Viable ecosystems are essential to preserving the planet in the long run. The textile industry is highly dependent on biodiversity: from soil fertility for growing cotton to forest protection for viscose, to air and water quality for the people working along the supply chain. Properly quantifying the impacts of the industry on natural ecosystems and their correlations is even more complex than measuring the carbon footprint, yet no less important. For this reason, Benetton Group has drafted a biodiversity management policy, identifying its significant impacts along the value chain, from the choice of raw materials to production processes.
Biodiversity Risk Filter
No Benetton Group operation is located in protected areas or areas with a high biodiversity value. Even knowing that the impact of Benetton Group’s offices and stores is minimal, Benetton Group has mapped the geographical distribution of directly operated stores to measure the physical and reputational risk in terms of biodiversity, using the Biodiversity Risk Filter
Biodiversity and raw materials
The commitment to protect ecosystems is in line with Benetton Group’s overall strategy to increasingly source “preferred” materials, including organic, recycled cotton or Better Cotton, and with the commitment to select man-made fiber suppliers with a positive ranking in the Canopy Hot Button Report. Benetton Group also aims to integrate an increasing percentage of recycled raw materials in its products in order to reduce dependence on virgin raw materials. Finally, all Benetton Group stores use eco-friendly shopping bags made with water-based inks and paper sourced from mills certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Catalogs and leaflets are also certified by FSC, the global brand that identifies products from controlled forests managed according to social and environmental sustainability criteria.