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Created 2 years ago, Pando Fashion is a French company specialised in consulting for sustainable fashion. Its co-founders Laëtitia Hugé and Stéphane Piot are helping companies every step of the way in their CSR implementation, starting with a diagnosis using certification ISO 26000, to building custom strategies and embarking all teams. Pando Fashion is working with companies such as Moncler, Louis Vuitton, Zadig & Voltaire, Besson Chaussures, IKKS, Maje, Sandro, Lemaire, Institut Français de la Mode (French Fashion Institute) and with BTB fashion platform LeNewBlack. Why Pando? It’s the name of the oldest tree in Utah in the US, and it also means transmission in Latin.

Where and how to start with CSR

*IADS - How do you advise your clients to approach customer-facing initiatives (like product and brand certifications and labels) versus operational initiatives (using more efficient light-bulbs...)?*

Pando Fashion – First of all, they have to keep in mind that many factors are considered in a product lifecycle: raw materials and factories of course, but also logistics, carbon footprint, impact of store operations (such as energy consumption, waste…). Then comes the consumer’s part of the product lifecycle: use of the product, washing habits and recycling... Each step of the product lifecycle corresponds with specific actions: from customer-facing ones with the use of labels and certifications for sustainable or recycled materials for instance, to corporate communication for company energy consumption.

*IADS - Sustainability is a lifelong project, it has to be maintained over time. When does Pando step in or step out of the process and how do you set up organizations to tackle these issues for the long-term?*

Pando Fashion – Of course, we can start at any step of the CSR journey, whether it’s from the diagnosis phase or to support a company once its strategy is set, or on specific projects. We are helping companies that are at the very beginning of their CSR project, and others that are quite advanced. Sometimes companies think they have done nothing yet, but in fact they already have set actions which we will use as levers to move forward faster: that’s also what the diagnosis phase is made for.

Ideally, we step out when the company is autonomous on the CSR topic, which means they have enough knowledge and reflexes to continue implementation or run a new project by themselves. Also, there would be no point running long missions as we are helping companies to focus on what is the right part of CSR for them.

*IADS - Sustainability starts from the supply chain. How does your firm support optimizing it and creating a greener process from the beginning to the moment the products reach the customers?*

Pando Fashion – It’s a new mindset between manufacturers and brands. First thing is to get as much traceability information as possible on all production tiers: tier 1 is for the factory making the product, tier 2 for the fabric, tier 3 for the treads, and tier 4 is for the raw material. We will work on both processes (where the product comes from, how many tiers are they) and tools (helping to follow traceability). The more tiers you have, the more difficult traceability will be.

When we are dealing with questionable products, we will advise brands on how to help manufacturers improve their process, as you don’t change suppliers overnight. Pando is also helping brands to prioritize.

For instance, in the case of a leather bag, the biggest impact comes from the leather as the tanning process is easy to improve. Then comes the metal parts: since there is not much traceability for brass and steel, we will recommend the use of alternative metals.

How to avoid greenwashing

*IADS - How do you help your clients avoid greenwashing and achieve authenticity when tackling sustainability and communicating their efforts?*

Pando Fashion – The rule is simple: first, do something, be humble and then communicate. You must have consistent results before communicating to customers. Some companies want to start communicating as soon as they have their strategy set, but that is way too early. Sometimes it’s the opposite as some are too cautious. Several levels of communication are possible: proportion of sustainable materials, of local production, etc…

It’s also very important not to overwhelm customers with too much information. Consumers are focusing on what is in front of them: the product. It bears the first level of information: the product tag informing about materials or “made in”. The second level is the retailer’s website providing more information. Another level can cover the store energy consumption question, the HR inclusivity policy: usually such information is for the corporate communication level.

*IADS - What is the biggest mistake that you see retailers making when it comes to approaching their sustainability initiatives?*

Pando Fashion – The biggest one is about the amount of communication compared to the reality and authenticity of actions. For instance, H&M used to over-communicate on their Conscious line. It was too much knowing this line was only 10% of their global offer, so they were accused of greenwashing. Even though companies such as H&M know being more sustainable is necessary, their business model and price point don’t allow them to have more than 10% of sustainable products.

On top of that, H&M and most retailers have to address all customers in their communication. Usually, we consider 10% of consumers are engaged in sustainability, they are considered activists. 60% are interested in the topic but won’t necessarily buy sustainable products, 20% don’t care and 10% are against sustainability. In that sense, the easiest way to be sustainable is to be sustainable-native.

Pain points and success stories

*IADS - From your experience, what are the pain points retailers are coming across?*

Pando Fashion – The ambassadors of sustainability are the sales associates, and they are hard to convince since they consider that sustainability equals an additional workload. When it comes to sales associates, there are different strategies. With Besson Chaussures, we trained the sales managers in each store for them to become the store go-to person for CSR questions. Considering their position in the organisation, they were ideally positioned to encourage sales associates. With Moncler, we had distance training directly with sales associates. In any case, and as for customers, it’s important not to overwhelm them with too much information but feed them with key elements that can easily be shared.

*IADS – Resources are limited for retailers when approaching CSR. How do you help organizations find and allocate the resources, within the existing teams, to execute, promote and train on CSR?*

Pando Fashion – Since they don’t have any internal knowledge, most of the brands and retailers are asking for external help at the beginning of their CSR journey. On top of helping them start the process, we are suggesting the most efficient and least time-consuming organisation. The key idea is autonomy: CSR has to become part of the company processes as for instance; digital working is. We also help customers in their research of CSR managers. When the latter are being internally promoted, we are training and coaching them.

In CSR, we work with 3 pillars: environment, social and economics. CSR is often put under the HR umbrella because of the social component. What works best, according to us, is to have a CSR global director and one manager for social questions (working with HR) and one for environmental questions (working with product and marketing). In a way, as for digital functions, CSR functions might evolve, reduce or even self-destruct, once CSR is implemented and infused in the company.

*IADS – Can you share any success stories or examples of retailers that are excelling in their efforts or approach?*

Pando Fashion – With the multi-brand luxury menswear chain Lothaire, we started the process from the values and DNA of the company to build their CSR policy. For instance, they are very much committed to services and local communities. Starting from that, we helped them build and increase their repair service and to create a second-hand shop-in-shop.

At Moncler, the training of sales associates was organised online more like a conference than as a training. It was perceived as something motivating, and absolutely not as an additional task. They really felt proud to be included in the company’s CSR strategy. As a result, the training answered many questions: CSR of course, but also motivation, communication and belonging. These are key components, especially at a time where retail staff is scarce. Such actions are also part of the employer’s brand and of its attractiveness.

Measuring ROI

*IADS – What are the KPIs you’re using to measure the impact of Pando’s actions (cost impact, share of organic materials, carbon impact…)?*

Pando Fashion – There is no definition of sustainability today so it’s up to each brand and retailer to set their own definition and to be very clear about it. Yet, the first KPI all brands are monitoring is the share of sustainable products in their offer. The ‘made in’ share is also an important KPI. Limiting the number of SKUs and increasing the share of carry-over products is also monitored: in that sense, sustainability supports margins. The share of labels and certifications used along the supply chain is another KPI. KPIs will differ depending on retailers and CSR strategies, business model and DNA. In any case, retailers should prioritise and decide the KPIs to focus on.

*IADS – What are the most important KPIs retailers should use to measure the ROI of their sustainability efforts?*

Pando Fashion – The most important today is the share of sustainable products in the offer. It’s also the easiest message to convey to customers, especially with all the labels that can be confusing to shoppers.

Issues with labels

*IADS – There are many labels (BCorp, Amfori, GOTS, etc...) that are very confusing. On top of that, retailers are starting their own labels. What are your thoughts on the over-complication and multiplication of sustainability labels? Does this really help consumers or is this something that retailers are doing to showcase their efforts?*

Pando Fashion – As long as we won’t have a global and single label, it will be very difficult to facilitate communication with customers. Yet, labels are of some help to customers as they are speaking to 70% of consumers (the 10% activists and the 60% open to CSR questions). We advise brands to focus on 6 or 7 labels, not more: among them are GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and OCS (Organic Content Standard) for organic raw materials, GRS (Global Recycled Standard) and RCS (Recycled Claim Standard) for material recycling, RWS (Responsible Wool Standard) for animal welfare and LWG (Leather Working group) for responsible leather.

As for labels such as Galeries Lafayette’s Go For Good and Printemps’ Unis Vers Le Beau, they are helping the consumer in the end. It’s a good initiative since we don’t have a global label yet. For sure those labels have weaknesses as they cannot be perfect, but they are transparent: you can go on the corporate websites and have reliable information about the rules and criteria used. Of course, such labels might become useless when a global label will exist.

*IADS – Do you think any particular label or certification will outlast the others as the main one that retailers should obtain?*

Pando Fashion – The strongest is GOTS especially because of its traceability rules. GRS really secures authentic recycled materials. When it comes to animal welfare in wool production, RWS is the best. In any case, in order to facilitate communication and be pedagogic, retailers should explain in a few words what are the labels and why they are good.

*IADS – What are the main topics/issues that your firm is focusing on in the next 2 years?*

Pando Fashion – In the next 2 years, Pando Fashion will work more on the customer’s autonomy. To that end, we will give access to more information on our website to transform it into a platform. All companies have to enter the CSR topic. Right now, it’s still considered as an added value. In 2 years, it will be a standard so retailers should act fast. The sooner the better!

Contact: Stéphane Piot

stephanepiot@pandofashion.com

+33 6 63 78 12 19

Credits: IADS (Christine Montard)