Clothing brand Country Road’s two Melbourne stores - Highpoint and Ballarat - have become the first fashion retail stores in Australia to secure a 6-Star Green Star Interiors rating from Green Building Council of Australia.
According to GBCA, a 6 Star rating measures factors such as energy efficiency, use of recycled materials and innovation. It is the highest rating a building can achieve and throughout the design process.
Country Road began focusing on sustainable fashion retailing since August 2019 when it opened its first 5-Star rated store in Chadstone shopping centre in Victoria. Since then, it has opened over 15 stores across Australia and New Zealand that target a Green Star rating.
Overall, Country Road has over 80 retail stores in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, alongside concessions in David Jones, Myer and Woolworths in South Africa.
Throughout the design process of its latest stores, existing store elements were repurposed to reduce waste, while a number of new fixtures incorporated recycled materials. This included fixtures made using recycled yoghurt containers, carpet designed using recycled fishing nets, recycled paper wall cladding, fitting room hooks moulded from ocean plastic, store fixtures and tables built using recycled plastic, and kitchen bench tops made using damaged Country Road Demm Mugs and marble waste.
“In 2019, Country Road set itself and Australia's fashion retail industry an ambitious benchmark for the design of healthy and environmentally responsible stores by achieving the nation's first 5 Star Green Star Interiors certified store,” GBCA CEO Davina Rooney said. “Now Country Road has gone above and beyond this achievement by securing 6 Star Green Star certifications for the High Point and Ballarat stores.
"Not only is this a first for the fashion retail sector, but it's also a trailblazing example of world leadership from a company reaching new heights of environmentally conscious stores.
“From the sustainability teams who innovated to deliver these stores, to the leadership team pushing boundaries, and the staff who are fortunate to work in these healthy spaces every day, Green Building Council of Australia congratulates all involved.”