TOGETHER
FOR THE FUTURE

Cotton is the most widely produced natural plant material in the world and one of the most commonly used in the textile industry.

Organic cotton is both an ethical and an ecological choice. From sowing the seeds to harvesting the cotton, the plants are cultivated without pesticides, insecticides or chemical fertilisers, and GMO free. Its cultivation respects ecosystems, does not deplete the soil, consumes less water than conventional cotton and is non-toxic to producers.

Organic cotton remains rare and represents a tiny fraction of the world's cotton production. We work with those in the agricultural sector to ensure that, each year, more and more producers can make the shift to organic farming. This represents a real challenge for all those concerned about maintaining their yields and the sustainability of their farms. Our role at Sandro is to ensure, for customers and ourselves, that the organic cotton selected is produced under standardised conditions that satisfy the exacting requirements related to European regulations.

Warm and easily dyed, wool is a natural and durable material/fibre with many qualities. It can be found in our sweaters, costumes, cardigans, dresses, coats and even in some of our accessories.

Its environmental impact is linked to greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, soil degradation and animal welfare violations.

The wool complies with the "Responsible Wool Standard" (RWS) directive, which ensures that sheep are treated with respect to safeguard their well-being and that the land on which they feed and rest is responsibly managed.

A staple of the textile industry, viscose is an extremely versatile material that allows you to create fabrics that are durable, soft, drapable and comfortable to wear.

It is obtained through a chemical process that recreates artificial fibres using plant cellulose from wood, cotton, bamboo or eucalyptus. As well as being polluting, the process consumes a lot of natural resources that a growing number of producers want to make more responsible, by taking action on both forest management and the fibre manufacturing process.

The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification, which currently only concerns 5% of the world’s forests, is an international certification that promotes sustainable management of forests, whose trees are used in the manufacture of finished products made from wood or wood pulp, such as artificial textile fibres and packaging.

Beyond the responsible sourcing of wood fibre (FSC or PEFC certified), eco-responsible Lenzing™ Ecovero™ viscose is durable and breathable – similar to Lyocell Tencel – and the product of a manufacturing process subject to strict environmental standards imposed by the EU Eco Label. The production of Lenzing™ Ecovero™ fibres generates up to 50% less emissions and water consumption, compared to conventional viscose.

Sandro is committed to ethical and responsible production. In fact, the majority of our suppliers and manufacturers are long-standing partners who have grown with Sandro's success around the world. We maintain privileged relationships with them and constantly encourage them to implement the highest environmental and social standards.

In order to separate the different stages in our production chain, we classify our suppliers according to our degree of proximity to them, from tier 1 to 4, tier 1 designating the final stage of the production process, i.e. the last step before placing the product on the market.

These conditions, particularly in the field of human rights and employment law, are formalised in our general conditions of purchase and Supplier Code of Conduct. To ensure that they are respected, we arrange regular audits by expert and independent third parties.

We rely on the expertise of the BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative), a corporate social compliance initiative aimed at improving working conditions in their international supply chains; the SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit) and WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) social audit protocols, the WCA (Workplace Conditions Assessment) programme and the SA 8000 standard for social responsibility relating to decent work.

Energy consumption, natural resource management, pollution of the air and waterways associated with the dyeing and finishing processes. These are the indicators that we measure and reduce over the course of our collections.

We support our suppliers in obtaining internationally recognised environmental certifications. These allow us to progress towards production methods that are less polluting, emit fewer greenhouse gases and are more respectful of natural resources, ecosystems and workers' health.

In particular, we rely on ISO 14001 and Bluesign certification standards, which aim to integrate environmental concerns and improve the energy performance of organisations respectively; the LWG (Leather Working Group) certification, an audit protocol for sustainable and responsible leather production (gold, silver and bronze ratings), or the independent OEKO-TEX® STeP certification, which assesses production facilities at all processing levels of the textile and leather industry and aims to certify their health and ecological qualities and to guarantee the absence of products that are toxic to the body and the environment.

We strive to continually reduce energy consumption at our points of sale by using renewable energy and low-energy lighting as far as possible.

Furthermore, we favour recycled and recyclable materials for shop fittings. Since 2020, we have been working to redesign all our stores using a new, more environmentally-friendly concept incorporating responsible materials (lime-based mineral wall plaster, natural pigments and marble powder, wood from FSC labelled forests, etc.).

We are also developing low carbon delivery to make online shopping more sustainable. Wherever possible, we use innovative delivery services and encourage returns and exchanges to be made in store.

Sandro caters for both men and women, with parity and equality at the heart of our values. At Sandro, men and women are all important.

Learning is a core value at Sandro. This is why we make training courses accessible to all our staff, so that they are aware of sustainable fashion issues and are as personally committed as we are collectively committed.

Being a big family means incorporating everyone's aspirations and allowing them to evolve according to their career and ambition. It is in this sense that Sandro supports its employees long term, so that they feel at home at Sandro.