Our goal is clear. The fashion industry needs to be transparent, recyclable and carbon neutral – and not just as a niche sector. We’ve formulated our vision for 2030: 100% sustainable products, 100% carbon neutral and 100% transparency in our supply chain.

Our positive choice strategy defines four areas of action to achieve these objectives. They will remain in place until 2025 and represent key milestones towards realising our vision.

positive product focuses on design that optimises reusability, recycling, sustainable materials and packaging. It offers customers an all-round positive shopping experience.

Our targets by 2025:

• 70% sustainable fibres and materials
• 100% sustainable packaging

positive making concentrates on lowering emissions, saving water, reducing chemicals and avoiding waste during the manufacturing process. Because truly smart fashion preserves valuable resources.

Our targets by 2025:

• reduce CO2 emissions by 40% compared to the base year 2018
• identify water risks and implement suitable measures to prevent them
• eradicate hazardous chemicals  from strategic suppliers’ production lines 
• no physical samples in Product Development

positive view brings transparency to our supply chain, allowing products to be traced from the shop all the way back to how their fibres were produced. It benefits both our customers and us as a company. Because full transparency lays the foundations for long-term change within the supply chain.

Our targets by 2025:

• transparent supply chains  right back to fibre production at our strategic suppliers
• traceability for our customers

positive partners is how we see ourselves and our suppliers. We advocate long-term financial security for the people involved in manufacturing our products. Fair wages that allow participation in social and cultural activities are an important lever, especially for women who make up the majority of workers in our supply chain. By supporting and training women we can make a valuable contribution to supporting gender equality.

Our targets by 2025:

• develop a future fit training program for suppliers to reach 50,000 employees by 2030
• full transparency and improved working conditions in upstream supply chains at our strategic suppliers
• work with our industry partners to promote living wages

Impact analyses. Our CR strategy begins with regular impact analyses based on the Otto Group’s sustainability management program “impACT”. A three-part process examines and assesses the “impact” of business activity on people and the planet, before proposing suitable measures we can “act” upon. The United Nations’ seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a framework for the process. Dialogue with groups in multi-stakeholder initiatives also delivers key insights.

The Otto Group derives objectives that are then integrated into our own strategy. We also employ qualitative and quantitative insights from the process to determine further goals, and to evaluate and prioritise the action we take at bonprix.  

Controlling.  The development and performance of our strategy is measured by Corporate Responsibility & Technical Product and led by Stefanie Sumfleth. The CR team establishes strategic guidelines to be implemented in Product Management, Sourcing, Logistics, but now also more frequently in areas such as Brand Management and Marketing. In short: anyone involved in the lengthy process from farming raw materials to customers trying on a new garment at home. To improve networking and promote sustainability within our teams, every department has a so-called CR multiplier. We also work in interdisciplinary project teams.

Managing Director Carolin Klar is responsible for anchoring CR within bonprix’s Executive Board. A separate CR Board links bonprix to the Otto Group and their CR strategy, with overriding responsibility lying with the Otto Group’s Executive Board.

Higg BRM. The Higg Index of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) comprises a series of tools for the standardised measurement of sustainability along the value chain. With the help of these tools, companies like bonprix can identify improvement potentials and gaps and define suitable improvement measures - and track their impact. 

We use the Facility Environmental Module (FEM) of the Higg Index to measure the environmental performance of our supply chain partners. But we also put our own processes to the test: for this purpose, we had the Brand and Retail Module (BRM), which is aimed at brands and retailers, verified by independent auditors for the first time in 2021 and can now use this as a starting point for the continuous improvement of our processes and activities. 

Brand and Retail Module (BRM) results for bonprix for 2021 

Total Score 
Environmental 77.2%, Social 82.5% 

Management System 
Environmental 100.0%, Social 100.0% 

Brand 
Environmental 55.3%, Social 64.3% 

Operations & Logistics 
Environmental 76.2%, Social 88.9% 

Suppliers & markets. When it comes to driving change within the supply chain our suppliers are our most important partners. That’s why we’ve included sustainability on our vendor scorecard. A total of 30% of points are awarded for transparency, environmental and ethical policies. Vendor scorecards rates supplier performance, and we regularly assess whether new, measurable sustainability factors need to be included. A strong performance and the realisation of sustainability objectives are one prerequisite for strategic partnerships with our suppliers. In return, they profit from long-term planning security and favourable conditions. It creates incentives and rewards commitment. The result? Solid partnerships of over fifteen years with our longstanding strategic suppliers.

Otto International (OI) provides an important link to local markets. Our in-house sourcing agency ensures that issues and target groups can be addressed effectively locally. Our positive choice CR strategy is coordinated centrally by OI. Our local bonprix teams at OI act as a supplier interface. They make sure our CR requirements remain an integral part of day-to-day operations.

Otto Group. As a member of the Otto Group, we incorporate the same processes formulated by the Group over decades to amalgamate ethical and environmental responsibility with economic activity.  Wherever we believe we can achieve more as a team, we push for action across the entire Group. Some examples include the Otto Group’s social programme, shared guidelines (e.g. working from home, subcontracting or refugee employment), Group-wide provisions relating to chemical use or animal welfare, as well as anti-corruption and bribery measures. There is also a standardised Group procedure for complaints.