Sustainability

A retail pioneer in all-natural beauty products, ethical sourcing and environmental responsibility is facing an uncertain future.   L’Oreal is exploring a sale of The Body Shop for $1.1 billion, the Financial Times reported. The cosmetics giant bought the company, which operates some 3,000 stores across the globe, in 2006.   The Body Shop was founded in Brighton, England, in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick. The brand has struggled recently amid increased competition from an array of brands. 

Land’s End’s growing commitment to environmentally focused business practices has earned it the Green Masters Award — for the seventh consecutive year.  

Athleta’s latest line will provide a premium to the female workforce that created it.   The athleisure brand’s spring collection was manufactured in a factory certified by Fair Trade USA, an organization dedicated to creating social and economic opportunities for factory workers globally. For a product to earn Fair Trade certification, it must originate from a facility that operates according to the rigorous social, environmental and economic standards set in place by Fair Trade USA.   

On a wind farm near McAllen, Texas, with windmills that stand taller from tip to base than the Statue of Liberty, Home Depot is harvesting enough electricity to power 100 Home Depot stores.   The juice is flowing because of the Atlanta-based retailer’s deal with EDP Renewables North America, a deal that marks Home Depot’s first major investment in a wind-powered renewable energy project. The company says that in addition to supplying power to 100 stores, the deal provides $150,000 in local community benefits.  

Starbucks Corp. is living up to its reputation as one of the nation’s most socially progressive retailers.    On the heels of President Donald Trump's indefinite suspension of Syrian refugees and temporary travel bans that apply to seven predominantly Muslim countries, the coffee giant pledged to hire 10,000 refugees to work at its stores around the world during the next five years.  

An historic department store building that closed its doors and has been empty for 30 years — long enough for a tree to start growing inside it — has been given a brand new lease on life.  

The larger solar rooftop array in the state of Washington is now completed — and it’s on top of an Ikea store.   Ikea has installed a solar array on the top its 244,000-sq.-ft. store currently under construction in Renton, Washington. It is scheduled to open in spring 2017.  

Technology is transforming the retail landscape as we know it. The Census Bureau estimates that U.S. online retail sales were $97.3 million in second quarter 2016, a 15.8% increase from the previous year. According to Forrester, that growth is expected to continue with U.S. online retail sales anticipated to exceed $520 billion by 2020. Globally, online sales are growing three-times faster than GDP.