Selfridges doubles down on sustainability push
Selfridges is aiming for almost half its interactions with customers to be based on resale, repair, rental or refills by 2030 as the upmarket department store responds to increasing demand for more sustainable shopping.
The luxury department store, which has four locations and an online platform, said that its Reselfridges initiative, which houses all circular models, will form the backbone of its future business.
It has also pledged to only stock products that meet strict environmental and ethical standards.
The company revealed that it had already increased sales of ‘pre-loved’ items through the initiative by 240 per cent. It has also facilitated more than 28,000 repairs, rented over 2,000 items, and sold upwards of 8,000 refills.
Selfridges originally committed to achieving net zero by 2050, but updated the target last year to aim for 2040.
As part of this move and as detailed in its report, the retailer said it will be transitioning from an experimentation phase to the implementation and acceleration of change through new commitments across three categories; Materials, Models and Mindsets.
In the report’s press release, Andrew Keith, Selfridges managing director, said: “In creating our store of tomorrow, we must commit to a fundamental shift in the way that we do business and use the Selfridges platform for change. Our vision is to reinvent retail and create a more sustainable future, and Project Earth and our new targets underpin this.
“We recognise that we need to challenge ourselves to accelerate change and our ambitious circular and materials targets do just that. We don’t have all the answers, but we are committed to finding solutions, through a continued imaginative approach to retail innovation.
Selfridges said it will continue to experiment with alternative shopping models which focus on extending the life of existing products and packaging.
