Sustainable use of materials of animal origin
As part of its sustainability strategy, the fashion and lifestyle company Breuninger is publishing a comprehensive animal welfare policy with extensive guidelines for the use of animal materials. With this policy, Breuninger is declaring its own commitment and specifically calling for compliance from its partners and suppliers. Breuninger is thereby setting new standards for a cruelty-free fashion industry and sending a strong signal to the industry.
E. Breuninger
For Breuninger, animal welfare is a matter of the heart. After discontinuing the sale of real fur, exotic animal hides and angora wool at the end of 2020, Breuninger joined in the international “Fur Free Retailer Program” initiative in January 2021. The animal welfare policy that is now being published is a logical next step for the company in its commitment to responsible handling and protection of animals in the fashion and lifestyle industry.
As part of its sustainability strategy, Breuninger has adopted its own animal welfare policy to promote sustainable materials across the entire range of goods in the future. The goal is to ensure specific minimum standards for animal materials, as well as to exclude critical materials and replace them with alternatives. For example, Breuninger will only offer certified downs starting in 2025 and guarantees controlled European origin of all horn materials. Further, starting in 2030 the company will exclusively buy items with 100% certified mulesing-free wool. Breuninger’s animal welfare policy addresses a considerably broader range of animal materials than is currently typical in the industry. Materials such as silk, coral, fur and leather, pearls, mother-of-pearl and mussels are all taken into account.
The commitment to comply with strict standards for animal materials also increases visibility about an overarching difficulty in the fashion industry, since reliable certifications do not currently exist for all materials of animal origin. In consultation with industry experts, suppliers and business partners, Breuninger is actively promoting higher-level solutions and encouraging transparency along the entire production chain.
“The continual ongoing development and improvement of Breuninger as a sustainable company is a crucial element of our DNA. Our comprehensive animal welfare policy emphasises this and demonstrates how serious we are”, remarks Breuninger CEO Holger Blecker. “We must translate our animal welfare commitment into actions. And this applies for the entire industry. We must not shirk our responsibility. Where no standards exist, we must develop them ourselves.”
In order to promote animal welfare, Breuninger collaborates closely with the animal welfare organisation VIER PFOTEN Deutschland, which is also behind the “Fur Free Retailer Program” in Germany. The animal welfare policy will be constantly updated and adapted to new developments in the industry.
Media kit for download:
Nachhaltigkeit bei Breuninger (picdrop.com)
Breuninger’s complete animal welfare policy is available to the public here:
https://www.e-breuninger.de/de/nachhaltigkeit/nachhaltigkeit/#tierschutz
All information about the topic of sustainability at Breuninger can be found at:
www.e-breuninger.de/nachhaltigkeit
E. Breuninger GmbH & Co.
The fashion and lifestyle company Breuninger was founded by Eduard Breuninger in 1881 and is now one of the leading multi-channel department stores in Europe. Over its 140-year history, Breuninger has set high standards for fashion, beauty and lifestyle with an exclusive selection of international designer brands and select newcomer brands. The online shop www.breuninger.com launched in 2008 is one of the most successful online shops in the premium segment and is also available to customers in Austria, Switzerland and Poland. Apart from impeccable style and a sense for trends, Breuninger is deeply customer-oriented: Offers such as Special Service, the in-house bespoke atelier, Click&Collect and online reservations, the in-store order service and shuttle service ensure an extraordinary shopping experience, whether online or in person. In Germany and Luxembourg, Breuninger now runs 13 department stores with around 6,000 employees. The grand opening of Breuninger in Hamburg is planned for 2023.