For its 50th anniversary in 2021, Mulberry launched its Made to Last Manifesto asking ‘Can a Bag Save the World?’ The brand aims to have a regenerative and circular supply chain, and restores more than 10,000 bags a year, determined nothing goes to waste. All its UK factories have been carbon neutral since 2019, committed to emitting zero Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and greenhouse gases by 2035. Mulberry’s packaging is produced via ‘cupcycling’ at Cropper Mill in Cumbria, which separates plastic from coffee cups. Leather is cut with a laser system that ensures minimum waste.
Thierry Andretta (pictured below) believes that leather is Mulberry’s greatest challenge and greatest opportunity. It’s why Mulberry is pioneering its hyper-local, hyper-transparent ‘farm to wardrobe’ supply chain. ‘When we first came up with the concept, we hit a barrier,’ says Thierry. ‘Our partners questioned why we were checking up on farms to find out exactly where our hides were coming from, but we knew it was the future. If the meat industry can track its beef’s origins, why not us? Tanneries used to be big polluters, so it was a positive shock to find how far they’d moved on.’ Today, Mulberry is working with a growing network of regenerative farms, especially in the UK and Denmark, where meat traceability is very advanced.
‘New bags must make a positive impact to be relevant,’ insists Thierry, ‘and our line never ends, it becomes a circle.’ This is the thinking behind the Mulberry Exchange, which matches authenticated classics, restored by skilled artisans, with new owners. And when bags truly reach the end of the line, Mulberry buys them back to power the production of a new bag, working with Muirhead, a member of the Scottish Leather Group, that uses an innovative energy reclaim system.
As Mulberry’s goal is zero waste throughout its operations, it also works with Scrap Stores supplying leather scraps to schools, universities and craft groups, while its Somerset factories work with zero waste landfill providers, recovering energy from unsalvageable waste. ‘Circularity is key,’ says Thierry. ‘At Christmas our apprentices have even made beautiful gifts like doorstops and keyrings from scraps.’
All Mulberry’s materials are low impact and free from virgin nylon, replaced by Econyl, generated from fishing nets and other waste. ‘Switching to Econyl was an additional cost but we’ve never upped the product’s price as we believe we’re obliged to be sustainable and not ask the customer to pay,’ says Thierry. ‘We’re open to embracing and testing leather alternatives but are yet to find one that fits our made-to-last DNA.
‘Several UK bodies, including the government and the Sustainable Markets Initiative launched by The Prince of Wales, are working hard to push the sustainability agenda. However, I’d still like to see the government go further to standardise the whole luxury industry. One of the challenges we face is that many areas of the industry don’t yet have a consistent accreditation system, like regenerative leather certification, recycled metals or certification beyond Gold Standard leather. True transparency can still be elusive in globalised supply chains – this will need time, collaboration and shared vision to achieve.’
Thierry needs look no further than his customers’ letters to know he’s on the right track. ‘A teacher wrote about her Mulberry bag she bought as a student and used every day for 20 years. She was so happy when we fixed and renewed it. Our made-to-last philosophy runs deep, and we’ve seen a small hurricane of support for all the extensions to our repair and exchange services. We can now source all the “unicorn” bags people missed. It gives me such pleasure to see customers appreciating what we do.’
