NIQUE'S CANOPY POLICY
NIQUE'S CANOPY POLICY
NIQUE'S COMMITMENT TO PROTECTING FORESTS THROUGH OUR PAPER, PACKAGING, AND FABRIC CHOICES
At Nique, we don’t label ourselves as a fully sustainable brand, but we are committed to taking responsible steps to minimise our impact on people and the planet. We strive to leave as light a footprint on the earth as possible. That’s why in 2022, Nique partnered with Canopy, pledging to protect the world’s forests by improving how we source and use pulp, paper, packaging, and fabrics.
As we seek alternatives to single-use plastics within our supply chain, we recognise the environmental challenges posed by increased demand for forest-based products. This policy supports the necessary transition away from single-use plastics while also prioritising the conservation of Ancient and Endangered Forests.
CONSERVATION OF ANCIENT AND ENDANGERED FORESTS AND ECOSYSTEMS
Nique is committed to supporting approaches and systems that ensure the future does not rely on Ancient and Endangered Forests in our packaging, paper, or man-made cellulosic fabrics, including rayon, viscose, lyocell, modal, and other trademarked brands. Our aim is to influence these supply chains to protect the world’s remaining Ancient and Endangered Forests and endangered species’ habitats.
To achieve this, we will:
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Collaborate with Canopy and our suppliers to support innovative solutions that protect remaining Ancient and Endangered Forests in places such as Vancouver Island’s Coastal Temperate Rainforests, Canada’s Boreal Forests, and Indonesia’s Rainforests.
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Assess our current use of man-made cellulosics, packaging, and paper, and eliminate sourcing from Ancient and Endangered Forests or endangered species habitats by 2025.
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Avoid sourcing from companies involved in illegal logging, post-1994 plantations established through the conversion of natural forests, or areas where logging violates the rights of Indigenous communities.
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If we discover that any of our products are sourced from Ancient and Endangered Forests or involve illegal logging, we will take immediate action to change practices, eliminate these sources, and re-evaluate our supplier relationships.
DESIGN AND PRIORITISATION OF REDUCTION AND REUSE
Reducing and reusing paper and packaging is crucial for protecting the world’s limited forest resources. Over the next year, Nique will prioritise the development of a reduction and reuse strategy with specific targets and timelines. Within the next three years, we will:
- Collaborate with suppliers to ensure shipping boxes are made from recycled content and/or are FSC certified.
- Design and implement systems that minimise paper usage in e-commerce, shipping, display, and wrapping.
- Utilise reusable packaging systems for internal business applications.
- Increase the use of digital communication, marketing, and accounting systems.
- Adopt best practices by researching and applying emerging circular economy innovations, expanding on Nique’s current packaging initiatives.
- Review our packaging practices against the Australian 2025 National Packaging Targets.
- Transition to reducing unnecessary single-use plastics and packaging, such as garment bags, and switch to bio-based or post-consumer alternatives where necessary.
- Move towards more environmentally friendly shopping bags.
- Review necessary packaging and its content to increase recyclability and compostability.
SHIFT TO MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY BENEFICIAL FABRICS
Nique will work with Canopy, innovative companies, and suppliers to develop fibre sources that reduce environmental and social impacts, focusing on agricultural residues and recycled fabrics. We will participate in trials where appropriate and feasible for the brand.
By 2022, Nique will prioritise purchasing man-made cellulosic products that include at least 50% of these innovative fibre sources and develop a 2025 target to use these closed-loop solutions based on viscose fibre producer innovation.
IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF PACKAGING AND PAPER
Nique will partner with Canopy and other innovative companies to encourage the development of Next Generation Solutions in packaging and paper. This includes the use of agricultural fibres (particularly residues) and recycled content. We will use Canopy’s Ecopaper database and The Paper Steps as a guide for sourcing paper and packaging.
To help reduce the footprint of our paper and packaging use, Nique will:
- Conduct an annual review of all our paper and packaging use to identify areas for efficiency improvements, weight reductions, and resource savings.
- Prefer paper/packaging with high-recycled content, aiming for at least 50% recycled fibre content in our papers and packaging within three years.
- Encourage suppliers to improve and expand the availability of recycled content in papers/packaging.
- Source packaging and paper from alternative fibres like wheat straw or other agricultural residues when possible.
- Support research and development of commercial-scale production of pulp, paper, and packaging from alternative fibre sources.
FOREST CERTIFICATION
Where the above conditions are met, Nique will request that all fabric, packaging, and paper sourced from forests come from responsibly managed sources, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), including FSC-certified plantations where applicable.
RECOGNISING, RESPECTING, AND UPHOLDING HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE RIGHTS OF COMMUNITIES
Nique will request that our suppliers respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and acknowledge Indigenous and rural communities’ legal, customary, or user rights to their territories, land, and resources. Suppliers must acknowledge the right of Indigenous People and rural communities to give or withhold their Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) before new logging rights are allocated or plantations developed. Suppliers should resolve complaints and conflicts transparently and accountably.
REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS FOOTPRINT
Nique recognises the importance of forests as carbon storehouses and their role in maintaining climate stability. We will support initiatives that advance forest conservation to reduce the loss of high carbon stock forests, prefer suppliers who avoid harvesting in these areas, and choose those with effective strategies to reduce their greenhouse gas footprint.
SAFEGUARDING WATER AND CRITICAL SYSTEMS
Nique understands that Ancient and Endangered Forests are crucial for protecting and regulating water at local and global levels. Large, contiguous forests act as biotic pumps, moving moisture from coastal areas to inland regions. We prefer suppliers who maintain and restore forest integrity to ensure the forests' role in regulating water flow and purity.
SUPPORTING BEST PROCESSING PRACTICES AND PROCUREMENT
Nique requires that our man-made cellulosic suppliers use the best available environmental practices, such as ‘closed-loop’ lyocell processing. We recognise that an instant switch to best practices may be challenging for suppliers and will work with them to improve over time. Our goal is for all suppliers of our man-made cellulosic fibres to be traced and ranked as a Green Shirt in Canopy’s Hot Button Report by 2025. We also understand that this field, including the tracking, addressing, verifying, and certifying of viscose, is constantly evolving.
We will prefer paper and packaging processed using technologies such as chlorine-free bleaching. We will switch to receipts for in-store use that are non-phenol and BPA/BPS free, recognising the health benefits this offers our employees and customers. However, we will prefer email receipts over printed ones.
PROMOTING INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP
Nique seeks to create a positive impact by working closely with our suppliers, partners, and customers. As we progress with implementation, we will collaborate with suppliers, NGOs, stakeholders, and brands working with Canopy to protect Ancient and Endangered Forests and promote solutions to reduce demand on forests. We will also educate and inform the public on these issues and solutions through our marketing and communications.
Signed by Emma Carr, Commercial Director
Nique Pty Ltd
12/08/2022