Melbourne fashion label Nique has joined with sustainable initiatives CanopyStyle and Canopy Pack4Good, ensuring its garments and packaging are not utilising endangered forests for materials.
Nique creative director Nadia Jones said the brand is committed to reducing its environmental footprint, as well as through working with its suppliers and workers.
“Like we were, you may be shocked to hear that the use of trees to make fabrics has more than doubled over the past 30 years, and is projected to grow by another 50-60% within the next decade. This demand continues to threaten rare, ancient forests even though less than 20% of these vital ecosystems remain intact globally.
“This is one of the reasons why we decided to join Canopy in their work to protect the world’s forests and make a commitment to ensuring our paper, packaging and viscose textiles are not linked to vital forests. We are so excited to work with Canopy, our suppliers and innovators worldwide to make these positive steps in our responsibility journey.”
Nique has been working on a number of sustainability and sourcing initiatives. Since 2018, it worked towards increasing the of natural and sustainable fibres; it reported that 73% of its AW22 range and 88% of its SS21 range were made of 100% natural fibres.
It also launched its circularity initiative reNique reNew in 2020, which aims to keep clothing out of landfill through local community partnerships to upcycle pieces, and in 2021 the brand partnered with Citizen Wolf, where it reportedly saved approximately 675,000 litres of water.
Nique said its new sustainable venture with Canopy will help keep ancient and endangered forests out of its supply chain. CanopyStyle includes 515 fashion and apparel brands in its initiatives, reportedly representing 857 billion USD in annual revenue.
Pack4Good focuses on reducing packaging waste, with an aim to mitigate the impact of the reported 3 million trees cut down each year for global packaging demands.
Both initiatives fall under Canopy, which is a global, not-for-profit environmental organisation.
Canopy executive director Nicole Rycroft has welcomed the Nique brand to its collective.
“Together, we have shifted almost half of viscose production out of sourcing from endangered forests, secured conservation gains, and spurred production of low-carbon Next Gen textiles,” Rycroft said. “The job isn’t done yet: in this turnaround decade, we are redoubling efforts to keep ancient and endangered forests standing, scale commercial production of circular alternatives, and moving the needle on climate action."
Canopy has collaborated with more than 750 companies to develop environmental policies that shift unsustainable supply chains, drive solutions, and protect endangered forests.
Nique was established in 1998. The brand said it is guided by modernist principles, and avoids traditional notions of gender and age in its designs.