Translated by
Nicola Mira
Published
Sep 27, 2021
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Mango launches independent sustainable label Alter Made

Translated by
Nicola Mira
Published
Sep 27, 2021

Growing through a sustainable approach is the idea behind Mango's latest initiative, Alter Made, a new independent label that the Catalan fashion group will commercialise from November. Alter Made is designed to complete Mango’s range, and its collections are positioned on the market as “timeless, sustainable and high-quality [products], for customers in search of sustainable fashion.”


Alter Made, the new label by Mango - Mango


“Alter Made is a new, distinctive value proposition by the Mango Group, targeting a specific audience that seeks to consume responsibly,” said group CEO Toni Ruiz, on the occasion of the new label's launch. “Well-being” and “responsible consumption” are Alter Made's underlying principles. The womenswear label is positioned in a higher price segment than Mango, and will feature a series of timeless, sustainable “wardrobe staples.”

Alter Made will be available exclusively online on its own e-shop from the beginning of November, in a limited selection of markets including Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands. As Mango indicated in a press release, the label is also committed to proximity production, with garments manufactured in Europe and Turkey by “suppliers selected according to their expertise in different fabrics.”


A sustainability lab the group will learn from



“It's important to focus on the details of [Alter Made’s] garments, as well as the partners we will work with. We are going to produce where the best know-how for each product is to be found, sourcing will be dictated by excellence in garment manufacturing,” said Mur, who heads the new label, working with a team of 12 professionals with an international profile. Cotton garments will be produced in Portugal, while cashmere ones will be manufactured by Italian artisans.

In addition, Alter Made will ensure the traceability of its raw materials, based on “sustainability and quality certifications,” and plans to adopt a short-run production strategy to limit excess stock, so that its first drop will consist of 120 units.

Mur, who has been with Mango for 15 years and was until now head of womenswear purchasing, underlined that “there is a growing demand in society for collections that help consume fashion more responsibly, and that is our main objective.” A challenge in terms of environmental responsibility for which, moreover, Mango has developed differentiated logistics operations.

As explained by the group, Alter Made has been conceived as a sustainability laboratory, through which the group will be able to experiment with methods that can later be applied to Mango itself.

“Our goal is to incorporate this trend as we learn and test new ways of working, which will enable us to progress with our overall sustainability strategy,” said Ruiz, who indicated that the label's objective is to generate a revenue of €25 million in three years. Alter Made is therefore relatively limited in scope, considering that the Catalan group closed the 2020 financial year, marked by the pandemic’s dramatic impact, with a total revenue of €1.842 billion, down 22.4% compared to the previous year.

€25 million in three years



Alter Made is not the only novelty in Mango's portfolio in recent months. The group is very keen on a new strategy to strengthen its Mediterranean image, and has recently diversified its product range with the introduction of fragrances and by developing a line focused on home decoration products. In January, Barcelona-based Mango announced a change of direction for its plus-size line Violeta, deciding to close down the line's dedicated stores and incorporate its clothes in Mango’s  womenswear collections. At the end of this transition phase, scheduled for February 2022, Mango will be selling only the Mango Woman, Man and Kids lines, as well as the Teen range, sold via temporary stores, and the newly announced online-only sustainable label, Alter Made.

The latter is comparable to the high-end labels created by other apparel groups, like H&M’s COS and Arket, or the Tendam group’s Slow Love, Hoss Intropia and High Spirits, and its launch marks the completion of a series of initiatives through which Mango has emphasised its commitment to sustainability, such as its signing of the Fashion Pact, the ‘Second Chances’ clothes recycling project, and the introduction of a labelling system that identifies specific items with “sustainable features.” Known as ‘Mango Committed’, the certification covers 79% of the group's product range and is expected to reach 100% next year.
 

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