Scotch & Soda shares environmental damage data in new report

Luxury fashion brand Scotch & Soda has reported £41.2 million in environmental damages in the 2021/2022 financial year, with plans to create future positive change for the planet.

Scotch & Soda reported revenue of £299.5 million (€342.5 million) in the financial year, a 23% year-on-year increase. The rise in revenues was also accompanied by a 34% increase in produced material volumes.

The fashion brand seriously considers its environmental impact, from raw material production until the end-of-life of products, taking accountability over its damage to the planet. In total, the company recognised £41.2 million (€47.1 million) in environmental damage, a 36% increase against last year’s impact.

The increase in environmental damage was largely due the overall growth of sales, the expansion of the assessment scope to include licensee products and the daily company operations that support the sales growth.

The EP&L (Environmental Profit and Loss) assessment reveals that most of the environmental impact of Scotch & Soda is caused by the selection of materials used in collections and occurs in the stage of raw material production, mainly caused by greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and water use.

Frederick Lukoff, CEO of Scotch & Soda, commented: “Sustainability has become an essential part of Scotch & Soda’s strategy in the last couple of years, inspired by the values of the free spirit of Amsterdam. One of our top priorities as a team is to run our business with greater sensitivity to people and the planet, by making more responsible choices that reduce our environmental footprint.

“I am thrilled that this year we start seeing the positive results of the strategy that we have been implementing. Even if we have a long way to go, we can now measure our impact and follow a clear roadmap for the upcoming years. We are looking forward to sustaining this positive trend, and further decouple impact from sales in the future.”

Scotch & Soda’s sustainable efforts for 2022/2023 are as follows:

• Increased the production of responsible garments by 80% compared to the previous year
• Introduced sustainable materials Mycel and Pyratex
• Partnered with Tipa to introduce polybags made of compostable bioplastic. Currently, 16.5% of the brand’s polybags are made of fully compostable bioplastic.
• Committed to planting 178,948 trees through its partnership with Trees for All.
• Scotch & Soda x Plastic Whale boat launched, collecting 1,250 plastic bottles in a year.

Jelle de Jong, Sustainability Director at Scotch & Soda, commented: “We have implemented the EP&L at the core of our sustainability strategy to generate a 360-degree understanding of our environmental footprint across the entire value chain, from cradle to grave. These insights support us in having maximum impact in those areas that need it the most, and allow us to establish measurable and time-bound objectives."

Misha Elkerbout, Senior Consultant of Corporate Sustainability at Sustainalize, added: “Sustainalize is thrilled to have partnered with Scotch & Soda and to have created an environmental profit & loss together. EP&L information is essential in understanding the total impact an organisation has on the environment. When an organisation understands its overall environmental impact, it is better equipped to manage it and become a sustainable company.”