Our PACKAGING

All WAKAKUU’s packaging and filling materials are FSC-certified or from recycled sources. The FSC certification ensures that the product comes from a responsible forestry, i.e. a forestry that takes people and the environment into account. We have developed boxes of five different sizes to match the size of the product for a greener and more efficient way of shipping. Our e-commerce bag is eco-friendly and made from recycled plastic.

Our ENERGY USAGE

Our offices and our store are lit using LED lighting. We are trying to optimize all our energy consumption. The waste is recycled and we strive to reduce the overall amount of waste.

Our TRANSPORTS and SHIPPING

WAKAKUU is constantly working to streamline our transport and shipping operations.
We are currently collaborating with Postnord, Best and DHL.
We are trying to find the most eco-friendly way of shipping our goods and are hoping to soon be able to offer a completely eco-friendly shipping alternative.

Our own TRANSPORTATION and TRAVEL

At WAKAKUU we strive to, as far as possible, use the most environmentally friendly mode of transportation. In the case of work-related travel, the environmental aspect is considered, in addition to cost and time aspects. We also try to merge meetings and business trips as far as possible.

RETURNS and RETURN PROCESS

Returns in eCommerce have a huge negative impact on the environment. Many eCommerce companies choose to not address the problem with returns. This might be because of fear of losing market shares, losing customers and removing the fun in shopping. However, WAKAKUU choses to address this problem nevertheless.

We believe the most returns are due to information problems which comes with eCommerce. The top reasons for returns are often a size too small, a size too large, not as described, style, or, simply, I changed my mind.

Some customers tend to over-order goods, they are purchasing different sizes and colors of the same item, pick their favorite and return the rest. Others buy items to wear once and have no intention of keeping them afterwards. In response, businesses are adding workers, increasing warehouse space and establishing separate departments to handle reverse logistics. Returns have become the new normal..

We know that the reasons for returning can be many, but we also know that returns in eCommerce is a big polluter. Returned items must once again be checked and repacked before they are relisted.

As a customer, you always have the right to return items which doesn’t meet your expectations. However, we would like to encourage you make a conscious choice when purchasing an item and to read the detailed size recommendation and description which follows each garment. If you are unsure about anything, do contact our dedicated customer support who will be happy to help and guide you.

In order to conduct a sustainable and responsible business, WAKAKUU will further communicate our Return Policy with customers who have habit of consistently returning a purchase. WAKAKUU reserves the right to put a temporary ban on such habitual returners. 

WAKAKUU ICONS

A dream we had nourished for a long time was to design our own collection of timeless classics and in 2019, we launched WAKAKUU ICONS. Our vision was to create a wardrobe based on foundation pieces which could be worn season after season. We are producing two or three small and exclusive collections per year. In coming collections, some of the clothes will be produced in organic cotton.

The collection is produced in China in an Intertek certified factory. Intertek is an international certification body and monitors that the factory meets the requirements for quality, environment, health, safety and social responsibility.

The factory has also signed WAKAKUU's Code of Conduct, to ensure that the factory lives up to our requirements and expectations. The code is based on the Ethical Trading Initiative's (ETI Base Code). The code is reviewed annually so it is adapted both to the development of our business and to the demands of the outside world.

Prior to shipping, the items are packed individually in a plastic bag, which is not environmentally certified. Work is in progress to replace this bag into an eco-friendly alternative during 2020. WAKAKUU choose to ship the collection by cargo ship from China to Sweden.

TRANSPAENSY and TRACEABILITY

Survey of our suppliers' sustainability work

The concept of transparency in the fashion industry can best be described as the amount of information a company is willing to disclose about their supply chain and the availability of information of their current business practices.

The demand for clothes with a less negative impact on the environment is constantly increasing. By implementing transparency and traceability in the supply chain, the consumer gets an insight into the company and can more easily make informed decisions when making a purchase.

WAKAKUU only works with high quality brands with a long-term approach. In 2020, we will begin a project in which we will evaluate the sustainability work of our partners. This is an extensive and time-consuming task, and we hope we will be able to offer our customers supplier information on all our products in near future.

WAKAKUU wants to promote joint responsibility in all stages of the supply chain. We are firm believers  that a collective agenda and common guidelines are the only way forward to create a sustainable fashion industry.

W SUSTAIN

At WAKAKUU we have actively been looking at ways to do better and offer our customers the choice to shop more consciously. You will find sustainable brands that we collaborate with under the category W SUSTAIN. 

W SUSTAIN is our own branding of clothes made with care for people and the environment. Clothes with this label are either organically produced or made from recycled materials or which are produced in a socially sustainable way

MAKE IT LAST

In the category MAKE IT LAST, you will find products that helps you care for and extend the life of your clothes, and at the same time help save the environment.

THE WAKAKUU FAMILY

WAKAKUU strives to be an attractive employer for all our employees and co-workers and offers an attractive and stimulating workplace. We take pride in our strong corporate culture and our long-held core values; quality, business focus and customer satisfaction.

WAKAKUU's Code of Conduct serves as a guide for all employees and is used in our day-to-day operations. The Code of Conduct clarifies the principles that govern WAKAKUU in the role of employer and its employees in relation to other employees, customers, suppliers, partners and society at large. We strive for the highest quality in everything we do, which is also an ambition that permeates our entire business. The Code of Conduct is based on the principles of the UN Global Compact and the UN General Principles for Business and Human Rights.

WAKAKUU has an obligation to respect human rights and how our business operations may affect the fulfillment of this obligation. WAKAKUU respects internationally recognized human rights and this means a commitment not to participate or cause negative impact on human rights through our business operations. WAKAKUU does not accept any discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, ethnic affiliation, religion, age or disability. WAKAKUU works actively for gender equality and diversity within the company. WAKAKUU ensures a safe and secure work environment for all employees.

All employees undergones a training in sustainability and receive continuous updates and in-depth knowledge in the area.

CIRKULÄRT MODE

re-style re-duce re-peat re-use re-love re-cycle re-pair re-design re-invent re-spect re-wear re-make.

The concept of sustainable fashion encompasses many parts and areas. In short, it can be summarized as follows:

Ecologically sustainable fashion refers to clothes whose cultivation, production and manufacture have little or no impact on the environment.

Socially sustainable fashion means that those who work in the production chain receive fair wages and enjoys fair working conditions.

Economically sustainable fashion means that clothes and textiles must be of good quality and designed to last in order to reduce the so-called wear and tear consumption..

Sustainable fashion can thus be to produce clothing in an environmentally sound manner but also to consume in an environmentally sustainable way. Sustainable fashion is also about striving for a circular economy. In short, a circular economy means that society should strive to close the cycle of materials to the greatest extent possible, for example by using ecological materials from sustainably managed resources or by recycling.

Achieving systemically sustainable changes in the fashion industry is one of the biggest sustainability challenges of our time. As a consumer, it is difficult to know how to think and act when it comes to the concept of sustainable fashion. Our advice is to make conscious and thoughtful choices when shopping for clothes, to think about quality rather than quantity, to look after and to care for your garment and when you no longer use it, pass it on so it can be reused or recycled.

BE THE CHANGE

As part of our sustainability commitment, we are proud to launch our own social initiative BE THE CHANGE in which we shine a light on organizations or projects that makes a difference to our planet or to our society. We regularly publish information and results on our website and in our social media channels and we encourage customers to support and spread the word together with us! During 2020, we have partnered with the following organizations:

In April 2020: BE THE CHANGE partnered with Trygga Barnen, a Swedish nonprofit foundation whose purpose is to support children who lives in families with alcohol or drug abuse or mental illness. In times of Covid-19, the situation for many children became particularly uncertain and volatile.

In May 2020: BE THE CHANGE joined forces with Wildhood Foundation, a Swedish nonprofit organization which fights poaching and illegal trade in wild animals to prevent our most iconic and threatened species from getting extinct in the wild. Wildhood Foundation raise funds and awareness to support selected local efforts in Africa that makes hands on difference for the wildlife. For more information about the initiative, go to Wakakuu.com/Wildhood

For the summer of 2020, WAKAKUU and BE THE CHANGE are teaming up with The Perfect World Foundation in a joint effort to clean our oceans from plastic pollution and to raise awareness of the problem with plastics in oceans. For more information about The Blue Bucket operation, go to www.theperfectworld.com 

Through our initiative we want to create a positive change in our society and to our planet, we want to approach challenges in new ways and engage people by creating awareness and change. Through partnerships with influential organizations that work mainly on ecological, climatic and social sustainability, we support projects and initiatives at a global and local level. WAKAKUU and Be The Change align their strategies to the realization of the Agenda 2030 and the Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

We want to see a future where everyone lives in harmony with nature. We want to be part of the fight to protect the most unique and endangered species and habitats on our earth, and where humanity will equitably share the world's resources and use them in a sustainable way. We want to work for an inclusive and equal society where groups and individuals can live in safety. We safeguard the right of all people to live a meaningful and dignified life over which they themselves have power.

The WAKAKUU family are very proud of this initiative and hope you will join us on the journey!

If you want to know more about our CSR and sustainability commitment, please send an email to sustainability@wakakuu.com.