Responsible Generation
The 17 brands of the Redcats Group are winning new customers and a renewing their collections at a faster rate, spurred on by Internet.
The Code of business conduct enacted by PPR lays out a few simple rules which guide the behaviour of the employees. These include the prohibition of work of children less than 15 years of age and of hard labour, the respect of hygiene and security rules and acceptable working conditions. Activity within the brands is continually being impregnated by sustainable actions.
Conforama has thus just developed the first eco-friendly furniture product: an evolutionary collection for children’s bedroom, christened “Génération Confo”. Its main advantage: it is economic in terms of raw material. Its wood, coming from forests under sustainable management, is bought by Conforama’s supplier nearby the production site. PVC is banned, in favour of ABS, less toxic and recyclable. Packing is reduced to a minimum. The assembly leaflet recommends methods for recycling or re-use.
Redcats Group is moving in the same direction, proposing about thirty eco-friendly products: small pieces of furniture, desks or side-tables. Philippe Sonnette, responsible for quality in the home department, states that, “In our world purchases, our priority is to make the purchase of panels to comply with the E1 standard from spring-summer 2008, that is, panels with a low level of formaldehyde, a molecule which is rightly under the magnifying glass”. La Redoute has been a fore-runner in ethical fashion, being one of the first to associate itself with Max Havelaar for the production and supply of fair-trade cotton. Last October, the brand created the prize «Entreprendre la mode éthique avec La Redoute» (Tackling ethic fashion with La Redoute), which henceforth recognises a designer of ethical fashion each year at the Ethical Fashion Show.
Likewise, in order to produce Care of Stella McCartney, the first line of luxury treatments from 100% biological ingredients, YSL Beauté obtained the Ecocert certificate of reference. “We could have done it without it, explains Joëlle Guesnet, R&D Director of YSL Beauté, but we were keen to be transparent in the eyes of the client, who sometimes has difficulty making distinctions in a market full of green products. This independent and internationally recognised label offers the guarantee that the ingredients are 100% biological and that the entirety of the industrial process, from the cultivation of raw materials to the point of sale, respects strict criteria for the protection of the environment.”
As for Fnac, it is increasing public awareness of the environment and social responsibility in its forums, and is discussing with Ademe1 the way in which it could introduce environmental criteria in its appraisal of technical products.
1 ADEME : Agence De l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Energie (Environment and Energy Control Agency)
2 Pascal Darbon, Head of product at Conforama
Read also...
On the same topic...