Coach Is Ensuring Their Promises To Sustainability By Climbing Their Way Up Starting With (Re)Loved and Coachtopia

Sustainability and being eco-friendly is something that has exploded over the past few years in the fashion industry, Many brands are starting to make changes with our they are manufacturing, shipping, and even selling their products. Some are doing great things, some are not, but some are on the way and decide to go slow to ensure they keep their sustainability promises, like Coach.

Photo: Coachtopia

Coach has been steeping into the eco-friendly world for a few years now with their (Re)Loved program starting in 2021. This is a step toward creating a more circular system within their production and creation process. With Coach (Re)Loved, a customer can turn in their worn down or old handbag and the employees will determine whether or not it is eligible to be traded in. If it is, you will receive an in-store credit based on the condition of your bag. After that, the bag will be reused, recycled, or refurbished for future use. 

As of earlier this year, there were over 160 stores that participate in the (Re)Loved program and there are even some exclusive (Re)Loved stores in London. A representative from Coach said, “We are also inviting our consumers to continuously share their perspectives and opinions as we develop new circular programs and even to visit our Workshop and work with our designers and craftspeople.”

Photo: Coach via Elle

In addition to their (Re)Loved program, they launched Coachtopia just a few months ago in April. This sub-brand of Coach is “a world of circular craft, powered by community, building towards a better future for our planet.” They are trying to eliminate the production of new materials so they use scraps from old projects to design a new fun and different bag.

Coachtopia is geared more toward Generation Z and they are trying to collaborate with more designers and activists. They hope to create change with how they are delivering their products, too. Their partnership with 3Degrees allows them to use ocean transportation and not air freight which helps reduce the amount of carbon emissions. Also, they are trying to use one bag as a dust bag, shopper, and gift bag when an item is purchased to reduce the amount of unnecessary materials.

While these are all great things that Coach is doing with Coachtopia, the promises are only for Coachtopia and not Coach as a whole. However, they are realizing that they want to make a difference and this is their way of starting sustainability within their brand and ensuring they get it right.