feature fur elements, such as those from the Canadian outerwear offerings Canada Goose and Moose Knuckles, will evolve in order to accommodate the changes, according to Picardo. “We are working very closely with our brand partners,” Picardo says. “I think everyone, even though brands are at different stages in their journey to sustainability, everyone realizes the importance of this. And the fact customers, employees and other partners they interact with want to see change.”   image.png The retail executive says he’s confident that all brands will get on-board with the company’s sustainability initiatives. “Because it’s not only the right thing to do,” Picardo says, “it’s also the future of retail.” On Thursday, Canada Goose announced it would end the use of fur on its products by the end of next year. The decision to drop furs and exotic skins were among several points outlined in a recently released set of “science-based” sustainability targets approved by Science Based Targets initiative, which is a partnership between the not-for-profit organization CDP, the UN Global Compact, World Resources Institute, and the World Wide Fund for Nature. ” ‘Science-based’ is really about bringing credibility and scrutiny to the work that we’re doing so that it has real impact and it’s transparent and credible,” Picardo explains. Additional targets include reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 65 per cent by 2030 (using 2019 as a base year for comparison) from Scope 1 and 2 operations, which are categorized as “owned or controlled sources,” as well as purchased energy such as electricity and heating/cooling, according to Carbon Trust. A further reduction target on emissions for Scope 3, via the company’s value chain, is set at 28 per cent by 2030. “The targets that were set are aligned with the Paris Agreement,” Picardo explains, referencing the global agreement that outlines the reductions required to hold global warming at 1.5 C. “Two-thousand-and-thirty may look far away, but it’s actually ambitious to deliver those targets in this length of time.” Picardo pointed to the company’s discontinuation of the sale of beauty products with plastic glitter on June 8, to coincide with World Oceans Day, along with its recently launched partnership with TerraCycle that sees beauty product packaging receptacles available in its seven stores across Canada, as already completed actions among the company’s sustainability mission. The list of targets, Picardo says, build off the greener plan first pioneered by the retailer’s in-house H Project department, which sees a “curation of products” that are ethically and environmentally focused offered among the more traditional luxury brands. “We feel we have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to take a leadership role — not only because of our expertise in the market for over 185 years, but also because we’re part of the Selfridges Group, which has the scale and the global knowledge to be able to do it,” Picardo says. “As COVID-19 impacts start to ease, we actually predict a sprint toward sustainability in the coming months and years. “And we want to be at the forefront — not just in Canada, but globally.”

Comment recycler ses vieux CD et DVD ?

Don, vente d’occasion, création d’objets de récupération : voici quelques astuces pour donner une seconde vie aux vieux CD ou DVD qui peuvent encombrer votre intérieur.

Àl’ère du streaming, les CD et les DVD n’ont plus autant la cote. Si certains aiment encore les collectionner, d’autres préfèrent s’en débarrasser. Résultat : ils finissent le plus souvent à la poubelle avec les autres ordures ménagères. Chaque mois, plus de 40 tonnes de CD sont jetés, selon le Smictom (syndicat mixte intercommunal de collecte et de traitement des ordures ménagères).

Baby steps for hard-to-recycle Canadian packaging

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A partnership between Gerber and recycling firm TerraCycle is aiming to support the recovery of hard-to-recycle baby food packaging on a national scale throughout Canada. Parents can sign up on the Gerber Recycling Program web page and mail in baby food packaging that is currently not municipally recyclable, including flexible plastics bags, pouches and inner bags, using a prepaid shipping label. Once collected, the packaging is cleaned, melted down and then re-moulded to make new products. “With this new partnership, approximately 200,000 Gerber pouches or over 1,800kg of packaging material, will be redirected and won’t end up in landfills,” explained Alison McLean, president of Nutrition at Nestlé Canada. “This is a significant milestone on our journey to tackle plastics waste and preserve the planet for our future generations.” “Through this free recycling programme, Gerber is offering parents an easy way to divert waste from landfills by providing a responsible way to dispose of certain hard-to-recycle Gerber baby food packaging,” said TerraCycle chief executive Tom Szaky. “By collecting and recycling these items, families can demonstrate their respect for the environment not only through the products that they choose for their children, but also with how they dispose of the packaging.” Nestlé Canada’s sustainability goals include making 100 per cent of its packaging reusable or recyclable by 2025.

Pampers, Carrefour et TerraCycle testent la collecte des couches usagées

Fruit d’un partenariat entre Pampers, Carrefour et TerraCycle, ce pilote de collecte de couches bébé est une action concrète au service d’une consommation responsable. Grâce à ce dispositif, les parents d’Ile-de-France qui le souhaitent pourront venir jeter leurs couches bébés usagées, toutes marques confondues, dans l’une des poubelles connectées installées dans cinq magasins Carrefour, pour qu’elles soient recyclées, faisant ainsi un geste pour la planète.

Carrefour, Pampers et TerraCycle testent la collecte de couches usagées en Ile-de-France

Carrefour, Pampers et TerraCycle mettent en place un projet pilote dont le but est récolter les couches pour bébé usagées afin qu'elles soient recyclées.

Carrefour, Pampers et TerraCycle s'associent afin de développer la collecte et le recyclage des couches pour bébé. Un projet pilote débute en Ile-de-France. Cinq magasins Carrefour (Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris Auteuil, Saint-Ouen, Châtillon Gabriel Péri, Rueil-Malamison-Colmar) sont équipés de poubelles connectées. Via l’application mobile Pampers recycling, les parents cherche la poubelle la plus proche de chez eux, ils vérifient que la poubelle est disponible (et pas pleine). Ils se rendent ensuite en magasin.

The Truth About Biodegradable Beauty Products

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Are biodegradable beauty products really a better option or simply marketing lies? Rose Inc. investigates.

The beauty industry is bigger now more than ever, with new-to-market brands and products popping up year after year. And while that can be exciting for beauty fans, the environmental impact the industry has had on the planet is serious. According to Zero Waste Week, more than 120 billion units of cosmetics packaging were produced globally in 2018, with many of those lipstick tubes, foundation bottles, and sheet masks — not to mention all of the packaging they come in — ending up in landfills. As a response, brands have been finding ways to reduce waste, with one of them being biodegradable products. But what does that mean, exactly? And better still, are they any better for the planet? Rose Inc investigates.

Biodegradability Is More Complicated Than You Think

In simple terms, a biodegradable object gets naturally broken down by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, and is returned to nature instead of contributing to pollution. Unfortunately, it’s not like magic; you can’t just toss any finished product into the trash bin expecting it to disintegrate. For an object to biodegrade, it has to be done in the right environment and conditions, and sometimes that means an industrial composting facility. This can be incredibly confusing for consumers when they see the term “biodegradable” printed on the label or used in a brand’s marketing without any further explanation.   image.png
 Dr. Sarah-Jeanne Royer, a plastic and microfibre degradation expert and oceanographer at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, says that consumers might see the term biodegradable and in their mind, assume that the product is “green” so it must be fine. “Very often, there's a lot of greenwashing involved,” she says, adding that she thinks the term is being overused. “The truth is, very few of these [products] will be biodegradable under natural conditions. A lot of them will need to have high pressure and temperature where you basically cook them, then they will degrade.” Krupa Koestline, a clean cosmetic chemist, says that in landfills, where most garbage is taken, materials degrade very slowly, if at all. “This is because modern landfills are designed, according to law, to keep out sunlight, air, and moisture,” she explains. “This helps prevent pollutants from the garbage from getting into the air and drinking water, and slows the decomposition of the trash.” Sometimes a product will also be labeled as being “compostable”. This means that it can break down into natural elements in a compost environment, which could be at home. Ethique, for instance, released lip balms that come in home-compostable tubes coated in a plant wax. When finished with the tube, you’re supposed to add it to your compost or garden where it could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the conditions. But that’s not always the case, as it could require the industrial compost setting.
 

The Truth About Bioplastics

Traditional plastic is estimated to be produced from 8% of the world’s oil production and takes hundreds of years to degrade. Biodegradable plastics, known as bioplastics, are often touted as better alternatives to traditional plastic because they offer a smaller carbon footprint. Many are even made using bio-based substances such as corn, cellulose, or sugarcane. But while these sound like the perfect solution, they aren’t really. Bioplastics require the aforementioned perfect conditions—which are not often found in nature—in order to break down. “It is TerraCycle’s opinion that bioplastics that can be recycled along with other conventional plastics show promise, as the value and resources that went into producing them can be kept cycling,” says Alex Payne, a representative for recycler Terracycle US. “However, bioplastic PLA (polylactic acid) communicates a confusing notion of biodegradability. PLA won’t break down in a backyard or even in the environment, but only in an industrial facility. So, while the term ‘biodegradable’ sounds good, it isn’t always applicable to the average consumer.” image.pngWhile there is a very long way to go when it comes to biodegradable beauty, there are brands out there making products that biodegrade easily without the difficult-to-achieve conditions. There’s Plus, the new personal care with a zero-waste, no bottle cleanser that you just add water to, which comes in a completely dissolvable sachet. And EcoTools came out with a biodegradable makeup sponge that breaks down within 180 days in a home compost environment. Meanwhile, other innovations show promise, such as packaging made from mushroom mycelium, which degrades in soil in 45 days. These are currently being used by brands like Loli Beauty and Sanctuary.   Of course, conscious consumers can also make moves towards a more biodegradable-friendly beauty routine themselves. Jhánneu, a low-waste expert and sustainable beauty influencer, chooses not to use products like biodegradable makeup wipes. “I ask myself, ‘is there a reusable alternative to this product?’ and look for brands that use cardboard or compostable packaging, as well as glass and aluminum packaging,” she says.
Dr. Royer also encourages using products that come in something that can be reused and refilled, like a stainless steel container or glass, and surprisingly sometimes even plastic, albeit with one caveat: no single use. “If you use it for 20, 30 years, and don't discard it in the environment, it isn't that bad.”