Mango indicated that the clothes with sustainable features included in its range are those labelled ‘Mango Committed’, a line that was launched in 2017. Initially conceived as a capsule collection, the line was subsequently enlarged, becoming part of Mango’s permanent collection and incorporating “all the clothes with sustainable features from [Mango’s] various lines.”“We are committed to continue working to become an increasingly sustainable company,” said Mango’s CEO Toni Ruiz, explaining that the group “is advancing by leaps and bounds with highly ambitious projects” designed to “minimise [its environmental] impact and reach the demanding sustainability objectives” set by Mango for the years to come.

42 tons of recycled garments

In parallel, Mango is stepping up the pace of its ‘Second Chances’ clothes recycling project in collaboration with Moda re-, an initiative set up in Spain by Caritas. Despite the pandemic’s impact on footfall, the volume of used clothes collected by Mango in the containers placed within its stores increased by 23.5% over 2019, amounting to 42 tons in total. Last year, Mango operated 610 recycling points in its stores across 11 countries. In 2021, the label plans to extend this service to countries like Austria, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Switzerland and Russia, adding a further 200 collection points for used garments. Abiding by the environmental pledge undertaken by Mango as a Fashion Pact signatory, in April the label is starting a collaboration with Spanish association Vellmarí, headed by biologist and explorer Manu San Félix, which runs conservation and educational programmes on the Mediterranean sea from its base on the island of Formentera.

Also, in order to make progress in ocean conservation, Mango began working in April with its Turkey-based suppliers to replace plastic bags in its packaging with paper bags. In 2020, Mango committed to initiate a process that will eventually lead it to stop using as many as 160 million plastic bags per year, and is set to extend the initiative in other countries in the coming months. Mango’s other commitments include the pledge that “100% of its cotton garments will be sustainable by 2025” and, before the same date, Mango also plans to increase the share of recycled polyester it uses to 50%. By 2030, Mango intends to ensure that 100% of the cellulose fibres it utilises are “of controlled and traceable origin.” Mango was founded in 1984, and currently operates a retail area of 803,000 m2 across more than 110 countries. The group closed the Coronavirus-hit 2019 financial year with a 22.4% slump in revenue, down to €2.374 billion.