CSR Report Q2 2020
CSR Report Q2 2020

We are not just another label.
We are not just another label.
We take a holistic approach to sustainability. This year we launched our 360° Framework to become the most sustainable company we can be. In our quarterly CSR reports we give you updates on where we stand, what we are aiming for and what our challenges are.
Some of the highlights of our last CSR Report included:
- in our A/W2020 collection 41% of styles were made entirely of eco-friendly fabrics
- we achieved 100% traceability to our factories and conducted 30 on-site visits 2017-2019
- we published our Code of Conduct, Forest Derived Materials Policy and Fabric Standard
- we procure 100% renewable energy and offset all emissions from parcel deliveries
- we joined the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, CanopyStyle and Fur Free Alliance
- we reduced CO2 emissions from long-distance shipping by 7.6% last year compared to a business as usual scenario
Here comes our second CSR report. We hope you enjoy reading it!
We take a holistic approach to sustainability. This year we launched our 360° Framework to become the most sustainable company we can be. In our quarterly CSR reports we give you updates on where we stand, what we are aiming for and what our challenges are.
Some of the highlights of our last CSR Report included:
- in our A/W2020 collection 41% of styles were made entirely of eco-friendly fabrics
- we achieved 100% traceability to our factories and conducted 30 on-site visits 2017-2019
- we published our Code of Conduct, Forest Derived Materials Policy and Fabric Standard
- we procure 100% renewable energy and offset all emissions from parcel deliveries
- we joined the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, CanopyStyle and Fur Free Alliance
- we reduced CO2 emissions from long-distance shipping by 7.6% last year compared to a business as usual scenario
Here comes our second CSR report. We hope you enjoy reading it!
01
01
Covid-19
Covid-19
‘We're in this together’ - a personal note from the IVY & OAK team
‘We're in this together’ - a personal note from the IVY & OAK team
01
01
Covid-19
Covid-19
‘We're in this together’ - a personal note from the IVY & OAK team
‘We're in this together’ - a personal note from the IVY & OAK team
It seems impossible to write this report without talking about Covid-19. Every person on this planet has been impacted by it, to differing degrees, and has their story to tell. We want to share with you how the pandemic has been affecting us and our partners.
The fashion industry has been one of the most impacted economic sectors during this crisis: stores had to close, lock-downs and financial insecurity slowed down consumer demand. While there is certainly an argument to be made that a lower level of clothing consumption was long overdue and is positive for our planet, the impacts of the sudden fall in demand ravelled down the textile supply chain and hit many of the most vulnerable. Covid-19 not only made the global interconnections between people, countries and industries visible, but also highlighted the necessity for corporate responsibility once again.
While this quarter has certainly been a challenging time, at IVY & OAK we are thankful that we are still standing. We were able to continue to work from home, keep our warehouse and online shop open and reopen our boutique in Berlin after the lock-down with new opening hours. We go through the crisis as a team, side by side with our partners.
It seems impossible to write this report without talking about Covid-19. Every person on this planet has been impacted by it, to differing degrees, and has their story to tell. We want to share with you how the pandemic has been affecting us and our partners.
The fashion industry has been one of the most impacted economic sectors during this crisis: stores had to close, lock-downs and financial insecurity slowed down consumer demand. While there is certainly an argument to be made that a lower level of clothing consumption was long overdue and is positive for our planet, the impacts of the sudden fall in demand ravelled down the textile supply chain and hit many of the most vulnerable. Covid-19 not only made the global interconnections between people, countries and industries visible, but also highlighted the necessity for corporate responsibility once again.
While this quarter has certainly been a challenging time, at IVY & OAK we are thankful that we are still standing. We were able to continue to work from home, keep our warehouse and online shop open and reopen our boutique in Berlin after the lock-down with new opening hours. We go through the crisis as a team, side by side with our partners.


What we did
What we did
Our motto: all for one and one for all. Our team has been working from home since March. And this works really well! We made sure that everyone has a suitable screen at home, start the week together as a team every Monday morning and support each other in those areas where there is a particularly high need as a result of Covid-19. From time to time we organise digital after work drinks. We are slowly reopening our office for a limited number of colleagues, as some things like product development and fittings are just better done in person. One of our core values is transparency and we have tried to live this internally during the crisis by talking openly about the situation and how it affects our company.
Our motto: all for one and one for all. Our team has been working from home since March. And this works really well! We made sure that everyone has a suitable screen at home, start the week together as a team every Monday morning and support each other in those areas where there is a particularly high need as a result of Covid-19. From time to time we organise digital after work drinks. We are slowly reopening our office for a limited number of colleagues, as some things like product development and fittings are just better done in person. One of our core values is transparency and we have tried to live this internally during the crisis by talking openly about the situation and how it affects our company.




02
02
Circularity
Circularity
‘Design our products for circularity, with a focus on longevity, quality and zero waste.’
‘Design our products for circularity, with a focus on longevity, quality and zero waste.’
02
02
Circularity
Circularity
‘Design our products for circularity, with a focus on longevity, quality and zero waste.’
‘Design our products for circularity, with a focus on longevity, quality and zero waste.’
Targets
& Actions
Targets
& Actions
- OUR DESIGNS TAKE INTO ACCOUNT CIRCULARITY PRINCIPLES
- CIRCULARITY THINKING IS INTEGRATED INTO ALL BUSINESS AREAS
While sustainability is about improving the current system through better, eco-friendly and fair choices, circularity requires a more systemic rethinking. Put simply, the goal is to keep products in use for longer, circulate them back into manufacturing processes as input materials and reduce waste. Since the beginning clothing longevity, timeless design and quality manufacturing have been essential to our company philosophy. These are key parts of circular thinking. We seek to dive deeper into all circular economy principles and to integrate them further into our company. Over the past months we conducted several projects to prolong our garments’ lifespan and to reuse fabric leftovers.
- OUR DESIGNS TAKE INTO ACCOUNT CIRCULARITY PRINCIPLES
- CIRCULARITY THINKING IS INTEGRATED INTO ALL BUSINESS AREAS
While sustainability is about improving the current system through better, eco-friendly and fair choices, circularity requires a more systemic rethinking. Put simply, the goal is to keep products in use for longer, circulate them back into manufacturing processes as input materials and reduce waste. Since the beginning clothing longevity, timeless design and quality manufacturing have been essential to our company philosophy. These are key parts of circular thinking. We seek to dive deeper into all circular economy principles and to integrate them further into our company. Over the past months we conducted several projects to prolong our garments’ lifespan and to reuse fabric leftovers.


We recently published our very own Care Guide with general advice as well as specific guidance on how to care for different materials in an eco-friendly way. We put a lot of effort into the design and crafting of quality garments, and with the right care, they can last for many years to come - maybe even be passed on to the next generation.
DIY and Repair are more than just trends for us. All our garments come with an extra button because we make them for the long-run and so they may need a little repair after a while. Since not everybody knows how to sew on buttons anymore, we published a repair story on Instagram. We received an encouraging response from our community. As a result, we began working on a Repair Guide. We want to contribute to the popularity and uptake of repairing by sharing our sewing knowledge.
Aside from increasing our use of recycled materials, notably polyester and wool, over the past months we launched pilot projects to reuse fabric leftovers. We made scrunchies, garment bags and face masks. In our most recent project, we used up the surplus fabric from some of our mommy styles to create matching kids’ outfits and accessories, thereby reducing the need for new fabric production.
We recently published our very own Care Guide with general advice as well as specific guidance on how to care for different materials in an eco-friendly way. We put a lot of effort into the design and crafting of quality garments, and with the right care, they can last for many years to come - maybe even be passed on to the next generation.
DIY and Repair are more than just trends for us. All our garments come with an extra button because we make them for the long-run and so they may need a little repair after a while. Since not everybody knows how to sew on buttons anymore, we published a repair story on Instagram. We received an encouraging response from our community. As a result, we began working on a Repair Guide. We want to contribute to the popularity and uptake of repairing by sharing our sewing knowledge.
Aside from increasing our use of recycled materials, notably polyester and wool, over the past months we launched pilot projects to reuse fabric leftovers. We made scrunchies, garment bags and face masks. In our most recent project, we used up the surplus fabric from some of our mommy styles to create matching kids’ outfits and accessories, thereby reducing the need for new fabric production.
Results
Results




Challenges
& To-Dos
Challenges
& To-Dos
03
03
Packaging
Packaging
‘Choose the most eco-friendly materials we can, reduce our use of packaging and invest in reuse solutions.’
‘Choose the most eco-friendly materials we can, reduce our use of packaging and invest in reuse solutions.’
03
03
Packaging
Packaging
‘Choose the most eco-friendly materials we can, reduce our use of packaging and invest in reuse solutions.’
‘Choose the most eco-friendly materials we can, reduce our use of packaging and invest in reuse solutions.’
Targets
& Actions
Targets
& Actions
- 100% SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE PACKAGING MATERIALS BY 2022
- ACHIEVE A 20% RELATIVE REDUCTION IN PACKAGING USE BY 2022
We take a 'reduce – reuse – recycle' approach to packaging.
We have been working with the international forest protection organisation Canopy on viscose for several months to ensure we only source from eco-friendly producers and to foster the development of alternative fibres. A logical next step was to join their initiative Pack4Good on packaging. You can read about our commitment for both viscose and packaging here.
An initial analysis of our packaging footprint showed that we already perform quite well on materials, as all our boxes, hang tags and polybags are made from recycled and recyclable materials.
As a second step we reviewed the necessity for every individual packaging component. We decided to do without one of our standard paper tags and the barcode sticker on our polybags in the future. Instead, the code can be scanned from the hangtag of the garment - a good solution for our warehouse and our B2B partners.
- 100% SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE PACKAGING MATERIALS BY 2022
- ACHIEVE A 20% RELATIVE REDUCTION IN PACKAGING USE BY 2022
We take a 'reduce – reuse – recycle' approach to packaging.
We have been working with the international forest protection organisation Canopy on viscose for several months to ensure we only source from eco-friendly producers and to foster the development of alternative fibres. A logical next step was to join their initiative Pack4Good on packaging. You can read about our commitment for both viscose and packaging here.
An initial analysis of our packaging footprint showed that we already perform quite well on materials, as all our boxes, hang tags and polybags are made from recycled and recyclable materials.
As a second step we reviewed the necessity for every individual packaging component. We decided to do without one of our standard paper tags and the barcode sticker on our polybags in the future. Instead, the code can be scanned from the hangtag of the garment - a good solution for our warehouse and our B2B partners.


We also changed our invoice paper to the Blue Angel label: 100% recycled paper and no harmful chemicals. For deliveries from suppliers to our office, we have introduced a new system to pack several garments in one polybag, thus reducing plastic use. Next on our list are the shopping bags in our boutique, our flyers and wrapping paper. We are also currently looking into optimising our package sizes so that they take up less volume and produce less CO2 during transportation.
We also changed our invoice paper to the Blue Angel label: 100% recycled paper and no harmful chemicals. For deliveries from suppliers to our office, we have introduced a new system to pack several garments in one polybag, thus reducing plastic use. Next on our list are the shopping bags in our boutique, our flyers and wrapping paper. We are also currently looking into optimising our package sizes so that they take up less volume and produce less CO2 during transportation.
Results
Results


Challenges
& To-Dos
Challenges
& To-Dos
04
04
Transparency
Transparency
‘Be a front runner in terms of transparency to lead the change.’
‘Be a front runner in terms of transparency to lead the change.’
04
04
Transparency
Transparency
‘Be a front runner in terms of transparency to lead the change.’
‘Be a front runner in terms of transparency to lead the change.’
Targets
& Actions
Targets
& Actions
- TRANSPARENCY 3.0: LET EVERY PRODUCT TELL ITS STORY
- 100% TRANSPARENCY ABOUT OUR PRACTICES, PRODUCTS AND PRICES
There are two things we were particularly proud of over the past few months. First, we launched our vision "Let every product tell its story" with our Organic Cotton T-Shirts. It seemed fitting to start with this timeless basic we restock every season and let it tell its story from the cotton farm in Turkey to the sewing factory in Portugal. We believe it is imperative that we all reconnect with our clothes, and to treat them with love and care so that we use them longer. Knowing your garment’s story is an important step in this direction.
The second exciting project was the expansion of our price transparency from three to all product categories. We are convinced that transparency is the key to more responsibility in the fashion industry – even when it comes to the sensitive issue of prices. Because you should know exactly what you get from us. We are pleased to see that gradually more brands are following our example and disclosing their price structures.
- TRANSPARENCY 3.0: LET EVERY PRODUCT TELL ITS STORY
- 100% TRANSPARENCY ABOUT OUR PRACTICES, PRODUCTS AND PRICES
There are two things we were particularly proud of over the past few months. First, we launched our vision "Let every product tell its story" with our Organic Cotton T-Shirts. It seemed fitting to start with this timeless basic we restock every season and let it tell its story from the cotton farm in Turkey to the sewing factory in Portugal. We believe it is imperative that we all reconnect with our clothes, and to treat them with love and care so that we use them longer. Knowing your garment’s story is an important step in this direction.
The second exciting project was the expansion of our price transparency from three to all product categories. We are convinced that transparency is the key to more responsibility in the fashion industry – even when it comes to the sensitive issue of prices. Because you should know exactly what you get from us. We are pleased to see that gradually more brands are following our example and disclosing their price structures.




Results
Results


Challenges
& To-Dos
Challenges
& To-Dos
05
05
Our Brand Partners
Our Brand Partners
‘Fostering real change is only possible when we work alongside others.’
‘Fostering real change is only possible when we work alongside others.’
05
05
Our Brand Partners
Our Brand Partners
‘Fostering real change is only possible when we work alongside others.’
‘Fostering real change is only possible when we work alongside others.’
It has been part of our philosophy since the beginning to partner with other brands that we admire and that share our values. In these uncertain times we see the necessity of collaboration and solidarity more than ever. Therefore, we want to take the opportunity to introduce some of our brand partners to you. We work with wonderful companies, each with the mission to drive change by providing a smart, sustainable solution to a specific problem.
It has been part of our philosophy since the beginning to partner with other brands that we admire and that share our values. In these uncertain times we see the necessity of collaboration and solidarity more than ever. Therefore, we want to take the opportunity to introduce some of our brand partners to you. We work with wonderful companies, each with the mission to drive change by providing a smart, sustainable solution to a specific problem.












The GuppyFriend washbag is a product dear to our hearts because it fights a problem that we as a fashion brand contribute to: microplastics. Each time we wash synthetic textiles, tiny microfibres are shed which pollute our rivers and oceans. The GuppyFriend’s specifically designed fabric prevents them from entering the environment while also protecting garments and enhancing their lifetime. Behind the GuppyFriend stands the non-profit organisation STOP! Micro Waste. It conducts awareness-raising on the topic of (micro-)plastic contamination - a cause we want to support!
The GuppyFriend washbag is a product dear to our hearts because it fights a problem that we as a fashion brand contribute to: microplastics. Each time we wash synthetic textiles, tiny microfibres are shed which pollute our rivers and oceans. The GuppyFriend’s specifically designed fabric prevents them from entering the environment while also protecting garments and enhancing their lifetime. Behind the GuppyFriend stands the non-profit organisation STOP! Micro Waste. It conducts awareness-raising on the topic of (micro-)plastic contamination - a cause we want to support!
06
06
What's next?
What's next?
‘The world faces big challenges and we want to contribute our part to tackle them.’
‘The world faces big challenges and we want to contribute our part to tackle them.’
06
06
What's next?
What's next?
‘The world faces big challenges and we want to contribute our part to tackle them.’
‘The world faces big challenges and we want to contribute our part to tackle them.’
Although Covid-19 will make some of our projects more challenging, we will continue with the same determination to pursue our goals.
Apart from Covid-19 we have of course also been following the events, protests and discussions around the Black Lives Matter movement closely. Inclusivity, diversity and equality are key values in our company. As a fashion company we have a responsibility not only internally, but also externally in our supply chain and via our marketing and communication. Something that has become very clear in the recent discussions, is that there is a real need to ask ourselves the hard questions about discrimination in our personal and professional lives to be able to confront the issues and take action. As a company, we want to take our role and responsibility seriously. Over the next months, we will seek to learn, listen and reflect what we can improve to become active allies.
We have many exciting projects going on and you can discover our 360° Framework to find out more about our vision, targets and action plan. We look forward to giving you the next update very soon. Until then, stay safe and healthy!
Although Covid-19 will make some of our projects more challenging, we will continue with the same determination to pursue our goals.
Apart from Covid-19 we have of course also been following the events, protests and discussions around the Black Lives Matter movement closely. Inclusivity, diversity and equality are key values in our company. As a fashion company we have a responsibility not only internally, but also externally in our supply chain and via our marketing and communication. Something that has become very clear in the recent discussions, is that there is a real need to ask ourselves the hard questions about discrimination in our personal and professional lives to be able to confront the issues and take action. As a company, we want to take our role and responsibility seriously. Over the next months, we will seek to learn, listen and reflect what we can improve to become active allies.
We have many exciting projects going on and you can discover our 360° Framework to find out more about our vision, targets and action plan. We look forward to giving you the next update very soon. Until then, stay safe and healthy!