George at Asda is participating in the BLE Sustainability Activation in partnership with Products of Change. BLE takes place in person on 17-19 November 2021 at ExCeL London and online on 30 November – 1 December. Here, BLE catches up with Jade Snart, senior manager of sustainability and compliance expert, to discover George at Asda’s latest developments, including 100% recycled school uniforms.

 

Q: You’re taking part in the Sustainability Activation at Brand Licensing Europe next month, what can visitors expect to see from George at Asda?

Jade Snart: We’ll be showcasing our Hasbro and Peppa Pig campaign, which will launch at the end of October and will see us planting trees and giving back to the environment what we take away in production. We’ll also have our 100% recycled school uniforms on display; building sustainability into schoolwear was a huge deal for us. And we’ll be bringing some of the 3D technology that we’ve been using so people can see for themselves how it works, and how brilliantly lifelike the digital avatars are. Over 80% of our shopfloor is now responsibly sourced, so we are quietly pleased with the progress we’ve made to date.

Q: Six months ago, you spoke about introducing 3D fittings and design. This meant you could eliminate samples prior to the Gold Seal stage and set 3D tech KPIs throughout the business. What is the progress since then?

JS: It’s all well and truly underway and we’re currently working through our objectives for next year. I’m proud to say that 25% of our suppliers are now using 3D technology; 60% of them are in the learning stage and 40% are using the tech for delivery.
The last time we spoke, we were on the cusp of launching a fully digital (end to end) range. The technology allowed us to use life-like digital avatars through the whole design process, which means we only saw samples at the Gold Seal stage. It’s now a bit of a case study for us. We’ve since calculated that the number of samples we would have used for a product would have melted the equivalent of half a laptop worth of ice in the Arctic. For George, this means we can now save a terraced house size piece of ice each year, which is a really significant contribution.
At Asda, we recognise we need to change, but we also appreciate it’s going to be a long journey that will require investment from us and our suppliers. So, to get to 25% so quickly is a strong start.

Q: You also talked about 70% of your supplier base engaging with the Higg Index Platform – has that increased and how are you going about encouraging/enforcing that engagement?

JS: It has, yes. It’s now up to 83% of the supplier base and over 75% of these are fully engaged. We’ve just entered our first year of auditing, so we can start to map out what that means and where we need to go next in terms of, for example, water and energy use.
As well as converting existing suppliers to engage with the platform, any new suppliers who come on board with Asda must register with the Higg Index. That’s not optional and includes brand partners and licensees. We’re currently working through what our criteria are at the moment so that we can match strategy and sustainability goals. We have very open conversations with all our suppliers, including brand partners, about sustainability and how can we align together. They are all expected to comply with our strategy (of which Higg Index Platform is a part).

Q: We also touched on Blockchain technology and how you’re hoping to adopt full transparency across the entire supply chain. Have you managed to make advances there?

JS: We are currently transitioning out of the sale from Walmart. A lot of our legacy tech was with Walmart, so we have a huge transformation to undergo tech-wise, but we’re not quite ready yet. Having said that, when it comes to transparency, we are engaging with several different people – including Brands Conscious – to test our ranges and we’re keen to see what scores come back and whether we are doing as well, or even better than we think we are. We are also enrolled in the LEAF initiative to help us map out the process end to end. But our ultimate goal is to have our own systems in place to achieve full transparency across our supply chain.

Q: What about consumer behaviour – are you seeing any significant shifts there? How’s the Preloved partnership going?

JS: Sustainability is a really complex issue. We look at fabric, yes, but also water, dyes, energy use, samplings, manufacturing, shipping and much, much more. There’s definitely a huge educational undertaking to be had. My opinion has always been, as long as you’re not charging more and the products look, fit, and feel good, make everything sustainable and don’t give the customer a choice.
Sustainability is also about much more than the manufacturing process. It’s also about reducing volume to landfill. We launched our Preloved offering to introduce customers to the idea of wearing second hand at the back end of 2020. That’s now been rolled out across 50 of our 600 stores. Our ambition is for it to be in 400.
We really want to engage and educate consumers to think differently. So, all our clothes now feature the ‘Wear me, care for me, share me’ logo. We are using this to foster a new hand-me-down mentality, which was the norm just 40 or 50 years ago. I truly believe we are doing a good job sourcing wise. But, if consumers are going to buy and discard our products, then I don’t believe we’re doing our job properly. We must encourage them to think about longevity.

Q: What’s the one message you’d like them to leave with?

JS: My message is always the same. Don’t try to do everything all at once or you’ll end up doing nothing. The important thing is you start changing, however small. And if you don’t want to talk about what you’re doing for fear of being labelled as ‘greenwashing,’ don’t. But still do what you’re doing. Taking action is so important.
We’re a really small team here, so it’s essential to bring everyone else on the journey with you. We have that shared mindset at Asda when it comes to the environment; our leadership is very much behind our sustainability agenda. That makes a huge difference because sometimes the changes we suggest go against the commercials. But, to move forward along our sustainability journey, we are all going to have to make sacrifices at some point, even if that sacrifice is margin.