Selfridges today launches a transformational new sustainability initiative, Project Earth – its commitment to change the way we shop by 2025.
The initiative builds on the industry leading steps Selfridges has taken over the last 10 years to place sustainability at the heart of the business. Selfridges aims to help customers change the way they shop in three ways: by addressing the materials used in products, launching and exploring new retail models such as repair and resell, and engaging with teams, partners and customers to inspire a shift in mindsets. Working closely with over 300 brand partners and with support from the Woodland Trust and WWF, Project Earth will kickstart with eight weeks of experiments, innovations and conversations, across all stores and online, dedicated to reinventing retail.
Selfridges is the first luxury department store to set tough material requirements as part of their commitment to a science-based Scope 3 carbon reduction target in goods and services.
Through Project Earth, Selfridges commits to:
Materials – Ensure the most environmentally impactful materials used throughout the business come from certified, sustainable sources by 2025
Models – Pioneer new retail models and experiences, making Selfridges synonymous with circularity, including repair, resell, refill and rental
Mindsets – Put longevity, creativity and sustainability at the heart of the business, and engage with teams, partners and customers to effect change
Underpinning Project Earth is a broader commitment to Science Based Targets and to achieve Net-zero carbon by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement.
Alannah Weston, Selfridges Group Chairman, says: “For the last decade we have taken ground-breaking steps to put people and planet at the heart of our business, embedding sustainability alongside creativity. Project Earth is not only our bold, new commitment to stretching environmental targets, it is about imagining new ways to do business, within the next five years.
“Since Project Ocean in 2011, Selfridges has been focused on changing mindsets around sustainability both inside our industry and in conversation with our customer. Out of the global pandemic has come an understanding of how fragile and complex our systems are, but also how our planet and people can benefit if we act collectively with a shared purpose. Now more than ever we must double down on our efforts to reinvent retail with sustainability at its heart and a way of working which is regenerative for humans and nature. Achieving our ambitions won’t be easy, but we are in a unique position to be able to work with our team members, partners and customers to co-create change and explore possibilities for a sustainable future.”
Anne Pitcher, Global Managing Director of Selfridges Group, says: “In a way we never could have predicted, the cycle of consumption has been broken by the pandemic marking a moment of change in our customers to a more considered mindset and requiring us to set new expectations for retail. We firmly believe evolving the way we do business and supporting change in the way people shop is essential to building a more sustainable business. Selfridges has the platform to change how shopping is done wrapped up in the destinations, experiences and inspiration customers want from us. And the tough, stretching targets we have set ourselves underpin our commitment to change our business and our ambition to imagine and create a sustainable future for our customers.”
Notes to Editors:
Project Earth launches with collaborations from more than 300 brand partners including 80 beauty brands of which 20 are new launches focussing on refillable, reusable and recyclable concepts. Many exciting new brands will be launching in line with Project Earth due to their sustainable accreditation including Floral Street, Biossance, Comfort Zone and Codex.
Selfridges is embedding circularity into the business with new beauty services including a Refillable Fragrance Destination, a unique concept in olfactory innovation helping customers to shop fragrance in a new and sustainable way from brands such as Penhaligon’s, Ormonde Jayne, Gucci, Guerlain and the Experimental Perfume Club. Make up brand La Bouge Rouge, the world’s first sustainable lipstick, will be opening a unique space around their refillable leather cases and eco-refills that don’t contain any beeswax or microplastics.
Across fragrance, skincare and make up, Selfridges has over 25 brands offering over 750 refillable options such as Charlotte Tilbury, MAC, Tom Ford and Armani, all of whom are helping to reduce waste within the industry.
Selfridges continues to strive to reduce the use of plastics across its beauty departments and tackle the use of plastic packaging. With offers from more than 30 brands in the plastic conscious beauty edit, Selfridges is bringing an ever-growing offer of earth-conscious alternatives to customers to reduce the unnecessary plastic in their beauty routine. A Project Earth Beauty Bag will be available; a carefully curated edit of plastic conscious beauty products chosen by Selfridges team of experts including brands Dame, Face Halo and Farryn Amber. Other pop-ups taking residence in the Oxford Street store during the campaign include Aveda, Ren and Davines, all of which have unique and sustainable concepts.
Through a partnership with Terracycle, Selfridges will encourage customers to bring their used beauty packaging back for recycling.
All Project Earth displays and signage across Selfridges four stores in London, Birmingham and Manchester have been created from recycled or sustainably sourced materials. Eco paints have been used across all painted elements and all vinyl is PVC free and will be incinerated for energy after use. All props used for Project Earth will be reused for future projects.
Selfridges will introduce new Project Earth labelling (replacing the Buying Better labelling scheme) signposting to customers in store and online products that have a specific sustainable attribute. For example:
o Over 700 products from more than 130 brands that contain recycled materials and ingredients or reduce the consumption of single use plastics will be labelled as ‘Reducing Waste’
o Over 400 products from more than 40 brands will be labelled ‘Organic’
o Over 550 products from more than 20 brands that avoid all animal-derived ingredients will be labelled ‘Vegan’
Project Earth will be supported by a programme of events and activities to engage with issues, amplify conversations and challenge mindsets by exploring the most exciting ideas in sustainability with some of the most influential thinkers in the space. There will be a series of 13 talks, takeovers and screenings with 10 partners such as How To Academy and Intelligence Squared and more than 20 events engaging with stories, brands and services to engage customers with the future of shopping. These include:
o Ethical Consumerism: oxymoron or opportunity? (The Guardian webinar, 18th September)
o Reimaging the fashion world (How To Academy webinar, 20th September)
o Climate Action: meet the champions of change (How To Academy webinar, 20th October)
o The Climate Changemakers: Meet the young activists fighting for climate justice (Inteligence2 webinar, 6th October)
o The Future of sustainable beauty with Sali Hughes (Webinar, 9th October)
o Immaterial Fashion: the end of ownership? (The Future Laboratory Instagram takeover, 8th October)
o Better together: how to build a movement (How To Academy webinar, 13th October)
o Sowing the seed: how can we become ethical eaters? (Intelligence Squared webinar, 14th October)
o Eco Innovations: future-facing ideas for our changing world (How To Academy webinar, 15th October)
Selfridges beauty brand partners include:
Amika, AKT, Armani, Aveda, Awake Organics, Beauty Bakerie, Biossance, Boucleme, Boadicea, Bobbi Brown, Bybi, Charlotte Tilbury, Coco & Eve, Codex, Comfort Zone, Dame, Dermalogica, Doers Of London, Davines, Dior, Escentric Molecules, Estee Lauder, Egyptian Magic, Experimental Perfume Club, Face Halo, Farryn Amber, Fekkai, Floral Street, Foamie, Georganics, Grace & Green, Green Fibres, Gucci, Guerlain, Hourglass, Indie Lee, Innersense, Kiehl’s, Killian, Konjac Sponge, La Bouche Rouge, La Mer, LimeCrime, Lancôme, Last Swab, Le Labo, MAC, Memoize, Milk Makeup, Milly & Sissy, French Girl, Mugler, Natural Deodorant Co, Neighbourhood Botanicals, Niod, Nudestix, Nut & Noggin, Ormonde Jaybe, Ouai, Paula’s Choice, Penhaligon’s, Philip Kingsley, Ren, Project Earth Beauty Bag, Plant Apothecary, Roja Dove, Sisley, Skin Sapiens, Sol De Janeiro, Spotlight Oral Care, Sunday Riley, Summer Fridays, Suqqu, Tata Harper, Terracycle, Thameen, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, Travalo, Trish McEvoy, TruthBrush, YSL
