The Stella McCartney Impact Assessment
Our bespoke Impact Assessment tools enable us to benchmark our impact and communicate on our progress. Our methodology measures ‘conscious’ styles, the percentage of our collections crafted from responsibly sourced materials each season (defined below). This helps us to benchmark where we are at internally, highlight where we need more work, communicate effectively to our customers and maximise our transparency.
We define ‘conscious’ styles as those containing at least 50% responsibly sourced materials.
How we calculate our ‘conscious’ styles
Our methodology measures the number of styles in each collection where the main fabric composition contains at least 50% of one or more responsibly sourced materials. This would qualify a style as ‘conscious’.
We define responsibly sourced materials as any or a combination of the following:
Certified organic or other responsibly sourced certifications
- e.g. GOTS and RWS
Recycled materials
- Pre- and post-consumer e.g. our regenerated cashmere, regenerated nylon and recycled brass
Regeneratively grown/sourced materials
- e.g. regenerative wool and regenerative cotton
Low-impact materials
- Low-impact materials are those required fewer physical inputs (like water, land, or chemicals) and/or those with a Life Cycle Assessment-defined (LCA) or EP&L-defined lower environmental impact than their commonly used alternatives e.g. linen and hemp
Low-impact innovation
- e.g. Mylo™ and grape-based leather alternatives
Deadstock fabrics and inventory that cannot be sold are given a new life
- e.g. Nona Source fabrics
Discover our material innovations here.
Whilst we communicate externally on the percentage of responsible materials in our ready-to-wear collections, we also use this tool internally as a criterion to guide our teams across bags, shoes and non-leather accessories. This is not published externally due to the additional complexities within bags and shoes construction; we are refining our measurement approaches across all our product categories so that we can become even more transparent about our collections and how we measure their responsibility.
We recognise that our Impact Assessment methodology is not perfect. Whilst in line with many other industry collection impact assessment tools today, reaching 100% ‘conscious’ under our existing standards does not mean that our collections would be perfectly sustainable. We are increasing the rigour behind our benchmarks and tools to assess each product more holistically.
Our mission is for every collection to consist of 100% ‘conscious styles’, made from 100% responsibly sourced materials.
The Stella Standard
Our Stella Standard is the measure we set ourselves to ensure we are having a positive impact on animals, people and the planet, whilst continually striving to do better.
We will continually evolve and progress our standard to do our best. We have been leather- and skin-free since we launched in 2001, committed to always being responsible, honest and accountable – striving to leave only a positive impact on Mother Earth.
Our Stella McCartney Impact Assessment methodologies measure our impact across our total business operations. How we calculate our collections’ conscious credentials is just one element.
As a woman-led brand, we have always stood out. We are proud to be eco-weirdos and hope you will join us in our mission to end the needless deaths of animals for fashion.
We are working closely with internal teams and stakeholders to expand our criteria so that it more accurately reflects what sustainability means to people today – going beyond simply the sourcing of our raw materials and into other elements of our product life cycles too.
For example, an increased focus on use-phase and end-of-life that captures a wider range of factors linked to product circularity, including repairability and recyclability.
Our Summer 2023 collection reached 91% responsibly sourced – our most conscious yet. If you saw that figure increase from 87%, this is because we are continually making more accurate calculations the collection portfolio changes: products are added to or cancelled from the season throughout our selling campaigns. Paring down the edit is part of our creative process.
From regenerative cotton and wool, to certified organic and recycled materials and naturally low-impact linen, we already pride ourselves on our material sourcing, but know that there is always room to do better.
Our mission is for every collection to consist of 100% ‘conscious styles’, made from 100% responsibly sourced materials.
Product Descriptions
You will find conscious credentials listed on product pages from our Winter 2022 collection onwards – detailing the responsible materials we use per piece. We pride ourselves on our supply chain practices and prioritise using the most luxurious and lowest-impact materials to ensure quality, desirability and that our values are never compromised.
If a material does not exist or align with our vision, we look to innovate new, cruelty-free alternatives instead. We are improving our traceability and transparency by working closely with suppliers, so you can rest assured that you too are making a mindful choice for our planet and its people.
