CFO as a realist

“We know that there are numerous things coming our way legislatively, without already having a concrete idea of exactly what everything will look like,” says Wynants. “And if you look at our various stakeholders, you see that we are being encouraged, especially B2B-wise, to act on this. We are doing this in the first phase of our sustainability strategy, for example, very concretely towards our suppliers. We developed a ‘framework for sustainable procurement’ to have a clear grip.” It is important to note that Xandres does not run its own production sites but rather works with production partners. Of those, 40 percent are located in Macedonia.

“Those production partners are asked today to sign a Code of Conduct as a first step towards a responsible supply chain. This indicates that there is no child labor, no exhaustive working hours or unfair working conditions. The Code of Conduct is a promise from them to us, and is based on the general principles of Corporate Social Responsibility. Step two was to train our procurement team so they would have the right information in order for them to ask critical questions of suppliers, have the right templates, … We started doing that last year and are now gradually expanding by training our design and procurement team at the Sustainable Fashion Academy.”

CFO Devedeleer himself is mainly involved in the strategic process for a more sustainable company. “Our team mainly comes in to support reporting and setting the right KPIs,” he says. “As CFO, I then have to intervene myself in the balancing act between planet, people, and profit. Sometimes you also have to push choices if our result cannot support certain ambitions. Of course we want to be as sustainable as possible, and we might ask ourselves questions about the production of our clothing abroad… But in terms of cost efficiency alone, there is no doubt about that. Let alone the knowledge that has been acquired and the specialization, as well as the supply of raw materials. You would have to map out the entire chain again. In addition, you are sometimes forced to follow certain flows because of tax issues or customs problems. In addition, of course, I have to ensure that resources are freed up, because this process does have a certain cost. An additional cost. You have to be able and dare to set up this exercise as an organization. Do you charge everything to the customer if you only want environmentally friendly fabrics? And how do we finance all of this? Ultimately, this is a classic exercise that simply belongs to our role…”

“When we choose not to participate in actions like Black Friday but resolutely and permanently opt for Green Friday (counter-movement to the shopping frenzy on Black Friday, and an action against overconsumption and impact on the environment, ed.), this has a financial backlash. Nevertheless, we see this as a very positive story that we are very consciously choosing. This is an example where we are not just looking from financial criteria, but clearly throwing sustainability in the mix…”

“Daring to question the system”

Wynants is very clear about the usual suspect in sustainability, ecology,. “For sustainable fashion, we actually have to question the whole system. About a third of the ecological impact of a garment lies with the consumers. We have to systematically extend the life span so that we can get out of the fast fashion system. Sustainability is more than ecology. If you buy a T-shirt made of organic cotton and only wear it three times before you throw it away, wouldn’t you have been better off buying a non-biocotton one that you put on many times? We also see a role for ourselves as a brand there. We need to get our customers on board with this way of thinking. To raise awareness, we fall back on a Repair & Care program to give people tips on maintenance, on washing and ironing the article, but also, for example, if there is a hole in the clothing to have it adjusted. Xandres is also one of the few brands where you have a lifetime free repair. That too has come from the DNA of the company: we stand for quality and longevity and we want to go the extra mile in that.”

Devedeleer: “That’s a pure cost but of course we don’t leave it at that. It is important to make the most of the life cycle of a piece. In our flagship store in Antwerp, we are also currently testing an application where our saleswomen can see the clothing history of consumers and help them choose an article. If there are combination possibilities with an article that is already hanging in the consumer’s closet, we want to give that advice. In this way, we go against pure consumption but also contribute to extending the life cycle of a garment.”

Finally, Xandres is also deliberately entering into partnerships to bring more sustainable clothing into stores. “We believe in collaborations and so we seek them on different levels,” Wynants explains. “We have been in the Close-The-Loop network of Flanders Circular & Flanders DC since 2018, where we collaborate with other Belgian SMEs in the field of sustainability. We get inspired by companies who, for example, started their entrepreneurial story from a principle of circular economy. In this way, we also hope to have a further impact and to inspire others because, to be clear, we are not an eco-brand. However, that does not mean that we cannot do better year after year. For example, we set concrete goals in terms of increasing the use of materials with a lower environmental impact and set up collabs that we can learn from. For example, we currently have a collaboration with Raramuri, a Belgian sandal brand that has started to work with our residual materials and has them developed into new products in social employment workshops. Not only do we learn from this, we also give a small, unknown brand the opportunity to appeal to our target group and gain exposure for it. In this way, we are also trying to have an impact.”