Mulberry unveils new Sustainability Manifesto

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Apr 20, 2021

What better way to celebrate your 50th anniversary year than the launch of an “ambitious” sustainability manifesto.

It’s called ‘Mulberry Made to Last’ with the UK luxury goods brand giving its “commitment to transform the business to a regenerative and circular model, encompassing the entire supply chain - from field to finished product - by 2030”.

And to underline its commitment, Mulberry will release its first locally-made 'farm to finished product' bags using the world's lowest carbon leather later this year.

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Specifically, the manifesto focuses on six key actions for change: Pioneer a local, transparent 'farm to finished product' supply chain model; Develop the world's lowest carbon leather sourced from a network of organic and environmentally conscious farm; Achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2035; Continue to extend the life of Mulberry products through repair and restoration; Buy back, resell or repurpose any Mulberry bag; and Extend Mulberry's commitment to being a real Living Wage employer by working with its network of suppliers to achieve the same.

Also acknowledging the environmental issues associated with cattle farming, “Mulberry believes the continuation of a long and successful association with leather is dependent on achieving full traceability from farm to finished product, allowing us to put in place a network of organic and environmentally conscious farms to supply the hides to create our leather”. 

This network “will provide the foundations for our regenerative and circular supply chain by 2030”, it noted.

It also said the new collection launching this year “will represent the future of the business, establishing a model that can be replicated with a network of trusted partners and underpins the group's commitment to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2035”.

Meanwhile, Mulberry remains committed to making more than half of its products in the UK with the factories it uses already carbon neutral and every person working in them paid a real living wage.

The Repairs Team at The Rookery, one of Mulberry's Somerset factories, are masters of restoration, and repair and renew over 10,000 bags a year, with leather and hardware archives going back 35 years.

Also, Mulberry Exchange, with matches authenticated and restored classics with a new owner, is going digital on its webstore, alongside a recently-launched partnership with Vestiaire Collective, “making resale a core pillar of Mulberry's circularity strategy”.