acquisition

The DNVB Sheep Inc. is stirring up the much-decried fast fashion industry by claiming its status as a negative impact brand. The new English label sources its wool from farms in New Zealand that use regenerative farming methods and offers a new connection with sheep.

Called to stand before the court of the Blue Planet for inciting over-consumption, to the point of exhaustion of human and natural resources, Fast Fashion has been the subject of strong criticism for several years. Quickly purchased and quickly thrown away, low-cost fashion, which is characterised by a very rapid cycling of collections, has moreover recently been renamed Fossil Fashion by several NGOs in the “Fossil Fashion” report published on 3 February 2021, to denounce the dependence of this sector on fossil resources.
In contrast to the way Fast Fashion works, the UCO Sheep Inc. is based on completely different values. For Edzard van der Wyck, co-founder of this new English label, carbon neutrality should – at the very least – be considered as a commitment by fashion companies. And the young DNVB goes even further in its responsible approach by claiming to be the world’s leading brand with a negative impact.

To produce its Merino wool jumpers, Sheep Inc. sources its wool from farms in New Zealand that use regenerative breeding methods.
Regenerative agriculture? This is an innovative agricultural system that increases biodiversity and enriches the earth with life and humus. By improving fertility and productivity, it stores carbon in the soil and vegetation (plants, hedges, trees etc.) whilst reversing current trends in atmospheric CO2 accumulation and global warming.
Brands such as California Cloth Foundry or The Trace Collective are already true ambassadors of this, but Sheep Inc. goes further to claim its status as a negative impact brand. In addition to sustainable commitments, it invests 5% of its turnover in biodiversity projects. These are projects that mitigate, at a minimum, ten times the CO2 impact of the entire life cycle of each jumper.

Transparency and traceability are other pieces of Sheep Inc.’s DNA and complete the picture of the responsible label.
The brand invites each customer to scan the yellow label at the bottom of the knitted garment to find out about the entire manufacturing process, the carbon footprint of the product, as well as to learn about the life and news of the sheep whose wool was used to design the garment. Major events, periods of transhumance, mowing, birth etc. All this information, shared with customers, gives meaning to consumption. Offering consumers the opportunity to connect with a “sheep-partner-wool supplier” is a fun and seductive idea. It’s an opportunity to create a link with a region, as well as with nature, animals and the rituals it is home to. Take a breath. Make a reasonable and reasoned purchase emotionally appropriate by familiarizing yourself with the history of the product and adopting a sheep. It also means reminding the customer that the clothes come from somewhere and have an environmental impact, as van der Wyck points out.
Guaranteed for life, Sheep Inc. garments are also perfectly in line with today’s consumer logic, following the mantra “less but better”.

The fashion world is going through a phase of serious self-examination. The big leaders are now challenged by a growing number of citizen-customers who demand not only commitments but positions and actions. UCOs such as Sheep Inc. have the merit of clearing new pathways. They are proactive, innovative, creative and sometimes a little provocative, but they are undoubtedly a real source of inspiration for the players involved. Some will disappear; others will constantly reinvent themselves. And perhaps others, too, will be the new champions of tomorrow.

The global pandemic has brought economies to a halt and imposed strict health rules on the entire retail market. Non-essential shops had to close up for an indefinite period of time. Once the shock has passed, a period of reorganisation began, marked by the introduction of health protocols, but at the same time, by the emergence of solidarity initiatives strengthening the link between the public and private sectors. Novel and sometimes surprising partnerships have been proof positive of the incredible resilience and creativity that the retail sector has shown.

Although the shops were closed for weeks and weeks, behind the lowered blinds, many people were busy. Stakeholders in retail were organising themselves to best embrace the health restrictions and limit the economic consequences, but they also positioned themselves to be part of the national effort to fight the crisis and find solutions to help the most affected. Numerous solidarity actions have flourished throughout the world to help healthcare workers in need of masks and hand sanitizer, or small non-essential businesses cut off from their customers, house-bound customers, or isolated women who are victims of domestic abuse. As a result, links have been forged, and associations have been created to get through this unprecedented ordeal as one.

Following requests from nursing staff, doctors and pharmacists in the town of Romans, the jean and shoes brand 1083 reorganised its clothing workshop to dedicate it to the production of protective masks.
For its part, Sébastien Bazin, CEO of the Accor group, announced on 16 April that 300 volunteer hotels in the Ile-de-France region would be made available to people contaminated by the coronavirus, at cost, i.e. between 30 and 50 euros per night.
And French oil company Total has decided to offer no less than 50 million petrol vouchers to doctors, hospital practitioners, nurses, midwives and ambulance drivers. An initiative supported by a donation of €5 million for the Pasteur Institute and hospital associations actively fighting the pandemic.
We noted another donation made during the first lockdown. The company Pernod Ricard donated 70,000 litres of pure alcohol to the Cooper laboratory in order to manufacture hand sanitizer. The latter has also undertaken to match the donation to associations linked to the health sector.
The LVMH group also participated in the production of hand sanitizer by reconverting three of its French production sites usually dedicated to its perfumes and cosmetics.
Decathlon, for its part, blocked the sale of its Easybreath diving mask as soon as the conclusive tests for transforming it into a respirator were announced!

“Lève ton verre pour les bars du Québec” (“Raise your glass for the bars of Quebec!”) This is the name of the initiative launched by the Canadian company Molson to support all restaurants, bars, hotels, among the brand’s 2,400 or so establishments and business customers. The idea was as simple as it was clever: every Quebecer who raised a glass of beer in a videoconference, and shared an image on its social networks, received a $25 gift card to spend at their favourite bar or restaurant.
And how have Bird scooters join forces with local shops? By developing a new feature, via its app, allowing users to easily find restaurants that do take-away or delivery.
For its part, Intermarché launched a solidarity drive, in partnership with the French marketplace publisher Mirakl, to provide booksellers with powerful digital tools that are free and available throughout France to sell their books. The costs were covered for six months.
Beginning on Monday, 2 November, to keep a few digital platforms from holding a monopoly on the sale of certain products, Auchan decided, with the help of its partners Mondial Relay and Ceetrus, to make its supermarkets and collection points available to retailers at no extra cost.
And what about the European solidarity plan launched by L’Oréal? The Group’s plants have participated in the manufacture of hand sanitizer. L’Oréal has also frozen all receivables until the VSE/SME activity of its distribution channels (hair salons, small perfumeries) resumes. And the Foundation L’Oréal has donated €1 million to its partner associations involved in the fight against insecurity.

The British chain specialising in health and beauty care Superdrug has entered into a partnership with the My Online Therapy online clinic, which is highlighted on the retailer’s website. The latter revealed in a survey that 6 out of 10 customers felt that their mental health problem had worsened with lockdown and social distancing measures.
The eCommerce site Zappos, specialising in footwear sales and renowned for offering the best employee and customer experience in the world, launched a 24/7 telephone hotline to help customers who call about… “any subject”: weather, holiday plans, a list of restaurants offering take-away sales, or a selection of the best apps created to cope with the situation and relieve isolation.

Rungis Market signed a partnership with the Epicery platform, which hosted “Rungis delivered to your home” on its website. Parisians and residents of the inner suburbs of Paris were thus able to put together their “basket” of fruit and vegetables and other fresh produce and have it delivered to their homes.
The Greater Nancy city area decided to launch an e-commerce website Achetez-GrandNancy.fr (Buy-GrandNancy.fr) to allow Nancy residents to do their shopping from home and have it delivered to their homes.
In Rennes, around fifteen shopkeepers on the Place de la Gare square (bakers, grocers, wine merchants, restaurateurs, etc.) have decided to offer their services for take-away sales or delivery on placedelagare.shop website and app.

The lockdown has resulted in an increase in violence against women. Salma Hayek Pinault, co-founder of Chime For Change and member of the Board of Directors of the Kering Foundation, announced the launch of the #StandWithWomen campaign to fight gender-based violence. It is a campaign visible on social networks, aimed at increasing funding for a range of non-profit organisations that support women and girls around the world.
And Marlène Schiappa, Secretary of State for Equality between Women and Men and the Fight against Discrimination, has initiated, in partnership with the Auchan group, an operation aimed at making it easier for those who experience violence to speak out. But how? By providing notices of reporting procedures (local and national numbers, dedicated government sites, etc.) in places frequented by everyone and making it possible to notify associations or government services if necessary.