Ermenegildo Zegna

Aug 03, 2022

Ermenegildo Zegna is an Italian fashion retailer founded in 1910 in Milan, Italy, by Ermenegildo Zegna. The multinational clothing-retail company creates luxury fashion for men.

Ermenegildo Zegna makes fine clothing, suits, jackets, shoes and accessories, fragrances, eyewear, and jewelry for formal and casual occasions. It owns many other brands, such as Thom Browne.

Ermenegildo Zegna operates more than 500 stores and has 6,500 employees in stores, factories, logistics, brands, and subsidiaries in more than 80 countries worldwide where it does business.

Ermenegildo Zegna is building a better present and future following a sustainable ethos for more responsibility towards people, community, and territory.

Ermenegildo Zegna is improving the quality of life for individuals and the community, developing human potential, safeguarding culture and the environment, and promoting research and good practices.

The Italian clothing retailer offers a sustainable collection made from recycled materials called #UseTheExisting. It takes another step towards making the dream of zero waste possible.

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Sustainability Rating: 6/10

Rating FAQ

Category: Clothing, accessories, shoes, bags, jewelry

For: Men

Type: Basics, denim, knitwear, activewear, underwear, loungewear, swimwear, outerwear, underwear, sneakers, boots, flats, sandals

Style: Chic, classic

Quality: High

Price: $$$

Sizes: XS-3XL, 2-16 (US), 4-18 (UK), 34-46 (EU), 4-18 (AU)

Fabrics: Cotton, linen, hemp, jute, lyocell, modal, viscose, cupro, acetate, polyester, nylon, spandex, acrylic, neoprene, polyurethane, rubber, leather, wool, silk, down

100% Organic: No

100% Vegan: No

Ethical & Fair: Yes

Recycling: Yes

Producing countries: Italy, China, Switzerland

Certifications: GOTS, OCS, GRS, BCI, Oeko-Tex, ZHDC, FSC, LWG, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, SA8000

Sustainability Practices

Ermenegildo Zegna takes wide-ranging measures for more ethics, social responsibility, and environmental protection. Its foundation has committed to supporting projects and studies in environmental, social, cultural, and scientific fields.

Ermenegildo Zegna also protects and promotes respect for human dignity, combating discrimination and ensuring equal development opportunities for all employees.

Ermenegildo Zegna only uses a tiny proportion of organic materials such as organic cotton and hemp or recycled materials such as recycled cotton, recycled polyester, and regenerated nylon.

Only very few of its collections are dedicated to sustainable fashion. Most of the fabrics it uses are either natural without relevant certifications, such as regular cotton or linen, or synthetic petroleum-based fibers such as polyester, nylon, acrylic, and more.

Ermenegildo Zegna also uses a small amount of semi-synthetic fibers or regenerated cellulosic fabrics such as Tencel lyocell, modal, acetate, and viscose.

Tencel is an eco-friendly fiber made with wood pulp from certified sustainable forests. But only a tiny proportion of the materials used by Ermenegildo Zegna are environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Ermenegildo Zegna publishes a list of its key manufacturers and processing facilities on its corporate website. It aims to promote a concept of strong ethical integrity and compliance with the law.

The 2021 Fashion Transparency Index gave Ermenegildo Zegna a score of only 33% based on how much the group discloses about its social and environmental policies, practices, and impacts.

Ermenegildo Zegna manufactures most of its clothes in Italy and shows some labor certification standards that ensure good working conditions, health, safety, and other important rights for workers in its supply chain.

Ermenegildo Zegna has a code of conduct that applies to all its suppliers and subcontractors, complying with all regulations and national and international conventions for ethics, social responsibility, and environmental protection.

Ermenegildo Zegna assesses compliance with its Code of Conduct by informal visits or third-party audits with or without notice. It works to improve the working conditions in its factories.

Ermenegildo Zegna doesn't use any exotic animal skin, hair, or angora. But it uses fur, as well as leather, wool, silk, and down feathers to manufacture many of its clothing pieces.

These animal-derived materials are cruel and unethical. They also harm the environment by producing greenhouse gases and waste. More sustainable alternatives exist.

Sustainability Goals

Ermenegildo Zegna doesn't show any measurement of its greenhouse gas emissions, water, land, energy use, pollution, and waste across its supply chain. It doesn't have any clear sustainability goal or timeline to improve in the future either.

Buy Here

Discover Ermenegildo Zegna's sustainable collections at Zegna.com.

Reviews And Experiences With Ermenegildo Zegna

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What We're Up Against

Multinational corporations overproducing cheap products in the poorest countries.
Huge factories with sweatshop-like conditions underpaying workers.
Media conglomerates promoting unethical, unsustainable products.
Bad actors encouraging overconsumption through oblivious behavior.
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