Planet

The first step: reducing our environmental impact

Our 1st challenge: our carbon footprint 
We have put in place a plan to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in scopes 1, 2 and 3.

Our 2nd challenge: Biodiversity 
The solution: to take a series of actions throughout the product value chain to reduce the impact of our activities on biodiversity.

Our 3rd challenge: materials
The solution: every season at ba&sh we increase the proportion of certified materials, such as wool from a certified chain of production that guarantees animal welfare and sustainable pasture management, viscose made from wood pulp from sustainably managed forests or cotton fibres from organic farming.
This will limit our consumption of water, energy and chemicals, reduce the pollution of our activities on the environment and the pressure on the use of resources

Our 4th challenge: transport 
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions during transport, for several years now we have been favouring shipping over air transport for long-distance imports and road for short-distance imports.
In 2023, ba&sh is integrated into FRET21, a scheme to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to the transport of goods, and has set itself the target of reducing its emissions in this area by 38% (FRET21 scope: upstream and downstream flows managed by ba&sh, i.e. 82% of ba&sh's transport flows). 

Our 5th challenge: plastic
Our solution is to reduce the use of plastic in our packaging, whether in the shops, in e-commerce or in our warehouse. When we do have to use them, we try as much as possible to choose 100% recycled and recyclable plastic. We have a target of zero virgin plastic in our packaging and consumables by the end of 2023. 

Start at the very beginning: measure the carbon footprint, to be able to limit it better

What better way to become truly conscious of your environmental impact than by calculating your exact carbon footprint? ba&sh has been doing this every year since 2020. This is an essential step to develop an action plan and to measure our progress!

To get the details of our CO2 emissions, have a look at our carbon footprint report.

Changing our infrastructure and practices


When it comes to energy, there are no small savings: to reduce our carbon footprint, we must rethink our practices, and at all levels.
By the end of 2022, 20% of sales points worldwide (Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal) were powered by renewable energy out of the total number of sales points in countries with a carbon-based energy mix.

Headquarters

3.2 tonnes. This is the amount of recycled waste collected in our Paris headquarters each year by our partner Lemon Tri. This is a BCorp-certified social economy organisation whose subsidiary Lemon Aide collects, packages and sends our waste to virtuous outlets in France. The circle is complete. 

Our offices based in France are supplied by a conventional electricity contract based on the French energy mix, which is essentially nuclear power, a low-carbon energy source. Our offices in the United States and China are also supplied via conventional electricity contracts based on the energy mix in those countries. Unlike France, the energy mix in these two countries is carbon intensive.

2024 target: 100% renewable energy for our offices in France. 

2025 target: 100% renewable energy for our offices in the United States and China.

Shops

95% of our shops are equipped with LED bulbs: three times less energy consuming than traditional low-energy bulbs and nine times less than incandescent bulbs. 

By the end of 2022, 20% of sales points worldwide (Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal) were powered by renewable energy out of the total number of sales points in countries with a carbon-based energy mix*.

2023 target: We will continue our efforts to achieve our goal of 100% of points of sale being powered by renewable energy by the end of the year. 

*Countries with a low-carbon energy mix: Switzerland, Norway, France, Sweden.
Countries with a high-carbon energy mix: China, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, UK, United States, Canada. 

Warehouse

Sanitary facilities are supplied by rainwater recovery tanks, natural lighting is optimised thanks to the use of stringcourses on the façade, and 96% of the site's waste is recycled... All of these measures have earned our new warehouse in the Paris region the award of High Environmental Quality (HEQ) certification. The icing on the cake: a photovoltaic power plant will be installed on the roof in 2023. 

Since 2022, our warehouse has been powered by renewable electricity (58%) and gas (42%). We also subscribe to a BIO GAZ offer and our warehouse is entirely powered by low-carbon energy sources.

A holistic approach

Reducing our carbon footprint is good. Add to that an active fight for the preservation of biodiversity, which is closely linked to the climate, and it's even better. At ba&sh, concrete actions have already been put in place, at several levels of our production and marketing process.

Materials
We use certified materials to reduce the environmental impact of our activities (water, air and soil pollution, chemicals, etc.) and the pressure on resource use and biodiversity.
As with viscose, one of our 3 flagship materials, ba&sh is a signatory of the Canopy Pledge Initiative. As for the different types of cellulose fibres, we are counting on the Winter 2022 collection: 55% viscose made with wood pulp from sustainably managed forests, 19% Ecovero, 6% lyocell, 6% modal, alternative fibres to conventional viscose. 

Environmental compliance
We currently have an entire section on chemical management in our social audits. In 2023, we will conduct environmental audits on all our (denim) laundering facilities. 

Distribution
By 2023, we aim to use packaging only made with wood pulp from sustainably managed forests, 100% recycled and recyclable packaging by the end of 2023 and to introduce a new reusable packaging offer for e-commerce deliveries. 

Circular economy
In 2022, we launched our second-hand platform, opened our first second-hand pop-up, and created an upcycled capsule in collaboration with fashion designer Johanna Senyk. On our website, care tips and repair tutorials are also available. In 2023, we aim to launch a repair system for parts and shoes.

Our packaging

We aim to use only 100% recycled and recyclable cardboard packaging made with wood pulp from sustainably managed forests by the end of 2023.

In 2023, we also want to introduce a new reusable packaging offer for e-commerce orders. The idea: circular packaging, which you are invited to drop off at the post office after receiving your parcel, so that we can reuse it. The result: a reduction of more than 80% in greenhouse gas emissions from packaging.

Our bags are made of 80% recycled paper, they are 100% recyclable. Our tissue paper is 100% recycled, recyclable and made with wood pulp from sustainably managed forests. As with our e-commerce packaging, our goal is to use 100% recycled, recyclable and made with wood pulp from sustainably managed forests bags by the end of 2023.

Polybags, those little pouches designed to protect your ba&sh items during transport, are evolving too! In the past, they were made of two different types of plastic - which made recycling them very difficult. Now our polybags are made of the same material, LDPE, which is 100% recyclable. We looked into the possibility of using bio-based plastic, which is considered compostable, but ruled this out as the environmental benefits have yet to be proven. Moreover, there are no channels for large-scale composting. 

With the Guppyfriend wash bag: let's save the oceans from microplastics

In 2019, we launched Guppyfriend, a wash bag that traps more than 90% of the plastic micro-particles released during each machine cycle, this bag was developed in response to recommendations made by the Plastic Soup Foundation. 

Doesn't it seem obvious to you that this is a positive step? And yet: machine washing of clothes is responsible for more than 35% of the plastic microparticles found in the oceans. These same elements take decades to biodegrade, in addition to disturbing the flora and fauna of the ocean.

Frequently asked questions

The production of raw materials is ba&sh's main area of concern in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and pressure on biodiversity. 

To reduce this impact, ba&sh gives preference to organically grown materials, certified materials that guarantee animal welfare and the sustainable management of pastures, recycled fibres and viscose made from wood pulp from sustainably managed forests. 

In 2022 production, 57% of materials were certified. By 2025, this figure is projected to have reached 100% (except for alpaca, for which the target has been set for 2027). 

We have defined a framework to monitor and improve social performance in our supply chain.   

Each partner must commit to our supplier code of conduct and comply with a number of ethical principles.  

We conduct social audits of our entire supplier base. If non-conformities are identified, we support our suppliers in implementing corrective action plans to contribute as much as possible to the rapid and sustainable transformation of our industry.   

Since August 2021, ba&sh is also a member of BSCI, a social compliance initiative. This tool provides a framework for monitoring and improving social performance in our supply chain: supplier mapping, early detection of problems, auditing, corrective actions and training. The aim is to protect workers' rights and improve their working conditions.  

Our shopping bags and parcel boxes are made from 80% and 100% recycled paper and are FSC-certified. They are 100% recyclable. 

In 2022, 93% of packaging used at ba&sh was made from at least 50% recycled paper. 

In 2022, 87% of plastic packaging was made from at least 30% recycled plastic. While 12% of packaging was still made from virgin plastic in 2022, ba&sh aims to use 0% virgin plastic by the end of 2023. 

ba&sh is also in the process of implementing a circular and reusable packaging solution. After receiving an order, the packaging used to send your parcel can be returned by post free of charge. When empty, it can be folded into a letter format! This packaging reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% compared to 100% recycled and 100% recyclable packaging.