Natural fibres account for approximately 80% of our collections, the majority being silk, linen, and cotton. We limit the use of synthetics to garments such as swimwear, slips and pleated items that require nylon, elastane or polyester for specific functional reasons.

We select our fabrics for quality, texture and wearability. We are regularly looking for opportunities to use fabrics from sustainable sources; for example, we are proud members of The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), and since early 2021 we have used organic linen for T-shirting. In the last financial year (FY 2022) 37% of all polyamide used in our collections was recycled (with both pre- and post-consumer content) and 20% of all polyester used was post-consumer recycled. Additionally, 44% of all the wool used was certified in alignment with animal welfare standards and processed following recommended environmental and social practices.

Here’s a breakdown of the materials we use across all product categories:

Yes. Our collections are fur-free. We adopt the Fur Free Alliance’s definition of fur, which includes all fur derived from animals primarily raised for fur production and excludes materials derived from animals raised for food (e.g., leather or shearling).

We do not use Angora.

We do not use banned animal-derived materials, including vulnerable or endangered species included on either the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) or the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lists. 

Yes, we use a small amount of leather in our Runway Collections (currently under 1%). While our footwear and accessories businesses are currently a small part of our product volume, around 60% of the styles in these categories also use leather. These items are made in Italy, Australia and Portugal.

We only source from tanneries with a proven track record on traceability and standards that meet our criteria, and all our suppliers have signed our Supplier Code of Conduct, which includes provisions on good animal husbandry. However, there is still work to do. The Leather Working Group is an international, not-for-profit membership organisation responsible for the world’s largest leather sustainability program. We aim to source only from tanneries that are members of the Leather Working Group (LWG) and  continue to actively research new partners and opportunities to contribute to a more responsible leather supply chain from farm to tannery.

Although wool products form a small part of collections (approximately 2% currently), it is essential that we source wool from suppliers that meet our standards on animal welfare as outlined in our Supplier Code of Conduct.

We aim to only work with non-mulesed wool completely by 2025, and we are on track to achieve this target.  In FY22, 44% of the wool was certified in alignment with animal welfare standards and processed following recommended environmental and social practices.

As mentioned, we do not use fur, angora or any materials derived from vulnerable or endangered species.

Animal-derived materials, such as wool and cashmere, account for less than 3% of our total material spend across all garment categories. This is an important area for us, and we are committed to sourcing materials that have been produced following industry best practices and standards, taking a stand against inhumane and unethical practices in animal husbandry. We have rolled out an Animal Welfare Policy to guide the design team in sourcing animal-derived fibres that comply with the highest animal welfare standards ensuring, at a minimum, that the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare are upheld.

ZIMMERMANN is a proud member of the Better Cotton Initiative. The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is the largest cotton sustainability program in the world, which exists to make global cotton production better for the people who produce it, the environment it grows in and the future of fashion.

Better Cotton is not physically traceable to end products due to the complexity of the cotton supply chain and the likelihood of being mixed with other cottons in the process. For this reason, Better Cotton is sourced through ‘Mass Balance’, where farmers benefit from the demand for Better Cotton in equivalent volumes to those we ‘source’.

Responsible, holistic farming is at the forefront of BCI’s mission. Registered farmers receive in-depth training surrounding water efficiency, caring for soil health and natural habitats, reducing the use of harmful chemicals and respecting workers’ rights and well-being. There are currently 2.4 million licensed BCI farmers in 23 countries around the world.

We source over 50% of our cotton as ‘more sustainable cotton’ and aim to reach 80% by 2025. ‘More sustainable cotton’ includes cotton sourced as Better Cotton, recycled, Fairtrade and organic cotton.

Denim has not traditionally been a large part of our collections, but it is growing, with a new and environmentally friendly design direction. In our Code of Conduct, we have banned sandblasting and washing techniques that impregnate either materials or stones with bleaching agents (including hypochlorite bleach and/or potassium permanganate).

In order to maximise recycling potential, in some collections, we have opted not to use blended materials (denim with elastane) and chosen 100% cotton instead. There are no metal trims on the back of garments to aid easier recycling post-consumer use.

Prints are key to our collections. All of our fabrics are digitally printed rather than screen printed. According to Texintel, typical water usage for screen printing is around 50-60 litres per metre, while digital printing can use less than two.

Of the 50-plus print and dye mills we worked with in FY2021, 71% had OKEO-TEX100 certification and 19% were ISO 14001:2015 certified. Constant improvement is an ongoing goal. Our sourcing team is working closely with the mills to improve these statistics.

To briefly explain these terms: OEKO-TEX100 is a worldwide consistent, independent testing and certification system for raw, semi-finished and finished textile products at all processing levels. To attain OKEO-TEX100 certification, the mill process has been tested and certified to be free from detrimental levels of more than 100 substances known to be harmful to human health.

ISO 14001:2015 is the international standard that specifies requirements for an effective environmental management system. It provides a framework that an organisation can follow and ensures the implementation of proactive initiatives to protect the environment from harm.

We use independent auditing services to verify these certifications.

We actively work to exclude harmful chemicals from our textile supply chains. This is managed by ensuring our printing and dyeing mills have OKEO-TEX100 certification and by testing all fabrics for restricted chemicals, such as AZO dyes, formaldehyde, and phthalates. We have also adopted the ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substance List (MRSL) as a standard to ensure the progressive elimination of hazardous chemicals from our manufacturing process. For this reason, in 2021, we joined the ZDHC Foundation’s Roadmap to Zero Programme as Friends of ZDHC to reduce the chemical footprint of our value chain. By 2024 we aim to work with at least 90% (by spend) of wet processing sites that have reached the Supplier to Zero Progressive Level and have set tangible targets to improve their overall ZDHC MRSL conformance, with the goal of being fully conformant by 2025.

It starts with our fabrics. We buy the highest quality fabric and begin thinking about durability at the design stage, looking at every detail from linings to trims. We partner with highly skilled manufacturers, who build these garments to last.

Timeless design is one of our signatures, and we know that our clients collect our pieces and consider them precious. ZIMMERMANN garments have second, third, even fourth lives thanks to a high value on the resale market.

Because we do not focus on synthetics, most of our garments require dry-cleaning or handwashing. Some feature fine silks, delicate laces and trims. Where possible, we encourage our clients to choose a green/eco dry-cleaning service - these are becoming more popular and easier to access. For hand-washable garments, we recommend choosing a gentle soap, and line dry out of direct sunlight. We have also developed a Care Guide, available here, to advise on how to take care of ZIMMERMANN garments to ensure their longevity.

We are constantly reviewing ways to recycle and reduce textile waste. While some waste is inevitable, we do the following to minimise it across our production processes:

Upcycle & on-sell – we sell as much of our excess fabric as we can to resellers for use by other designers. Where possible, we also over-dye old-season colours to use in new-season collections.

Circular yarn initiatives – we have piloted three textile-to-textile recycling programs where existing unused IP-sensitive fabric was re-constituted into yarn for new knitted or woven fabrics. Textile-to-textile recycling has helped us repurpose some excess materials and enabled their reuse in ZIMMERMANN packaging or product. More information is available here.

Sustainable fabric -  Although synthetic fibres form a small part of our material mix and are used only in items that require synthetic fabrics for functional reasons (e.g., swimwear), we are committed to transitioning as many synthetic materials as possible to recycled fibres. In FY22, post-consumer recycled polyester accounted for 20% of all polyester used in our collections, and recycled polyamide (with both pre- and post-consumer content) accounted for 37% of all polyamide used.

Donate – we donate fabric and other materials to various fashion colleges, charities and NGOs.

We are aware that social and environmental risks go deeper in the supply chain and appreciate the need to gain better visibility of our upstream supply chain beyond tier 2 suppliers. We are exploring ways to better manage the impact that our business has on people and the environment well beyond our direct suppliers.  We are committed to achieving traceability from Tier 4 (at least country-level) through each processing stage for 100% of key natural fibres used in main materials (50% or more of the product composition) by 2025. To accelerate our traceability efforts, we have rolled out Traceability Policy and Procedures, which set the traceability requirements and a process for our suppliers to report traceability information seasonally.