Trash to Treasure: Stella McCartney

Shopping with luxury designer Stella McCartney ensures you're putting your high end dollars to work with sustainable materials.

A note from Stella's Team:

Ethical trade

We are a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) groundbreaking alliance of companies, voluntary organisations and trade unions, all working together to improve working conditions around the world.

We share the ETI’s vision for a world where all workers are free from exploitation and discrimination, and work in conditions of freedom, security and equity.

We make all of our ready-to-wear, shoes and bags in Europe; Italy is our largest sourcing country, both for materials and manufacturing.

We are working to ensure that we are supporting safe and fair working conditions across our supply chain and that our products are made with integrity. We build long-term relationships with our suppliers and we believe in working with suppliers that share our vision.

In addition to the day to day management of Ethical Trade in our supply chain we are also working on specific projects like our initiative in Kenya where we produce bags through the United Nation’s International Trade Center Ethical Fashion Initiative. The initiative connects some of the world’s most marginalised people with the top of fashion’s value chain, for mutual benefit. It enables communities of artisans and small manufacturers — the majority of them women — to thrive in association with the fashion industry. This develops local creativity, fosters predominantly female employment and empowerment, reduces poverty, and promotes gender equality. Thousands of people who live in conditions of extreme poverty have gained employment through the initiative so far.

Responsible sourcing policies

NO LEATHER, NO FUR, NO SKIN

We are a vegetarian company and none of our products contain leather, fur, exotics skins or feathers – and none of the glues used in our shoes or bags come from animal origins.

NO ANIMAL TESTING

None of our products are tested on animals. COTY produce our fragrances as a licensee of Stella McCartney’s beauty products. We respect a very strict ethical charter. All Stella McCartney fragrances are vegan friendly, which means that no ingredient is tested on animals or comes from animal origins, including bees.

We stand by our ethics regarding animal testing. That’s why we have chosen not to sell our fragrances in China where government regulations require animal testing. We hope that by promoting these values other fragrance licensees of COTY will follow us and say no to animal testing.

NO PVC

In 2008 we began to phase out PVC from our products and since 2010 all Stella McCartney products have been PVC free. In addition to our own products we also ensure that all adidas by Stella McCartney products are PVC free.

NO TO ANGORA

Following the PETA campaign in 2013, which highlighted the plight of angora rabbits, we decided to stop all future use of angora in Stella McCartney products. All products produced since Fall 2013 have been angora free and will continue to be.

SAND BLASTING

None of our denim has undergone the process of sandblasting. Sandblasting is a technique used to distress denim to achieve a worn-in look. However, the process of sandblasting has been shown to cause fatal lung diseases in the workers carrying out the process – this is why we have said no to sand blasting. Any distressing that is found our on denim has been done using methods that are safe for the workers carrying them out.