How two of Britain’s most-loved department stores are re-defining shopping for a sustainable future

Selfridges

Birmingham store

Online shopping may have taken favour from many consumers in recent years, but to see the future of the retail industry you need to walk into a brick-and-mortar store. No longer is retail just about selling products in exchange for the swipe of a card. Instead, stores are experiences – and eco-friendly ones at that. They hold items to rent and places to mend or recycle your old clothes, as well as large decanting pots for refilling your goods. 

It’s not by accident. According to Andrew Keith, the managing director of Selfridges, the “vision is to reinvent retail and create a more sustainable future.” In its sustainability initiative, Project Earth, the biggest department store in the UK goes hard on the idea of changing the concept of what it means to ‘shop’ in 2022 and beyond. 

Selfridges isn’t alone: in John Lewis’ newly launched strategy, Our Plan For Nature, the director of ethics and sustainability Marija Rompani, states that it has been considering its heritage and Purpose (with a capital P) to “reaffirm our long-term relationship with nature”. 

But what do these industrial changes really mean for consumer experiences of visiting a store – and what will the changes achieve? 

How Selfridges is focusing on sustainability  

Selfridges’ Project Earth was launched in 2020 with ambitious sustainability targets. Yet the brand seems to have had success with them – so much so that, this year, they’ve expanded their goals.  

Over the past two years, the brand has increased sales of pre-loved items by 240% with the introduction of ReSelfridges, a second-hand shopping arm of the brand available online and in-store. In its London shop alone, the brand has also facilitated over 28,000 repairs (mainly of trainers), rented out items over 2,000 times and issued 8,000 refills of items, and intends on rolling these out to its other sites across England.

Despite that, only 1% of transactions are on circular products and services. The end goal is that by 2030, 45% of customer spending will be on these services. It’s a big jump, but not an unachievable one.

When it comes to shopping new, the original aim from the 2020 strategy was for “nine of the most environmentally impactful materials to come from certified, sustainable sources by 2025”. That’s grown, with the addition of polyester and nylon added to that list, meaning fashion purchases could be more sustainable than ever.  

All of this change plays homage to the brand's roots as an industry changer. “Since we first opened our doors in 1909, Selfridges has been reinventing the retail experience. Project Earth was an expression of our commitment to reinvent retail once again, this time with people and planet front and centre,” the Project Earth strategy report reads. “We are more than a shop. We are a brand driven by our vision to reinvent retail.”

John Lewis’ plan for the planet 

John Lewis also launched its new sustainability strategy in 2022. Our Plan For Nature has also been devised with the business's roots in mind, noting that founder John Spedan Lewis was passionate about the environment and the wildlife in it. Rompani added that “we know that we are part of the problem when it comes to global nature loss and we must, therefore, be part of the solution.” 

The strategy says that all John Lewis product categories having a ‘buy back’ or ‘take back’ option by 2025, meaning products can be resold back to the brand or other customers. 

This builds on existing policies, like its current FashionCycle scheme where customers can return pre-loved clothing to be resold or recycled by SATCoL and receive £5 off their next fashion or home purchase in John Lewis stores. 

John Lewis also has a discount scheme for those who return beauty packaging and a short-lived experiment renting out furniture to renters via Fat Llama. How this will play out with other categories, like food and drink, will be interesting to see. 

You can also expect to see John Lewis publishing reports on the sales of meat versus vegan proteins and in-store and online guidance on making choices that are healthy for the consumer and the planet. 

One thing is clear: shops are no longer just about newness. Expect them to become a space to rent accessories, return or repair clothes and refill your food jars or shampoo bottles. The eco-friendly drive is spelling a huge change in the industry that will have a huge impact on the planet and shopping as we know it.