English Version | Guess Eco: There's no Planet B

14 Apr 2022
By Vogue Portugal

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” - George Bernard Shaw.

One of the great challenges of sustainability, particularly in Fashion, is changing habits. Fortunately, there are brands capable of doing justice to this quote from the Irish writer, playwright and journalist, seeing the changes not as an inconvenience, but as an impulse. Illustration by Nuno da Costa.

Illustration by Nuno da Costa.

Believing that survival assists those who adapt (using a Darwinesque quote here), Guess will be one of those labels. It has been working for years on making profound changes that, in its slowness, gain longevity, and even has a range dedicated to that mission. Guess Eco started out as a line focused on denim, because it made sense, since it is a lifestyle brand, “but rooted in denim”, explains a spokesperson for the house. “Denim was the very first product that Guess offered to the market when it was founded in 1981 therefore it was a natural start for the Guess ECO collection.” They are not difficult decisions - there is no other possible answer for the planet today than wanting to become more environmentally responsible, but it is a position with struggles in terms of implementation. That's why the process doesn't happen overnight, and it's also why anyone who embraces the purpose is worthy of applause. “Sustainability is a journey that is challenging all of us to rethink our businesses in a new way. This change doesn’t come overnight, it has to be supported by the whole supply chain. In Guess we are focused on ROI, which stands for Recycled, Organic and Innovative. These are the materials we are endlessly adding to our collection. As more sustainable fabrics and processing technologies emerge, we evaluate them for potential use by our suppliers. We also assess emerging approaches to make sure the fibers or fabrics they produce align with the well-known Guess brand and our customers’ high expectations for fit and fashion.”

Indeed, it's not at all randomly that the brand resorts to words such as recycling, organic and innovative, and even less random the reference to the entire production chain. According to its sustainability report for 2020-2021, and as has already been the hallmark of the name, there is concern about the source of materials, sustainability of the production process, working conditions and methodology of employees and suppliers, and, above all, there is a deep concern in ensuring that there is a review by a third party to supervise and guarantee that the annual report is rigorous in its content, progress and efforts, for reasons of transparency. Just as an example, one of the references in this report is the achievement of gender pay parity and the ratification that a third of the Board of Directors are women. Meaning, in addition to the sustainability of the product, the brand operates under a code of ethics that does not close its eyes to the entire chain necessary to produce collection after collection. The commitment is not new: “We launched our first sustainability plan in 2016 and since then sustainability at GUESS has continued to evolve, becoming integrated into the core of the business and contributing even more to our collective success. With even more ambitious commitments and goals, Vision Guess our latest sustainability plan, will take Guess over the next decade even further with integrated sustainability within our operations and value chain, promotes diversity and inclusion as a value and culture within our global workforce and supply chain, and creates fashion that contributes to a climate positive, circular economy”, assures the brand, not shying away from sharing the goals already achieved and still to be achieved. “We set ambitious goals that will drive our business throughout the whole decade. In regards to product, we are transitioning away from virgin polyester to recycled materials with the aim to achieve 100% recycled or biobased polyester by 2025 for mainline and by 2030 for all products and continuing our commitment to circular fashion. As well as continuing to expand our Guess Eco collection: we are now offering over 20% of our denim as Guess ECO and we set target that by 2024, 75% of Guess denim mainline will be Guess Eco”, shares the brand, adding that an equally ambitious effort is being made for (even greater) reduction of carbon emissions. For this, the commitment to various advanced technologies that prioritize the environment without damaging quality, durability and innovation of the elements, the principles that characterize this Guess Eco range and which are also translated into its components, greatly contributes. Like organic and recycled cotton, which reduces agricultural pollution and waste; the fibers that are born from recycled materials such as plastic bottles and ecologically responsible fabrics. The dyeing process reflects a similar philosophy: Indigo Flow is a clean label process, resulting in dyed fabrics with minimal waste and water; Bio Dye (from the Guess Bio Dye Project collection) uses natural pigments sourced from plants and vegetables (so that their decomposition is the most natural for the environment, reducing pollution, water consumption and increasing energy efficiency), and the EIM technology, used throughout the manufacturing process, measures the environmental impact, making it possible to identify where the modus operandi can be improved for a sustainable path that never stagnates.

And path is the right word: the steps towards sustainability are sometimes slow, because the whole process is a marathon and not a sprint. Not for lack of will, but for the sake of stability of each of these footprints. “One of the biggest challenges is actually the research for and the availability of more sustainable materials and processes that are easily scalable up at industrial level,” admits Guess. “Unfortunately, the production of more sustainable materials is yet to grow and being scaled up to a level where it is more convenient than conventional materials. If you look at organic cotton, as example, in the 2020 harvest organic cotton made up approximately 1% of global cotton. And it raised 30% when compared to 2019 harvest. The production of more sustainable materials is growing fast, but is still a fraction of the global production”, shares the brand.

Which is not at all a deterrent to etiquette, on the contrary: it is a motivation to make all the effort worth it: “At a first glance, sustainability can be seen as an obstacle in continuing business as usual”, explains the brand to Vogue. “At Guess, sustainability has always been faced as a challenge which is pushing us to rethink the way we design our clothes, the drivers we select our suppliers upon and how we model our stores and run our operations globally. We see sustainability is a catalyst for creativity, and we are taking full opportunity out of it.” Specially because, nowadays, there is no other way to look at this trail than as mandatory and Guess knows it: “Environment and fashion are no longer two separate universes and customers knows that. It is fundamental to invest and align with our customers values that care about the world and care about people. From the consumer point of view, we think that knowledge is power. That is why Guess is dedicated to learning, improving and educating our associates and customers about sustainability in fashion”, it guarantees. And in an issue dedicated to quotations, what would be the best motto to enforce this commitment? "Action. Innovation. Collective. Dream bigger: this is our future!”, the brand launches the challenge and explains why: “We all will create our own tomorrow - a future where the value of actions can be seen, measured, felt and shared by everyone. We see a brighter prospective for fashion and we will play our part in helping the industry create what is needed for everyone to thrive.”

Translated from the original on The Quote Issue, published in April 2022. For full credits and stories, check the print version.

Vogue Portugal By Vogue Portugal

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