The 15 companies include John Lewis & Partners, C&A, House of Hackney, Kering, Groupe Beaumanoir, Zadig & Voltaire, Pangaia, City Threads, 2WO+1NE=2, and Zeus + Dione.
By signing up the firms have made a commitment to end sourcing from ancient and endangered forests in their textile and packaging supply chains, “demonstrating their dedication to people and the planet”.
John Lewis director of sustainability and ethics Marija Rompani commented: “I’m excited that John Lewis is building on our existing work with Canopy, by now also supporting the Pack4Good initiative.
“We’re committed to protecting and restoring nature, and we constantly strive to reduce and improve our packaging. Signing up to the Pack4Good initiative is a truly positive step forward on our journey to ensuring all our paper-based packaging is from a more sustainable source.”
Canopy described five of the companies involved as “Next Gen Innovators”.
“These companies offer solutions technologies that range from packaging solutions made from miscanthus pulp, clothing waste, wheat straw, or hemp residues to high-quality pulps for textiles and wetland-regenerating fibres,” Canopy stated.
“These innovators offer creative and low-impact alternatives to forest fibre. As new governmental regulations around deforestation, climate, and eco-design come into play, trailblazers such as these will provide the circular, climate-friendly materials that global brands need.”
The five are: BlockTexx, Genera, Nordic Bioproducts, Pakka and Ponda.
The CanopyStyle initiative – aimed at taking endangered forest out of fabric manufacturing – now encompasses 566 brands that have total sales of more than $1.14trn (£925bn).
The Pack4Good initiative, which is a more recent programme, currently has 444 brands taking part, worth over $249bn.
Canopy describes the Pack4Good supply chain initiatives as: minimising the impact on forests by using recycled pulp and paper; using next generation solutions such as alternative fibres; using FSC certified products when forest fibre is needed; and supporting and encouraging partners to rethink how much packaging is needed, how it is designed, and how it is used.
Last summer the John Lewis Partnership, which owns John Lewis and Waitrose, became the first retailer in the world to have its net-zero targets validated by SBTi.
