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Christian Jermyn, ESG director of Cornish fashion brand Seasalt, shares how the retailer has embedded sustainability into everyday decision-making; that modesty can be a communications challenge; and why the UK fashion sector needs greater investment in circularity.<\/i>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n For many retailers, sustainability is still treated as a separate workstream something to be consulted on once a product, store or logistics decision has already been made. At Seasalt Cornwall, Jermyn says the opposite is true.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When joining the fashion retailer, he discovered that the business didn\u2019t need sustainability to be bolted on, it was already deeply woven into how Seasalt operates.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s quite odd being a sustainability professional,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen I came in, the biggest challenge was to identify how integrated it was, because the brand didn\u2019t understand how integrated it was.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He explains that areas such as responsible fabrics, circularity, ethical trading and energy procurement were already part of the retailer\u2019s commercial rhythm, rather than projects sitting outside the core business.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt took me a long time to identify that the reason why it wasn\u2019t spoken about was because it wasn\u2019t something else. It was already integrated,\u201d notes Jermyn.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That level of assimilation means ESG is not brought in at the end of a decision-making process, he argues, but is considered by teams across the business from the start.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not like a trade decision or a retail decision or a shop or a logistics decision, and then, \u2018Oh, we should speak to ESG,\u2019\u201d he notes.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cESG is integrated into the commercial decision, into the retail decision, into the logistics decision.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jermyn explains that Seasalt\u2019s culture leaves his role focused less on persuading teams to consider sustainability, and more on helping the business assess future risks, opportunities and strategic choices.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFrom an ESG perspective, that\u2019s great because it\u2019s about enabling and assisting the business to say, \u2018What\u2019s next?\u2019\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs legislation accelerates, as demands and trends change, and as climate change really starts to take hold and impact the business, it\u2019s nice for me because I can actually be a sustainability professional.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He points to Seasalt\u2019s long-standing use of renewable energy contracts, its move to a power purchase agreement, and its operational work on waste as examples of decisions being made by teams across the company rather than driven solely by ESG.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have people coming to me often saying, \u2018By the way, we\u2019ve done this,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cTheir conversations are already happening.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For Jermyn, that is what makes Seasalt\u2019s approach stand out. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen it in another brand. Living in it every day, doing it every day, it\u2019s phenomenal.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While Jermyn is clear that Seasalt is \u201cnot perfect\u201d, he says the brand\u2019s approach is rooted in a willingness to trial new ideas and learn from them. That has included work on responsible sourcing, post-consumer waste and supply chain partnerships aimed at turning material that might once have been treated as waste into value.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe thing I\u2019m proudest about is that we are realists, but we\u2019re showing the way,\u201d he notes. \u201cThere\u2019s a real spirit that we\u2019ll go and give it a go. We\u2019ll try and see and learn, and then we\u2019ll come back and think about whether we can make it better.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Seasalt\u2019s fabric strategy as one shining example: \u201cMost of our fabrics are responsibly sourced. All of our polyester is recycled, all of our cotton is organic, all of our wool is from responsible wool standards.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jermyn adds that the commercial benefit of those early choices has been as important as the environmental one. Seasalt became certified for organic cotton in 2005 and has since built closer relationships across its supply chain, which he says has helped reduce risk and strengthen resilience.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAt the time, that probably didn\u2019t make any commercial sense,\u201d he recalls. \u201cBut what it did was build a supply chain that we were closer to, where we could build relationships and build out a little bit of risk. It\u2019s paid dividends.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Looking beyond Seasalt, Jermyn believes the UK fashion sector has the appetite to improve, but there is work still to be done and investment needed from beyond the sector.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a real willingness to do better in the sector,\u201d he says. \u201cI think EPR Textiles has the opportunity to be a game changer for the UK.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Seasalt already works with the Salvation Army Trading Company on terminal stock donations and is exploring further schemes around circularity. However, Jermyn says individual brand schemes will not be enough if the UK wants to build a genuinely circular fashion economy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt can\u2019t be left to individual businesses,\u201d he stresses. \u201cIf we\u2019re really serious about circularity in the UK, we need to see proper investment in tech.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He argues that the UK has the talent and emerging technologies to lead in circularity, pointing to innovation coming through universities and young entrepreneurs. But without the right support, he warns the industry risks falling back into old linear models.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe technologies are there, and we have the opportunity in the UK to be leading the way in circularity,\u201d Jermyn says. \u201cThe will is there, but the sector can only invest so far. If the infrastructure is not there to support that investment, we\u2019re going to default back to what we were before.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Alongside investment, fashion and textiles also need a more consistent approach to sustainability reporting, particularly around Scope 3 emissions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jermyn explains: \u201cWe need to have a standardised approach. We need to be doing more sharing at the manufacturing level \u2014 understanding the opportunities and the risks, and how we can help support suppliers.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He says suppliers face an increasing burden from brands asking for similar information in different formats, and argues that the sector would benefit from common reporting templates.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to be a supplier right now, getting probably hundreds, if not thousands, of requests about reporting,\u201d Jermyn reveals. \u201cThe way that we can help them is all to report off the same template.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The ambition, he suggests, should be a sector-wide standard that allows retailers and suppliers to focus less on administrative duplication and more on practical improvements.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJust have a standard template that everyone uses,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re all asking the same questions, we all get the same responses, and we can move forward.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For Seasalt, the message is that sustainability does not have to sit in opposition to commercial growth. Done well, Jermyn argues, it can support better products, stronger supplier relationships and more resilient retail decision-making.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThere\u2019s something very special happening<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n
This is the way<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n
Why fashion needs investment in circularity<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n
Calls for simpler, shared reporting<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n