We are committed to responsible craftsmanship and we have set ambitious targets covering raw materials, circular business models and eliminating plastic in packaging to meet our sustainability goals.
The enduring quality of our products means their appeal and value are long-lasting. To increase their longevity for our customers, we provide a dedicated luxury aftercare service.
We are continuing to evolve our aftercare offer, and plan to expand our reproofing service in FY 2023/24 to include selected additional outerwear products. We are also trialling new circular business models, including rental, which will help inform our approach.
All retail bags and gift boxes which have a beautiful, luxurious feel, are plastic-free, fully recyclable and reusable.
We offer a global luxury aftercare service to extend the life of our trench, leather and cashmere products for as long as possible. Read more about our aftercare offering here.
We have banned the use of fur and exotic skins in all of our collections, as well as specific materials requirements as per our Responsible Sourcing Policy. Read more about our policy here.
We follow clearly defined waste hierarchy principles for waste arising in the business. These cover reuse, resell, repurpose, donation and recycling. We also focus on limiting the causes of waste across design, supply chain and merchandising.
Even when product patterns are carefully planned to maximise the use of a leather hide, the process inevitably creates small offcuts. Leather is a challenging material for our industry to recycle, so we’re actively engaging with our supply chain partners to repurpose leather waste through innovative partnerships.
We are a member of the Leather Working Group, a multi-stakeholder organisation that aims to improve the tanning industry by creating alignment on environmental priorities, highlighting best practices and providing guidelines for continual improvement. We encourage our tanneries to be audited by the Leather Working Group, and to monitor their water, energy and chemical consumption.
We’ve partnered with Alta Scuola di Pelletteria Italiana, a leather school based in Scandicci, Florence, and San Patrignano, an organisation supporting marginalised young people in the area, where our Burberry Manifattura site is located. The school has trained San Patrignano residents in leather goods disassembly and repurposing using excess Burberry materials to create different products.
We have funded a two-year research project with The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles & Apparel (HKRITA) to develop a system for leather goods recycling. The project concludes this year, with findings to be shared in early 2023.
The Burberry Trench Coat was first created by Thomas Burberry in the early 1900s after he invented the revolutionising rainwear fabric, gabardine. All Heritage Trench Coats are crafted in the UK at our internal manufacturing sites in Keighley and Castleford, which are both carbon neutral.
We employ more than 600 people across these locations, and every employee is paid at least the Living Wage Foundation’s hourly rate.
Each product is created using lower impact dyeing and finishing processes. We responsibly source our cotton, aiming to use 100% organic cotton by 2030.
Every Trench Coat undergoes 190 meticulous stitching processes before being assured through over 300 tests, parameter and quality checks.
Our Trench Coats are made to last. With the aim of extending each product’s life for as long as possible, our customers can opt to have their coats reproofed, repaired and/or have elements replaced. We use organic solutions for this service, which reduces its impact on the environment.
