Spanish fashion company Inditex and conservation organization WWF have signed a three-year partnership agreement aiming to invest in nature restoration and work on nine transformative projects in North Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America. The two partners will focus on forest restoration and protection, watershed restoration and protection, and species and habitat protection.
Inditex will make a minimum annual contribution of €3 million to WWF, with €4.2 million earmarked for 2022. In total, the contribution will amount to more than 10 million euros over the course of the partnership. The money comes in part from revenue raised by charging paper bags and envelopes, an initiative launched in 2021 with the aim of encouraging the use of reusable alternatives.
“Our sustainability strategy aims to increase the positive impact of our work on people, communities and natural resources. We are therefore delighted to partner with organizations like WWF that share our determination to help protect and restore ecosystems worldwide. We believe that WWF, with its proven track record and global reach, is the best long-term partner to reinforce our environmental commitments through transformational work across our industry,” said Inditex CEO Óscar García Maceiras during the signing ceremony in Geneva.
Restoration and conservation of forests
The planned forest restoration and conservation measures affect regions in Spain, Turkey, Italy and Greece. The Castile-La Mancha region accounts for more than 13 per cent of Spain’s total forest cover and one project will focus on protecting biodiversity and promoting sustainable management of the region. In Turkey, the restoration of the forests in Datça-Bozburun and in Italy that of the oak forests of the Cratere degli Astroni Natural Park in Naples, both affected by recent forest fires, will be supported. In Greece, Dadia, an important sanctuary for Europe’s birds of prey, is being supported through forest protection measures.
Restoration and conservation of watersheds
Projects to restore and protect watersheds are concentrated in North Africa, particularly the Sebou River in Morocco and the coastal wetlands of Ghar el Melah and the Guerbes-Sanhadja plain wetlands in Tunisia and Algeria. In addition, a project in Vietnam to restore the Tra Su wetland in the upper Mekong Delta will receive further funding. The aim is to increase climate resilience and improve the biological diversity of the area.
Species and habitat protection
Species and habitat conservation projects also include conservation of the Gran Chaco tropical forest and Pantanal wetlands through community-based projects in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. In Mexico, WWF is working with local organizations to protect and restore the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve and the Central Pacific jaguar landscape to ensure the future of the critically endangered jaguar and monarch butterfly, as well as other important species and communities that depend on these landscapes , to secure.
Elsewhere, WWF is working in the Taihang Yan Mountains in the Amur Heilong region of northern China. This mountainous area is an important habitat for several medium- and large-sized predators, including 60 percent of the country’s leopard population.
collaborations
The rest of the money from the sale of paper bags and envelopes is invested in environmental projects by various other organizations, such as sewage network improvement projects run by Water.org in several Southeast Asian countries or in collaboration with Action Social Advancement (ASA ), along with the Laudes Foundation, IDH The Sustainable Trade Initiative and WWF-India to promote regenerative agricultural practices in India.
“WWF is pleased to partner with Inditex to reverse the loss of nature and create a greener world by 2030. Nature is the basis of our economy, our society and our well-being. However, we are losing them at an alarming rate. Like many other industries, the clothing and textile sector is highly dependent on nature and biodiversity. However, it also has significant implications. We urgently need action to halt and reverse the loss of nature, including collective and strategic investment in the restoration and protection of biodiversity,” said Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International.
industry change
As part of this agreement, WWF and Inditex will initiate a year-long scoping phase focusing on water stewardship and biodiversity conservation. The analysis includes the creation of an impact map across Inditex’s value chain and a “review of the company’s actions, impacts and progress to identify priorities and geographic focus areas”. Based on the results, the two organizations aim to enter into a second agreement, with a budget set aside, to make progress in transforming the sector.
While the collaboration and the provision of millions of euros is commendable, it doesn’t get to the root of the problem – habitat loss and deforestation due to the ever-increasing demands of the fast fashion industry, which includes Inditex brand Zara not only heard, but is a pioneer. Unless serious efforts are made to curb production, and therefore overconsumption, efforts like these will remain patchwork rather than long-term solutions. Such a change is unlikely, because the fast fashion business model is successful, as Inditex’ sales show: In the months of February to October 2022, the group generated sales of 23.1 billion euros, exceeding the previous year’s level by 19 percent.