If you’re a true fashionista, you probably love Peppermayo.
Once merely an Ebay store, this popular online fashion shopping website now offers clothing, jewelry, and accessories for women.
However, questions are raised when it comes to the sustainability and ethical practices of Peppermayo and similar brands.
What you may not know is that Peppermayo has placed great importance on sustainability during its recent efforts to revamp its brand strategy.
What’s their mission? Let’s start from the beginning.
A Brief History Of Peppermayo
Peppermayo was founded in 2011 by Georgia Wright and Huayi Huang from a small warehouse in Syndey.
The Australian couple had a strong interest in fashion and believed that there was a gap in the market for an online retailer that offered stylish and affordable clothing for women.
Moreover, the company had the environment’s well-being in mind since its birth.
How? The couple started out as a second-hand online store, emphasizing reuse of quality clothes instead of fast fashion.
The early years were tough for Peppermayo as they battled to gain market share against well-established competition.
However, the company decided to utilize then-lesser-known methods to promote and sell its clothes.
By promoting their brand’s voice through online marketing channels (such as social media and influencer marketing) they quickly become popular among young fashion-obsessed Australians.
Nowadays, they shape the style and influence the shopping habits of millions of young Australians, earning millions in revenue and even having their own brand app!
Finally, and most importantly, the brand made sustainable fashion their top priority.
Peppermayo Sustainability Mission
Peppermayo’s growth came at a price.
The brand had to up production to satisfy the growing demand of its retailers and consumers.
With the increase in manufacturing and supply chain Peppermayo had to sacrifice some of its primary environmental goals.
But recently, Peppermayo announced its commitment to environmentally responsible and ethical fashion.
In a conscious and honest manner, they’ve identified the flaws in their own business operations and vowed to start the war against fast fashion in their own backyard.
“As a business that can have a profound impact on people, the community and the environment, our social and environmental responsibilities will be our number one priority.” – They said in their brand statement.
Furthermore, they’ve identified 5 key goals on the road to complete sustainability.
- Ethical trade
- Sustainable fashion
- Zero-waste packaging
- Carbon positivity
- Community initiatives
Here’s how it’s going so far.
Peppermayo and Ethical Trade
Peppermayo’s commitment to ethical fashion didn’t truly kick in until recently, starting with an ethical trade system.
In order to become more sustainable, the company has pledged to adhere to ethical trade practices.
This means that they will ensure that all of their suppliers treat their workers fairly and with respect. There’s a policy of gender equality, transparency, and constant control and improvement of working conditions.
Peppermayo also requires all their manufacturers to register with Supplier’s Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX) – a global authority in ethical trade and improving global supply chains.
By registering with SEDEX, all factories comply with industry standards of ethical manufacture – safe and hygienic working conditions, reasonable working hours and salary, zero tolerance on discrimination, employing legal workers, and more.
Pepermayo and Sustainable Fashion
Thus, the company’s journey to sustainable fashion starts with sustainable materials. Some of them include cotton, silk, wool, and bamboo.
These materials can be reused and recycled so it does minimum damage to the environment.
With Peppermayo, sustainable fashion is not just about clothes. Their collection also includes things like bags, shoes, and accessories, which will also have to make the shift to sustainable materials.
But this shift will have to be gradual. As sustainable materials are naturally more expensive, a sudden switch can take a toll on the consumer’s budget.
Thus, don’t expect this to happen overnight.
Peppermayo and Zero-Waste Packaging
Another step towards fully eco-friendly production is distributing goods in zero-waste packages.
Like with sustainable materials, zero waste packaging is a packaging system that seeks to eliminate wastefulness in the production and distribution of goods. It does this by using materials that can be reused or recycled.
The company plans to make the jump to complete zero-waste packaging in the near future.
Peppermayo and Carbon Positivity
Carbon positive fashion brands are a rarity in the fashion industry.
Most brands, especially fashion giants like Zara, lack either the knowledge or commitment to operate in a carbon-positive manner.
However, Peppermayo raises its effort to offset its emissions and become more environmentally responsible.
Their goal is to offset all carbon emissions from manufacturing, packaging, freight, operations, delivery, and staff travel.
There are many ways a brand like Peppermayo to get involved in carbon offset. For example, using renewable energy sources during the production process.
Currently, it’s unclear how the brand will tackle the issue as their long-term carbon positivity plan is yet to be announced.
Peppermayo and Community Initiatives
Community initiatives are a huge part of ethical fashion.
Brands like Peppermayo that shape the opinions of millions of users can also use their brand voice to support various beneficial causes.
Customers aren’t only interested in the latest summer or fall collection of their favorite label. They also expect the business to take responsibility and create a better world in the future.
Hence, Peppermayo also wants to impose itself as more than a clothing label. In their statement, they talk about making a positive impact on the community.
“We want to ensure that we use our platform to support causes that benefit the community”, they state on their website.
Some of these community services may include charity funds, reforestations, and various other ethical practices required to make the planet a better place.
So Is Peppermayo Sustainable?
At the moment, Peppermayo is still not a sustainable brand.
However, their transformation to ethical from fast fashion is currently on-trend.
With ethical trade regulations and improvements to the supply chain, they’ve made a big step towards their ultimate destination.
However, there’s still a long way to go.
The next step toward a better world would be to manufacture their clothes from completely sustainable materials and start packing their products in zero-waste packaging.
So, the signs are there but it’s going to be a long road ahead.
Conclusion
Peppermayo followed along the footsteps of its fashion counterparts such as Pretty Little Thing and Princess Polly in working toward a better planet.
And while making progress towards that goal, they’re still not a sustainable brand. They have made strides in the industry by taking steps to offset carbon emissions and becoming more environmentally responsible.
However, it’s unclear how Peppermayo plans on tackling this issue as their entire long-term sustainability plan has yet to be announced. But with continued efforts like these, you can expect them to make significant changes that will benefit all of us one day.
