The company I would like to discuss today is the clothing brand Zara. Not only was I a consumer, but I have worked for the company for nearly two years, and feel I have a grasp of what the company values and stands for. Zara is a brand that is considered fast fashion, meaning it’s based on regular new arrivals depending on the fashion trends that are popular at that time, which you can imagine is very harmful for the environment. 

My second year working with them, I recall Inditex which is the parent company of Zara introducing a new reuse program called Closing the Loop which gives customers the opportunity to donate their used garments whether it be from Zara or not, through either an in-store drop off box or through the post which allows the clothes to gain a second life. Another thing I do appreciate is the brand uses recycled packaging. And although Zara is aware of their social imprint and has goals to reduce greenhouse gas and emissions that are being produced from its own supply chain, we don’t exactly have proof Zara is putting in effort or where on track they are to meet this goal. We have no evidence there is effort being made to minimize textile waste when manufacturing the clothes. Zara has an animal welfare policy which includes a strict ban of fur, angora, as well as stocking products that are tested on animals. However, Zara does use wool, exotic animal hair, and leather. 

I do see Zara’s efforts in becoming more of a sustainable brand because I know they have a sustainable collection by the name of Join Life. You’ll notice specific garments/products have a Join Life label attached to it meaning the product is sourced responsibly, made from substantial materials and made through considerate production processes. This collection helps reduce the environmental impact and the brand aims to have 50% of their items to meet the Join Life standard. Not only products but their boxes, bags, hangers, and alarms are also reused and recycled. 

There is a huge demand in Zara seeing as the whole company is expected to come out with new arrivals based on the latest fashion trends every 13 days. Zara is originally based from Spain where their have been numerous allegations for slave labor and forced labor in countries like Spain, Argentina, and Myanmar. With that being said, there have been some reports made about the factories, and the workers they use to manufacture the products. Zara has been involved with modern slavery and child labor cases in Brazilian factories. As well as employing Turkish sweatshops in Istanbul where workers were not being paid and were forced to work. Since then Zara cares more deeply for their suppliers with higher transparency however they still dont pay a living wage across their supply chain.

Considering what a big company Zara is and the billions of dollars they profit annually I think they can do a better job at becoming a more sustainable brand and looking after their carbon footprint. As well as making sure their workers and suppliers are happy and working in safe environments to manufacture products.