New Look employees will be given the chance to sponsor seaweed cultivation after the fashion retailer struck a green deal with startup Carbon Kapture.
The startup, which aims to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, has developed a business model allowing both individuals and businesses to sponsor seaweed grown on ropes to absorb carbon dioxide directly from the sea.
Carbon Kapture then converts the seaweed into biochar, a stable form of carbon that is used to enrich soil and reduces the need for fertiliser.
Its tie-up with New Look will see the retailer take proactive steps by investing in the startup’s Hope on a Rope initiative, allowing its employees and the company at large to directly sponsor seaweed cultivation.
This project offers New Look staff a personal stake in sustainability, allowing them to sponsor seaweed on a per metre basis.
The biochar produced from this seaweed is donated to local farmers, promoting sustainable agricultural practices and this direct involvement links their contributions to tangible environmental impacts – notably supporting faster carbon sequestration compared to traditional tree planting.
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Sue Fairley, New Look’s head of sustainability, said: “When we first heard about Carbon Kapture we were excited by the opportunity to get involved with a company operating close to our Dorset Support Centre, and our Letterkenny store close to Mulroy Bay.
“As well as supporting Carbon Kapture, we are using the seaweed to illustrate what we need to achieve across our wider business operations. We recognise that meeting our Science Based Targets will require us to widen the decarbonisation activities of our entire value chain.
“We love the multi-faceted impacts of Carbon Kapture’s initiative which align beautifully with our sustainability goals: removing and trapping tonnes of carbon, improving biodiversity and soil health as well as creating employment opportunities and supporting local communities.”
Last month, New Look received approval from the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) on its emissions targets, all aligned to a 1.5C pathway.
