Calvin Klein Steps Towards Sustainability
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CALVIN KLEIN CORPORATE SOCIAL STEPS TOWARDS RESPONSIBILITY SUSTAINABILITY SEMESTER 2, PROJECT 1 Calvin Klein, a world-famous luxury brand steps towards sustainable packaging design. Calvin Klein switches its shopping bags and gift boxes to recyclable materials, choosing only Forest Stewardship Council certified paper. In collaboration with FSC, Calvin Klein would be able to get their products and actions certified and marked as eco- friendly and socially responsible which would improve company’s corporate image and perception. Money saved in the production process of Calvin Klein’s packaging will be donated to the FSC in order to support and protect forest communities and fight deforestation. JURATE KUKLINYTE WEBSITE LINK PETYA KAZAKOVA http://pkazakova.com/CSR/ MALENE THOMING calvin-klein-sustainability- csr.html 2016 FEBRUARY Index 2 Project Planning and Process 3 Corporate Social Responsibility - Sustainable Packaging 4 Collaboration with FSC, Certified Paper and Positive Outcomes 5 Design Brief & Packaging Mock Ups 6 Design Manual and SEO 7 Appendix 1 8 P.S. Appendix is attached as a text document, but is not a part of written report. 2 Project Planning and Process Shortly after given the assignment we started planning the process of the project and setting up the milestones (see img 1). We considered different companies and settled down on Calvin Klein due to their scandalous advertisement history and the lack of CSR in the environmental area. Project Timeline, Milestones and Deadlines (img 1) Work Breakdown Structure (img 2) 3 Work breakdown structure (img 2), yet another tool that helped us along the way of planning and organizing our tasks. After the tasks were delegated it was the time to look closely into the company’s reports, descriptions and articles and analyse the external and internal surrounding factors (see img 3). We did a thorough analysis on company’s profile and competitors, their customers and stakeholders, considered the positive and negative aspects of a business model and market segment. 1 Most importantly we looked at the possible harms for the company and from there developed new strategies, tactics, and action that the company could start taking. Having all that information researched we came to take new concept of the Corporate Social Responsibility into action. Threats-Opportunities-Weaknesses-Strengths Matrix (img 3) Corporate Social Responsibility – Sustainable Packaging Calvin Klein, a world-famous luxury brand steps towards sustainable packaging design. As the industry moves into a period of mass-industrialisation, luxury 1 Appendix 1 The in-depth TOWS analysis 4 conglomerates are having a more significant global impact on energy use, CO2 emissions, alongside water consumption, deforestation and pollution.2 Sustainable packaging is beneficial, safe and healthy for individuals and communities throughout its life cycle. It meets market criteria for performance and cost, optimizes the use of renewable or recycled source materials, it is sourced, manufactured, transported, and recycled using renewable energy, clean production technologies and best practices.3 Although it is often considered that nature luxury is durable but not trendy, sustainable packaging can also be luxurious and maintain brand image and identity. Environmentally conscious consumers might be willing to spend more to buy a product that uses less energy and fewer natural resources to produce. Calvin Klein’s action plan focuses on the reduction of carbon-dioxide emissions, waste, and water; sourcing of raw materials; dangerous chemicals and materials. Specifically, 100% of the packaging paper will be sourced from certified sustainably managed forests (sourcing a minimum 50% of recycled content). Collaboration with FSC, Certified Paper and Positive Outcomes FSC is an independent, non-profit organization that sets standards under which forests and companies are certified and that protects forests for future generations. FSC guarantees that animals and plants are protected and that the people who work in the forest are guaranteed education, safety and a fair wage. The principle is to cut down trees in a rain forest without damaging the forest. FSC provides a connection between the forest and the end user, ensuring that products with the FSC label uphold principles and criteria which bring the highest social and environmental benefits. FSC certification can positively impact workers and communities, shift governance processes globally and change economic and environmental conditions in the forest.4 2 http://luxurysociety.com/articles/2014/01/gucci-steps-towards-sustainability 3 http://sustainablepackaging.org/uploads/Documents/Definition%20of%20Sustainable%20Packaging.pdf 4 https://ic.fsc.org/en/our-impact/importance-of-forest-stewardship 5 With its 'FSC-Certified' label, the Forest Stewardship Council defines a strict set of standards that paper products must meet in order to prove that they are truly environmentally and socially responsible. FSC does not solve all problems but is a step in the right direction. Deforestation in tropical forests is a complex problem which can only be solved by working on many fronts at the same time - FSC label is one of them. In a collaboration with FSC, Calvin Klein would be able to get their products and actions certified and marked as eco-friendly and socially responsible. Moreover, the money saved on cutting the costs of production would be reinvested in supporting FSC and forest communities. This way, Calvin Klein would not only reduce waste and pollution, but also donate to save the environment and have a certificate to prove its contribution. Differentiating the company using recycled materials would make it stand out amongst its competitors, also, would attract new socially and environmentally conscious customers, World demand for green packaging – including recycled content, reusable and degradable packaging – is projected to rise 5.7% per year to US$212 billion in 2015. Using fewer packaging materials ranks high among the crucial steps companies can take to reduce their carbon footprint. By reducing the layers of packaging, Calvin Klein Inc. would on average reduce 32% of the weight of shipping, resulting in saving up to US$20 million a year. 5 Recycling of the materials would not only be environmentally-friendly but also would save around 40% of company’s production expenses. Design Brief and Packaging Mock Ups Calvin Klein’s visual identity is a central element in communicating to their customers. Calvin Klein’s font, made especially for the brand, is very simple, yet very sophisticated due to its brand identity. Signature colors of the 5 Preliminary numbers, see Appendix 1 6 Calvin Klein differ between, black, grey, white and navy. Product description The new packaging is made using FSC-certified paper, composed of virgin tree fibres rather than pre- or post- consumer recycled materials. The design itself is very true to the Calvin Klein’s brand, simplistic and aesthetic, with naturally extracted colors and objects that represent the idea. The packaging is inspired by Calvin Klein’s original packaging design, however it is now modelled to meet the FSC requirements while still maintaining the brand’s identity. The back of the boxes also has the FSC sign that assures the stakeholders that the brand is using only eco-friendly materials. Design Manual for the Website and SEO Design Manual for the Website: The original website was well-structured therefore we didn’t make major changes. Instead, we decided to focus on the CSR and package design development. We put a banner made with Photoshop, description of our CSR strategy and the partnership with FSC. In the end, we put our package design mock-up. We used the same colour palette, image style and font; we saved the same header and footer. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): 7 In order to improve the functionality of our webpage, we first added a title, alt attribute and meta description using few words that highlight the main subject. The structure of content is clear, including headings, paragraphs, links, etc. Moreover, we optimized the URL, making it user-friendly and wrote Google Analytics script. Considering our Google Trends research, we chose some relevant keywords – “CSR, Calvin Klein, sustainability, eco- friendly, sustainable packaging, corporate social responsibility, fashion, strategy, environment, brand design, FSC and forest stewardship council”. 8 Appendix 1 - TOWS analysis (authors Malene Thoming, Jurate Kuklinyte, and Petya Kazakova) Step 1.The Enterprise Profile The Kind of Business What is our business? Calvin Klein Inc. is an American based, one of the leading fashion design and marketing studios in the world. It designs and markets women’s and men’s designer collections, apparel and a range of other products that are manufactured and marketed through an extensive network of licensing agreements and other arrangements worldwide. Who are our customers? Urban upper class youth and business executives. What do our customers want? Customers looking for high end best products, fashion conscious rich and quality products. Brands/lifestyles include Calvin Klein Collection, Calvin Klein Platinum Label, Calvin Klein Jeans and Calvin Klein Underwear. Product lines under the various Calvin Klein brands include women’s dresses and suits, men's dress furnishings and tailored clothing, men’s and women's sportswear and bridge and collection apparel, golf apparel, jeans wear, underwear, fragrances, eyewear, women’s performance apparel,