Houdini leading the change - putting themselves within the planetary boundaries
You can’t write about sustainability in the fashion industry without mentioning Houdini. They have won several awards such as “NK-galan” innovation prize, 2018: NMCs prize Sustainable leadership (CEO Eva Karlsson), 2017: H&M & Elle Conscious Award, 2015: Scandinavian Outdoor Award Sustainability Gold - Corner Jacket and 2012: Swedbanks sustainability prize.
All of their garments are reused, renewable, recyclable, biodegradable or Bluesign-certified. 46% of their 2019 summer collection is circular and their goal is by 2022 have 100% circular collections. They’re also taking actions towards micro-plastic by choosing better fibres, educate costumers on how to wash and they’re participating in scientific research, among other things. Their clothes are mainly produced in Italy, Japan and Taiwan where they can guarantee high environmental and social standards during production. They aim to be 100% transparent. I could continue, the list is long of actions Houdini are taking to reduce their environmental harm. But that’s not their only goal, they also want to contribute to positive effects, for example they want to be a part of the change where waste have become a resource by 2022.
In 2018 they were the first company to make a planetary boundary assessment after the scientific framework developed at the research center Stockholm Resilience Centre. The boundaries; Stratospheric ozone depletion, Loss of biosphere integrity (biodiversity loss and extinctions), Chemical pollution and the release of novel entities, Climate Change, Ocean acidification, Freshwater consumption and the global hydrological cycle, Land system change, Nitrogen and phosphorus flows to the biosphere and oceans and Atmospheric aerosol loading are all environmental systems where humanity are now threatening their balance. After a certain threshold they change to a state not beneficial for humans and which leads to rapid environmental changes. More research is under it’s way but at the moment several of the boundaries are being crossed.
Houdini made their own novel assessment of their impact on each area. Please read the full report here! It’s impressive. I hope more brands will follow.
Do you think all fashion brands should do planetary boundaries assessment? Please feel free to comment.