Here at Very, we want to help families to get more out of life. One vital element of that is recognising our responsibility to reduce our impact and create a more sustainable future for both people and planet. We have set ourselves some ambitious targets and goals we hope to achieve through collaboration with our suppliers and sustainability experts.
We have already begun our journey and wanted to share some of the progress that has already been made to protect our environment and empower the workers in our supply chain and the surrounding communities.
People
Being transparent
Transparency is fundamental in helping us to understand and reduce our impact when it comes to people and planet. Transparency enables us to know who makes our products and identify, fix and prevent any issues for workers in our supply chain. As part of this journey, we’ve partnered with the Open Supply Hub so that people can see where in the world our factories are located.
We’ve mapped and published all our tier one factories, where our final products are made; as well as over 900 tier two factories.
By 2025, we will have mapped all of the tier one, two and three factories in our own brand product supply chain, with the aim to map our supply chain fully down to tier 5 by 2030.
Find out more about our factories
Responsible sourcing
We believe that everyone making products for us are entitled to safe working conditions and should be treated with dignity and respect. As a business we don’t own our manufacturing facilities, but we work in partnership with them to ensure this.
Every supplier working with us commits to our Code of Conduct which outlines the standards we expect relating to working conditions, wages and environmental responsibilities. All of our policies are publicly available on our corporate site.
In order to monitor this, we require ethical audits for all of our tier 1 factories conducted by a third-party auditing firm on a semi announced or unannounced basis. Our amazing global ESG team who are based in our key sourcing regions, visit suppliers regularly and run training programs to support factories and their workers.
We have delivered training in five key communities in Bangladesh, China, India and the UK, impacting over 6000 workers. and we are committed to developing a Human Rights Strategy to help us respond to our salient human rights issues which will go live later in 2024. This will help to enhance the impact of our current due diligence to prevent and, where necessary, remediate human rights abuses. Read more about the work we do and the progress we have made in our most recent Modern Slavery Statement
Product
Lower impact materials
Our biggest impact on the environment and people is from the products we sell, which we estimate represents 59% of our carbon footprint. Therefore it is important for us to source products that are manufactured in a way that considers waste, water usage and climate impact.
We are signatory to WRAP’s Textiles 2030 commitments, which will see us reduce the carbon footprint of our textiles by 50% by 2030 and the water footprint of our textiles by 30% by 2030.
To achieve this, we are committed to ensuring that 80% of our textile raw materials are lower impact by 2027. We have signed up to Jeanologia’s environmental impact measuring (EIM) platform, which assesses water and energy consumption, and chemical impact to score denim garments as low, medium or high impact. We have also partnered with the Better Cotton Initiative, a global not-for-profit organisation and the largest cotton sustainability programme in the world, to support sustainable cotton practices which are better for the planet and for the farmers too.
The Forest Stewardship Council®(FSC®) is a global, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of responsible forest management worldwide. FSC helps take care of forests and the people and wildlife that call them home. Working with the FSC enables us to provide you with furniture that supports responsible forestry and is better for the planet.
Look for the FSC Logo on our FSC-certified products.
Caring for your clothes
Taking care of your textiles by washing less and at lower temperatures can make a huge difference to their lifespan and has lots of benefits for the environment too.
Remember to always refer to the care labels on your items and also follow these handy tips on how to treat the most popular fabrics.
Click on the materials below to learn more.
Cotton and Cotton Blends
Find out how to care for your cotton
Wash Temperature and Cycle
The care label tells you how to best keep your favourites safe from harm, make sure you read it. Unless the cotton garment is worn close to the body, like underwear, socks, or Nightwear, warm or cool water is the best washing temperature to prevent shrinkage.
Washing clothes at 30 degrees rather than higher temperatures will save around 40% of the energy used each year. Modern washing powders and detergents work just as effectively at lower temperatures**
**Research carried out by Energy Saving Trust 2017
How often should I wash cotton garments?
Cotton can be machine or hand-washed. To prevent garments from shrinking and to keep them looking their best, wash at 30°. Place delicate items in a mesh bag to help prevent snagging or twisting during machine cycles.
Hang cotton out to dry, as heat from tumble dryers can cause it to shrink. This also saves energy. Cotton clothing should be washed every two to three times it’s worn, depending on how dirty the item gets.
Top tips for cotton
Keep light garments bright by pre-treating stains in areas such as under arms, necklines and cuffs. But avoid bleach, it’s tough on the fabric and bad for the environment. Instead, try lemon juice (for stains) or vinegar (gets rid of smell).
Pre-treating - If your item has stains, pre-treat them with a stain remover before tossing them into the washing machine or washing them by hand. Pre ‑treat stains before washing by dabbing a small amount of stain remover on the area. For darker pieces, patch test on an inside seam to check the colour won’t be affected.
Denim
Find out how to care for your denim
Wash Temperature and Cycle
The care label tells you how to best keep your favourites safe from harm, make sure you read it. Washing clothes at 30 degrees rather than higher temperatures will save around 40% of the energy used each year. Modern washing powders and detergents work just as effectively at lower temperatures**
**Research carried out by Energy Saving Trust 2017
How often should I wash denim garments?
Did you know you don’t need to wash denim all the time? We recommended to wash every 3-10 wears…this makes denim last longer and helps the environment.
Top tips for denim
In between washes, you can spot clean surface dirt with a damp cloth. Wash denim inside out to stop the colour fading Take out of machine as soon as you can and hang out to dry.
The weight of the denim will reduce creases (we would avoid using an iron as heat can weaken the fibres). We recommend not to tumble dry denim as this could cause shrinkage especially if there’s a bit of stretch in there.
Pre-washed and raw denim need different approaches. Raw denim dye transfers easily to light surfaces: underwear, shirts, trainers, furniture. Be careful where you sit. Make sure to wash your raw denim alone or with similar colours, as the indigo will bleed.
Hang to dry and place a newspaper underneath to catch any dripping dye. Wash your denim garments separately for the first 2 to 3 washes as dyes can bleed.
Swimwear
Find out how to care for your swimwear
Wash Temperature and Cycle
The care label tells you how to best keep your favourites safe from harm, make sure you read it. Washing clothes at 30 degrees rather than higher temperatures will save around 40% of the energy used each year. Modern washing powders and detergents work just as effectively at lower temperatures* Swimwear can take a beating from pool chemicals, sun protection, water, sand, high temperatures. Hot water can fade colours and break down the elasticity. It is best to rinse your swimwear in cool water after each wear.
**Research carried out by Energy Saving Trust 2017
How often should I wash swimwear?
Washing swimwear should be done by hand every three to five wears but if you must machine wash then place in a mesh bag meant for delicate items to protect in the machine. Use a mild detergent and select the delicate wash cycle.
Top tips for swimwear
Almost every swimwear item contains elastane which stretches in wear and breaks down with body oils and perspiration, chemicals from sunscreen and pools and hot tubs. The colour can fade too so it is important to rinse your swimwear as soon as possible to remove these contaminants and retain shape.
Rinse your swimsuit as soon as possible in cool water after each time you wear it and if possible, soak for 30 mins as soaking will remove body oils, chemicals, salt and sand that can damage the fabric.
When removing from the water, gently squeeze the excess water but do not wring as this can cause damage.
Once soaked / rinsed, spread the swimwear out flat out to dry out of direct sunlight as the UV rays can cause the fibres to break down and fade the colour.
For sunscreen removal, check the label on the garment before treating the stain. Test any detergent or cleaning solution on a hidden area first, to check that the product will not affect the garment.
Synthetics
Find out how to care for your Synthetics
Wash Temperature and Cycle
The care label tells you how to best keep your favourites safe from harm, make sure you read it. Washing clothes at 30 degrees rather than higher temperatures will save around 40% of the energy used each year. Modern washing powders and detergents work just as effectively at lower temperatures**
**Research carried out by Energy Saving Trust 2017
How often should I wash synthetic garments?
Every synthetic material is different, some of them very durable, others more sensitive. Most of them can be washed by machine or by hand, but be careful with harsh detergents, they may bleach or harm the fabric.
Top tips for Synthetics
Synthetic materials release microfibres when washed. To reduce the amount entering the water, put your synthetics in a microfibre-catching bag, and don’t forget to clean out the bag and sort the captured microfibres in a sealed container in your household waste.
Viscose
Find out how to care for your viscose
Wash Temperature and Cycle
The care label tells you how to best keep your favourites safe from harm, make sure you read it.
If it is indicated that it can be washed by hand / washing machine, either use a washing bag or turn the garment inside out.
Ideally wash in cold water on a gentle cycle to prevent shrinkage and pilling and make sure to use a neutral or low-alkali detergent.
Top tips for viscose
After washing, spread out your garment evenly and do not twist it It should be dried in a cool or ventilated place.
Iron at a low temperature and inside out to preserve the colour and avoid shiny spots
What do your care label symbols mean?
The care labels on your products tell you how to keep your favourite items safe when washing, drying, ironing and more. Here’s a brief summary of the most common symbols and what they mean.
Wash
Do not wash
Warm hand wash
Machine wash
Synthetics wash
Gentle Wash
Wash at 30
Wash at 40
Wash at 50
Wash at 60
Wash at 95
Dry
Suitable for
Tumble dryer
Dry on
low heat
Dry on
medium heat
Dry on
high heat
Do not
tumble dry
Dry on
washing line
Dry on
clothes rack
Dry
garment flat
Suitable for
wringing
Do not
wring
Bleach
Cold dilute
bleach
solution
Non-chlorine colour safe
bleach
Do not
bleach
Iron
Cool iron
Warm iron
Hot iron
Do not iron
Dry Clean
Dry clean only
Dry clean with usual solvents, can be machine dry cleaned
Use any usual solvent
Petroleum based solvents. Cannot be machine dry cleaned
Do not dry clean
Wash on low heat
Short cycle only
Restricted wash
Airdrying
WRAP’s 2017 research shows that consumers have changed clothes care habits; due to a decrease in tumble drying, ironing, and washing temperatures, the carbon footprint of clothing in the UK has reduced by 700,000 tonnes c02, since 2012.* To further support this, households should consider airdrying in the summer as it has several other benefits.
*Wrap sustainable Clothing Guide 2017
**Defra Sustainable Clothing Roadmap, 2009
Line drying or airing clothes outside in sun light helps to:
Repair and re-wear
Want to give your clothes a new lease of life? We have created some easy-to-follow videos on how to repair or alter your much-loved clothes! As part of our Textiles 2030 commitments, we are aiming to encourage our customers to keep more products and materials out of landfill for as long as possible by re-using and repairing clothes. Watch this space for more handy content…
How to sew a shirt button on
A loose or missing button is easily fixed and can save you from replacing your favourite fashion pieces.
- You’ll need thread, scissors and a button
- Thread your needle and tie a not at the end
- Start by pulling the thread through from the back of where the button was
- Thread the needle through the replacement button
- Loop the thread through the top of the button and push the needle and thread through the shirt
- Repeat going up and through the button to secure it in place
- Make sure you thread in a cross to make sure the button is on
- Twist the thread around the underside of the button and push the needle through the shirt under the button
- Stitch the thread under the existing threads, repeating to secure the button
- Cut the excess thread and your shirt will be good as new
How to hem school trousers
Trousers too long or short? Try to get more wear out of them with some simple hemming.
- You’ll need pins, thread and scissors
- Pin the hem of the trouser under the leg to secure in place
- Turn the leg inside out and start stitching at the seam
- Cut away any excess thread
- Continue to stitch around the hem to ensure they won’t come undone
- Tie your thread at the end and repeat on the other leg
- Flip the hem down and give yourself an A-star
How to repair loose sequins
Put the sparkle back into skirts, blouses or dresses with some simple and easy sewing techniques.
- You’ll need a needle, thread and scissors
- Thread your needle and tie a knot at the end of the thread
- Take your sequin and position it in the desired place
- Ensure the skirt lining out of the way
- Thread the needle through the hole in the sequin and into the mesh fabric
- Repeat this step until you know the sequin is secure
- Tie off the thread, fix any other sequins the same way and you’re ready to party again
Planet
Reducing our impact
We are on a journey to ensure The Very group has less impact on the environment, we are working to reduce our carbon footprint and it’s our ambition to be net zero by 2040.
To achieve this, our near-term focus will be within Scope 1, Scope 2, and specific Scope 3 categories, such as purchased goods and services, capital goods, and upstream and downstream logistics.
We plan to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% and Scope 3 emissions by 25% by 2030.
Check out the BRC Roadmap to Net Zero
Protecting rainforests
We understand the important role forests play in protecting our planet against climate change, that is why we are committed to Zero Deforestation in our supply chain by 2025. To achieve this we are committed to sourcing 100% FSC or equivalent timber in our furniture by 2025.
We also want to ensure that viscose and other forest derived materials are verified as deforestation free so we have worked with global experts Canopy to create a Forest Protection Policy for the business and our suppliers.
By committing to this Forest Protection Policy, we are recognising the need to support these biodiverse environments across the planet, minimising not only our own carbon footprint but ensuring that we continue to play our part as a responsible corporate citizen in maintaining a stable climate for generations to come.
Circularity
To meet our environmental and product ambitions, we are in the process of understanding what a shift to circular practices means for The Very Group. Through our work with WRAP, we know there are three key areas we need to consider on this journey and have already begun to address:
- Circular development – considering design and materials
- Circular production – considering processes and systems
- Circular lifecycle – considering repair, reuse and recycling
Furthermore, as part of our Textiles 2030 commitments, we will work to develop and implement a circular business model such as Resale, Repair or Rental into our retail offer by 2030.
We offer take-back options for all our customers across multiple categories with our partners, TRAID, Emmaus and Arrow XL. We will be promoting our take-back partners throughout 2024 to encourage customers donations.
