ABOUT YOU, YOOX NET-A-PORTER and Zalando elevate fashion brands' understanding of climate targets

LONDON, UK & BERLIN/HAMBURG, GERMANY, 13 JULY 2023 // ABOUT YOU, YOOX NET-A-PORTER and Zalando are expanding their ‘FASHION LEAP FOR CLIMATE’ initiative. Open as of July 2023, the second year of the unique collaboration sees the three leading online retailers enhancing their co-created climate learning platform and extending invitations to 250 of their brand partners, up from 55 brands who took part in a successful first year.  

Launched in 2022 through a unique collaboration between ABOUT YOU, YOOX NET-A-PORTER and Zalando, the FASHION LEAP FOR CLIMATE platform supports fashion brands in measuring their own carbon footprints and setting targets that align¹ with climate science. Brand partners of the three online retailers who took part in the platform’s first year reported a boost in confidence, with a significant 85% uptick in their understanding of science-based targets (SBTs) after completing the learning programme.²

All participating brand partners to date reported they would recommend FASHION LEAP FOR CLIMATE and that they were better equipped to set science-based targets in the future as a result, with over half citing they plan to set their SBTs within the next year thanks to the knowledge gained. Almost all (91%) highlighted that they valued the collaboration opportunities of the platform, encouraging them to discuss and exchange ideas with sustainability experts and peers.

The first year of FASHION LEAP FOR CLIMATE enabled the three online retailers to gain insights on how to optimise the platform to maximise progress towards science-aligned climate target setting. For the second year, ABOUT YOU, YOOX NET-A-PORTER and Zalando are focused on bringing greater value and flexibility to a wider selection of brand partners throughout 2023. Participants will now be able to join a live eight-week course (comprising eight hours across four modules) through an engagement track providing bespoke support, or entirely self-directed with an on-demand learning function.

The programme forms a critical part of the three online retailers’ respective climate journeys, with each working to support a reduction in their brand partners’ emissions to achieve their own Scope 3 targets³. Looking ahead, the retailers see potential to scale the platform’s reach to become available to every fashion brand partner and the wider industry.

“At ABOUT YOU, we believe that collaboration and transparency are key to sustainable change across the industry. This creates accountability, but also comparability between businesses and leads to positive change within the fashion sector. We are proud of last year's strong results of FASHION LEAP FOR CLIMATE and are excited - together with Zalando and YOOX NET-A-PORTER - to start its second year. The successful completion of the learning journeys by our initial partner brands marks a crucial initial stride in the right direction. We are convinced that it will take collective initiatives from the entire industry to create sustainable change.” - Hannes Wiese, Co-CEO, ABOUT YOU Holding SE

“At YOOX NET-A-PORTER, we are committed to ambitious goals to lower our impact on the environment. Our brand partners are the most sought-after in luxury fashion and we take pride in supporting them to navigate this complex topic and reduce our collective carbon footprint. Following promising results from FASHION LEAP FOR CLIMATE’s first year, we are thrilled to be launching year two in partnership with ABOUT YOU and Zalando. This initiative represents the potential of industry-wide collaboration, harnessing a shared ambition to create a more sustainable future for fashion.”- Alison Loehnis, ad interim CEO, YOOX NET-A-PORTER

"At Zalando, we are committed to bringing together different stakeholders in the industry to collectively tackle challenges. We believe this is crucial to drive positive impact across the industry. We are proud to mark our second year of FASHION LEAP FOR CLIMATE in collaboration with ABOUT YOU, YOOX NET-A-PORTER and Quantis, one of our key collaborative efforts helping our partners to set their own science-aligned climate targets. Since launching this initiative last July, it is very encouraging to see that the first of our partner brands have completed the learning journey and how it has improved their confidence in taking steps towards climate action. We strongly believe that such partnerships are the driving force of progress and that only through working together a long-lasting impact is possible." - David Schneider, Co-CEO, Zalando SE

The FASHION LEAP FOR CLIMATE learning platform is fully sponsored by ABOUT YOU, YOOX NET-A-PORTER and Zalando, and curated by sustainability consultancy, Quantis. Brand partners of ABOUT YOU, YOOX NET-A-PORTER and Zalando interested in learning how to measure greenhouse gas emissions, set targets aligned with climate science and submit them to the SBTi, as well as retailers interested in accelerating the adoption of science-based targets among their brand partners, are invited to get in touch: info@fashionleapforclimate.com.

For further information on FASHION LEAP FOR CLIMATE, visit: https://fashionleapforclimate.com

¹ Science-based targets set out by Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a global partnership between the UN Global Compact, CDP, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

² Participants rated their understanding of SBTs as 3.9 prior to the Fashion Leap for Climate learning experience and 7.2 afterwards, marking an 85% increase. These average scores were out of 10, where 10 represented a perfect understanding.

³ YOOX NET-A-PORTER’s reduction actions contribute to the science-based targets set by its parent company, Richemont, which were validated in 2021.

About ABOUT YOU:

ABOUT YOU digitizes the offline shopping stroll by creating an inspiring and personalized shopping experience on the smartphone. At ABOUT YOU, the focus is on the customers, who are supported in expressing themselves individually through fashion. On the website aboutyou.com and the multi-award winning ABOUT YOU app, customers find versatile inspiration and over 600,000 items from around 3,800 brands. With more than 45 million unique active users per month, ABOUT YOU is one of the largest online fashion stores in Europe. It is active in all key markets in Continental Europe and in total provides worldwide shipping options to around 100 countries. Through SCAYLE, ABOUT YOU offers its proprietary e-commerce technology as a software-as-a-service product for brands and retailers to grow their international D2C businesses. The shares of ABOUT YOU are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
For media enquiries, contact Laila Helmy: presse@aboutyou.com.

About YOOX NET-A-PORTER:

YOOX NET-A-PORTER is a leading online luxury and fashion retail business. Made up of four multi-brand online stores, NET-A-PORTER, MR PORTER, THE OUTNET and YOOX, it connects customers to the world’s most coveted brands, bringing them outstanding style and impeccable service. In addition, YOOX NET-A-PORTER’s ONLINE FLAGSHIP STORES partner with world leading luxury brands to power their own e-commerce destinations.

With 5.3 million customers in 180 countries, YOOX NET-A-PORTER takes a localised approach to serving its clientele around the globe through its network of offices and operations across the U.S., Europe, APAC and joint ventures with Alibaba in China and Symphony Investments in the Middle East.

Across its operations is YOOX NET A PORTER’s Infinity 2030 strategy, its long-term commitment to drive a more sustainable and circular fashion system. Leveraging more than 20 years of data and insights, YOOX NET-A-PORTER continues to embrace next generation technologies including A.I., augmented reality and digital ID to evolve and elevate the customer journey.

YOOX NET-A-PORTER is part of Richemont.  

For more information about YOOX NET-A-PORTER, visit www.ynap.com.

For media enquiries, contact Nicola Surgett: press@ynap.com.