Mango’s sustainable “Committed Collection” review

When you think about sustainable fashion, the last thing that comes to mind is Mango. But still… there are some good & sustainable news in the land of fast fashion. Last week Mango took a step towards sustainability by launching a new sustainable capsule collection, Committed Collection. This minimal collection with a modern sensibility is comprised of 25 women’s and 20 men’s styles, all in a neutral color palette. Mango has picked up a few key trends of the season and incorporated trousers with scrunched paper-bag-look waist and ruffles.

Manufactured in factories in Portugal, Turkey and Morocco, the entire Committed Collection has been made with environmentally friendly organic and recycled cotton, recycled polyester and Tencel – which have been dyed with environmentally friendly inks – and comes with individual international certificates “guaranteeing their sustainable origin”.

The price point of this collection is slightly higher than the normal Mango collection and ranges from 20 euro to 100 euro, due to the use of premium sustainable fabrics, however, it is still an affordable collection which is part of Mango’s DNA, and the company has adjusted the margins to be able to offer a fashion collection of great quality at affordable prices.

Mango’s work doesn’t just stop there. While 100 % of the Committed Collection is sustainable, the brand says currently 44 % of Mango’s other collections comprise of natural fibers and that it is currently “developing an internal tool to calculate the company’s water footprint and identify the processes, garments and installations with the greatest water-saving potential, which will help it reduce its water consumption”.

Naturally, I had to go and see the Committed Collection for myself so I visited one of the Mango stores in Amsterdam. The collection was beautifully showcased in the store windows, with moss-lined background highlighting the muted, neutral shades of clothes on the display. The collection was neatly displayed at front of the store; the first mannequins I saw where dressed in the Committed Collection, which I think is great.

I picked a few key pieces to try on. The collection up close felt as lovely and substantial as the advertising images suggested, but without much-higher price point that comes with increasing production costs, which being a sustainable company inevitably results in.

Love the mustard mini-dress!

My favorite piece from this collection was the white dress. The ruffled shoulders and puffed up sleeves really made it work. Another dress that I might be coming back for is the mustard mini-dress. The simple silhouette and the striking color will make this dress a wardrobe staple.

Taking home the white mini-dress with the ruffled shoulders.

Overall, I think this collection is a great beginning and a fun way to introduce new customers to sustainable fashion. My hope is that all the fast-fashion houses will follow suit and embrace sustainability.

Linen, hemp, and organic cotton are significantly less polluting. Linen and hemp, in particular, are highly sustainable materials that don’t need pesticides or fertilizers to grow and require little water. Organic cotton is a more sustainable option as well because it is grown without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and using non-GM seeds.

A few humble suggestions from myself for the next sustainable collection:

• The design, although beautiful, was very predictably “green”.Maybe the next collection can step away from that and focus on other styles and fashion trends.

• There should be a budget allocated for training the staff and giving them some basic information about the collection. This way they can inform the customer much better about the importance of sustainability, the natural dyes, etc. When I visited the store none of the assistants could tell me much about the collection. If Mango had to adjust the margins to be able to offer a fashion collection of great quality at affordable prices, it would be such a pity for the customer not to be informed properly about the benefits of this collection.

• The store windows where beautifully designed, but I wish there was more information about this collection, perhaps a little text under the “Committed” title. This way, the extra information could help shoppers understand the sustainable aspect of this collection better.