The exhibition reflects Grand Arcade’s ongoing commitment to curating memorable visitor experiences that prioritise environmental responsibility and interactive learning opportunities for shoppers. Partnering with the University Museum of Zoology, which Grand Arcade collaborated with back in 2024 to create ‘Grand Safari’, the exhibition will also offer free educational activities for children and families to promote marine conservation, alongside talks from renowned zoologists at the University of Cambridge, redefining the exhibition experience through interactive, educational storytelling.

Grand Depths is prioritising sustainable practices and bespoke artistry throughout the exhibition. All paper sourced for Grand Depths is FSC-certified, meaning that it has been procured from ethical and responsibly managed forests. To create the installations, six artists have devoted over 800 hours of craftmanship to the project, using techniques such as paper and cut, origami, and low poly to mirror the movement of ocean wildlife and to draw attention to the fragility of our marine ecosystems.

Areas of the exhibition include the central piece, Ocean in Motion, which will consist of 500 handmade origami fish made of 100% recycled paper to transform the atrium of Grand Arcade into an underwater experience, along with coral reefs, suspended jelly fish, sea horses, a large-scale octopus, and a shark.

Julie Kervadec, Marketing Manager at Grand Arcade said: “At Grand Arcade, we are committed to creating innovative visitor experiences that continue to redefine what is possible in the retail sector. We are delighted to be curating this installation with our returning partners at the University Museum of Zoology to take visitors on an inspirational learning journey throughout the shopping centre and over to the Museum just a stone’s throw away.

Grand Depths not only celebrates the beauty and importance of our oceans while highlighting the urgent need to protect them but also reflects our dedication to sustainability at every stage of the exhibition process. From the materials selected to the practices employed throughout its development, we want to demonstrate that world-class retail and experiential marketing can be both environmentally responsible and commercially impactful. We are beyond excited to launch our latest exhibition on the 18^th of July.”

Professor Mark Brown, Director of the University Museum of Zoology said: “Now more than ever, it is vital that we protect the health of our oceans and the incredible biodiversity they support. Retail has an important role to play in driving environmental awareness and demonstrating how sustainability can be embedded into everyday experiences. Through this captivating exhibition, we hope to inspire visitors to connect with the natural world, understand the importance of marine conservation, and recognise that collective action is essential to preserving these extraordinary environments for future generations.”

To find out more about Grand Depths, visit: https://www.grandarcade.co.uk/events/grand-depths/

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Supermarket clothing is emerging as one of the biggest winners of the cost-of-living era, with new research revealing that consumers trust grocery retailers more than traditional clothing brands when it comes to ethics, sustainability and value.

38 percent of UK shoppers are buying more clothing from supermarkets than they were two years ago, compared with just 18 percent who are buying less. A huge 81 percent said that they think supermarket brands are more acceptable and stylish and almost two thirds (63 percent) have a more positive perception of supermarket ranges than they used to.

The new consumer research from product intelligence business, Vypr, is timely as summer is the most popular supermarket clothing season with shoppers. 59 percent said supermarkets offer their best clothing collections then. More than half (56 percent) buy the most for summer holidays, compared with 25 percent who buy most at Christmas.

Despite its low prices, supermarket clothing appears to have avoided the fast-fashion stigma associated with many clothing retailers.

While 38 percent of consumers have actively avoided a retailer due to ethical worries, only 8 percent express strong ethical concerns about supermarket clothing specifically

More than a third (35 percent) of consumers have stopped shopping with retailers due to sustainability issues, compared with just 6 percent who have strong concerns about supermarket fashion ranges.

Ben Davies, founder of Vypr, said: “Despite high profile scrutiny of fashion supply chains, supermarket clothing appears to benefit from long-standing brand trust, with shoppers viewing it as a practical, good-value alternative rather than part of the disposable fashion problem.

Quality perceptions have also shifted with 63 percent having improved opinions. Of those, 33 percent say supermarket clothing has improved in quality, while 19 percent say it has become more stylish. As a result, stigma around supermarket fashion has all but disappeared as 41 percent of shoppers say they are proud of their purchases, and a further 40 percent would openly say their outfit came from a supermarket.”

Value remains the dominant driver. 80 percent of shoppers say price matters more than brand, with more than a third (36 percent) saying it matters much more. Convenience is also a major factor, with 76 percent prioritising ease over brand name.

This combination has helped supermarkets grow share: 45 percent of shoppers now buy the same amount of supermarket clothing as two years ago, 38 percent buy more, and only 9 percent buy less, showing the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on clothing.

Sainsbury’s leads the category, with 34 percent naming Tu as their favourite supermarket fashion range, followed by F&F (32 percent) and George (25 percent). Sainsbury’s is also the retailer shoppers trust most to launch a designer collaboration, with 42 percent selecting it, ahead of Tesco (31 percent) and Asda (19 percent).

Image courtesy of Unsplash. Photo credit: charlesdeluvio.

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Westfield Stratford City has partnered with Shelter to launch ‘Reloved Market’, a four-day retail activation designed to demonstrate how physical retail can drive both commercial performance and social impact during key seasonal moments.

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The award recognises the company’s outstanding and whole-business commitment to sustainable development: a principle that has guided every product, ingredient, supplier and operational decision since founder Emma Heathcote-James began hand-crafting soaps in her Cotswold cottage in 2008.

Emma’s founding ambition was simple but radical. It was to make pure, natural soap, free from synthetic ingredients, hidden chemicals and plastic excess, genuinely accessible to everyday consumers, at everyday prices. At a time when organic and natural soap simply wasn’t available on supermarket shelves, Little Soap Company became the first organic soap to reach mainstream UK retail, setting a new category standard that the industry has been scrambling to follow ever since.

Today, the company’s ranges, Organics, Naturals, Eco Warrior and Little Beast, are stocked by Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Boots and all the online giants. Little Soap Company is now a multi-million-pound UK business, selling one bar every 30 seconds, demonstrating that sustainability can drive commercial growth.

Unlike many businesses for which sustainability has become a recent strategic pivot, Little Soap Company was built around it. The company has been B Corp certified since 2020, one of only three UK soap manufacturers to hold the certification, and was recertified in 2023 with an improved score of 90.7. It has been declared carbon negative by Carbon Neutral Britain for three consecutive years (2022, 2023 and 2024), offsetting more than double its entire Scope 1–3 emissions.

Every product the company manufactures is plant-based, vegan certified, cruelty-free and made in Britain. Packaging across the range is 100 percent recycled and recyclable, using FSC-certified cardboard and 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic where bottles are used. Fragrance comes exclusively from pure essential oils, with no synthetic additives.

Little Soap Company is not just selling soap, they are removing plastic from our bathrooms. The company’s Eco Warrior range alone has avoided over 22.5 million plastic bottles to date from the supply chain, and saved more than 20 million litres of water in consumer use. Each soap bar lasts up to six times longer than a liquid equivalent and can replace four to five plastic bottles.

The company’s liquid soap ranges, which represent just 3% of its product portfolio, are made exclusively with Prevented Ocean Plastic certified bottles and are positioned as a transition product to gradually encourage consumers to switch to bars. A 2030 Zero-Plastic plan is in place to eliminate plastic from the supply chain entirely.

What sets Little Soap Company apart is not just what it makes, but how it operates. Its supply chain is UK-based and audited annually against strict ESG standards. Suppliers must hold BRC, RSPO and SEDEX certifications as a minimum, and be aligned to the Living Wage. The company has ended relationships with suppliers who failed to meet its ethical standards, and has declined significant commercial opportunities – including requests from major retailers to launch refill pouches – where these would increase, rather than reduce, consumer waste. This reinforces its position against greenwashing and short-term sustainability claims.

It has commissioned independent consumer research confirming that 82% of its customers have reduced their bathroom plastic use since switching to Little Soap Company products, 63% have switched from liquid soap to bars, and 65 percent say the brand has influenced more sustainable purchasing decisions across other product categories too. At Little Soap Company, they believe the most sustainable products aren’t defined by packaging and ingredients alone, but by their ability to change behaviour.

Emma Heathcote-James, founder and CEO of Little Soap Company, says: “As a British business supporting UK manufacturing, jobs and communities, receiving a King’s Award for Enterprise is a real honour, especially following our Queen’s Award for Innovation in 2022. We are incredibly proud of our team; their dedication and passion have taken my idea from a kitchen table start-up to a nationally recognised brand leading the way in sustainable soap, proving that sustainability doesn’t have to mean compromising on quality and can be accessible for every budget. Sustainability isn’t just about the products, but the team too. It’s embedded in how we work, how we hire, and how we make decisions every day. This award shows that a small UK business can drive large-scale environmental change through everyday products.

Our mission doesn’t stop here. This award strengthens our commitment to educating consumers and driving positive change across the whole industry.”

This King’s Award for Sustainable Development follows the company’s 2022 Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Innovation, which recognised the launch and impact of the Eco Warrior range specifically. This year’s award is a recognition of the entire business including its culture, its governance, its supply chain, its people and its commercial model.

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Specsavers has announced that it is funding a full national roll-out of its successful recycling boxes across all of its UK stores, offering customers the chance to responsibly manage their unwanted glasses, case and contact lens packaging.

The boxes are provided in partnership with MyGroup, a recycling and waste management company that allows hard-to-recycle plastic that would otherwise end up in landfill to be separated, sorted and recycled. It then transforms the recycled materials into useful products, such as joinery boards and furniture.

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Primark marks the next step in its ambition towards becoming a more circular business with the launch of its updated Circular Product Standard 2.0. First launched in 2023, it sets out Primark’s approach to embedding and scaling circular design in its products, inspired by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation vision for a circular economy for fashion.

Informed by three years of learning, testing and collaboration, the revised framework provides a clear and practical approach to circular design for Primark and its suppliers. It defines what Primark means by a circular by design, including:

• Durability: Designed in line with its Durability Framework so clothes can be loved for longer.
• Materials: Made with recycled or more sustainably sourced fibres.
• Recyclability: Designed to be recycled at the end of its life.

Since its initial launch, circular design guidelines have been developed for nine key product areas, including denim, jersey, knitwear, nightwear, shirts, skirts, blouses, dresses and leisurewear.

5 percent of all clothing units sold at Primark during 2024/2005 financial year were circular by design. Within key categories, this increased to 20 percent of jersey and 8 percent of denim. In Circular Product Standard 2.0, Primark has focused on solutions that are practical, achievable, and scalable. The approach has been simplified to help Product Teams embed circular design into everyday decisions. This includes making small but meaningful changes, such as reducing the depth of elasticated waistbands or removing non‑functional metal elements like rivets. A new ‘Progressive’ design level has also been introduced, setting clearer expectations for more advanced design by raising requirements around materials, durability and recyclability, including the use of post‑consumer recycled textiles. Primark has also identified more recyclable printing techniques to help improve recyclability.

Primark continues to build a better understanding in circular design with relevant teams through training developed with the partners such as the Circular Textiles Foundation. Any buyer joining Primark is offered training on circular design.

Nicholas Lambert, Head of Circularity and Materials at Primark commented:

‘As we relaunch and update our Circular Product Standard, we do so with the benefit of having learned a lot over the past three years. We know that we haven’t solved every challenge or answered every question – far from it. Instead, we hope this updated approach reflects our commitment to learn and continue to achieve progress (not perfection) in collaboration with our partners, suppliers, and colleagues. We continue to firmly believe that circular fashion should be affordable for all. We hope that this updated Circular Product Standard 2.0 will support that ambition.’

Primark is currently reviewing its wider sustainability strategy to focus on where it can have the greatest impact, in line with evolving regulations and customer expectations. Circularity remains central to this approach and will continue to be a key focus for the business.

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As part of this trial, customers will be able to recycle leftover paint and tins at participating stores. Returned paint and tins will be transported to specialist facilities where it will be assessed for reuse, remanufacture or recycling into alternative products, while items that aren’t suitable, will be safely disposed of in a responsible way. This trial phase will help evaluate the practicalities of creating a functioning circular economy for decorative paint and packaging in the UK, which is central to PaintCare’s long term ambition to increase reuse, recycling and remanufacture rates to 75 percent by 2032 (from 2 percent in 2021).

The PaintCare trial will operate in the following B&Q stores:

1. B&Q Coventry, Alvis Retail Park, Holyhead Road, Coventry, CV5 8BW

2. B&Q Coventry Brandon Road, Binley Woods, Coventry, CV3 2JD

3. B&Q Halesowen, Mucklow Hill, Halesowen, B62 8EP

4. B&Q Kidderminster, Green Street, Kidderminster, DY10 1AX

5. B&Q Solihull, Chalford Way, Solihull Retail Park, Marshall Lake Road, B90 4RB

6. B&Q Wolverhampton, Spring Vale Business Park, Black Country Route, WV14 0QL

7. B&Q Wednesbury, Axletree Way and Park Lane, Gallagher Retail Park, WS10 9QY

It will also operate across other participating retailers, including Brewers Decorator Centres, Dulux Decorator Centres and Johnstone’s Decorating Centres. Together with B&Q, their support will help test how a broader circular-economy system for leftover decorative paint and packaging could operate in practice at national scale.

Samantha Dyer, Head of Responsible Business at B&Q, said: “We are pleased to participate in this early stage PaintCare trial and proud to support the British Coatings Federation in concept-testing a national, industrywide approach to managing leftover paint. By giving customers and trade professionals an easy and convenient way to return leftover paint and empty tins, we are helping them make more responsible choices without adding extra steps to their projects. We want sustainable disposal to feel completely effortless, supporting the development of a more circular approach to DIY waste and helping keep valuable materials in circulation for longer.”

Dr Steve Snaith, Director of PaintCare Ltd, said: “Every year, millions of litres of leftover paint are lost to landfill and incineration in the UK. The PaintCare trials will help us understand how best to collect, remanufacture and recycle this valuable material and support a more circular future for decorative paint, and the support from B&Q and other leading retailers is key to us developing a model we can scale up and create an accessible national scheme, to help us achieve our ambition to increase reuse, recycling and remanufacture rates to 75 percent by 2032.”

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More than 50 new Proace City EV compact vans are entering service, with the investment supporting more rural communities where courier services tend to be limited or unavailable, while reducing emissions and lowering impacts on the climate.

Toyota is an established partner of Co-op’s Quick Commerce rapid delivery operation, with this latest vehicle acquisition programme extending the relationship.

Co-op has a clear goal of growing its online business. It has grown its online operation at pace with more than 86 percent of the UK population now having access to Co-op groceries online through either Co-op’s own online shop – shop.coop.co.uk or, its strategic partners.

Anthony Molloy, Co-op Quick Commerce Delivery and Technology Manager, said: “We continually explore new and better ways in which we can enhance reliability, extend our reach and better serve our members, customers and communities. This investment helps us to achieve that, and is another step toward reducing emissions from our fleet and lowering our impact on the climate – we are delighted to take delivery of our new fleet of electric home delivery vehicles”

Neil Broad, General Manager One Toyota Fleet Services, said: “Our Proace City vans are proving the ide al solution for Co-op in its drive to provide prompt, reliable and efficient delivery services to its millions of customers nationwide while at the same time making a sustainable contribution towards achieving carbon reduction and net zero goals. The Proace City is a key model in our comprehensive Toyota Professional light commercial range, with our multipath technology approach ensuring there are powertrain options to meet different business needs and priorities.”

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Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) and Ingka Centres have announced the launch of the Sustainable Retail Index (SRI) Association, an independent organisation that will establish a recognised common standard for measuring and improving sustainability across retail real estate portfolios. The association will equip retail landlords with comprehensive insights on tenant sustainability performance to drive measurable progress.

The SRI Association will create a coalition of real estate stakeholders to advance transparency and shared accountability in sustainability. By promoting the adoption of the Sustainable Retail Index as an industry standard, the association aims to accelerate meaningful engagement between landlords and retailers on sustainable practices.

Vasco Santos, Global Director of Leasing, Ingka Centres, said: “The Sustainable Retail Index is a valuable tool in strengthening how we curate and future-proof our tenant mix across our meeting places. It enables us to better understand and support brands that are contributing to more sustainable and responsible lifestyles – an increasingly important priority for both our visitors and our partners.

In implementing this initiative, our focus is on working closely with retailers to enhance transparency, encourage continuous progress and create commercially strong, sustainable destinations. Together with URW and Good On You, we’re taking an important step toward shaping retail environments that deliver long-term value for businesses, communities and the planet.”

Sylvain Montcouquiol, Chief Resources and Sustainability Officer, URW, added: “We are delighted to partner with Ingka Centres as co-founding members of the Sustainable Retail Index Association. The Sustainable Retail Index has allowed us to measure the sustainability commitment and progress of our retailers and engage with them on a tangible and analytical basis to support their sustainable ambitions. We are proud to work with Ingka Centres, Sonae Sierra and other landlords to increase adoption of the Sustainable Retail Index, improve transparency, and engage brands and retailers to transform our industry.”

Alongside URW and Ingka Centres, Sonae Sierra will join the Association, demonstrating its sustainability leadership and shared commitment to leveraging the unique influence retail landlords have to engage tenants and drive critical change.

The Sustainable Retail Index is a collaborative assessment tool designed to help landlords and retailers better understand and improve sustainability commitments and performance across company, product and operational levels. URW began implementing the index in 2023, and it now covers more than 73 percent of eligible revenues across URW’s portfolio of shopping centres. Beyond informing business decisions, the index supports more transparent dialogue with retailers, helps identify shared opportunities for improvement and strengthens engagement with consumers around more sustainable choices.

Ingka Centres, with a long-standing commitment to mapping and improving the sustainability impact of its portfolio, has now deployed the SRI across its 38 meeting places in 15 markets.

Good On You, a globally recognised ratings platform widely used across the industry, is the lead data partner of the SRI, bringing deep expertise in sustainability assessments across retail supply chains. Its independent data makes up 75 percent of the calculation, bringing together publicly available information leveraging 1,000 datapoints for each brand across key social and environmental issues, while the remaining 25 percent utilises third-party audits of store-level practices.

Sandra Capponi, co-founder, Good On You, commented: “We’re proud to partner with the SRI Association and support retail industry leaders to enable better decision-making and wider engagement on urgent challenges. We can’t accelerate the shift towards more responsible and sustainable practices in retail without transparency. That’s why Good On You has leveraged our value chain expertise and ratings data to help establish a shared industry standard that guides brand action, consumer choices and systemic change across the retail ecosystem.”

The SRI Association also benefits from the technical and critical expertise of WWF France on the methodology of the SRI and its future developments[1]. In addition, WWF France acts as a civil society representative and monitors the results of the Sustainable Retail Index.

More information on the SRI Association is available at www.sriassociation.org; interested stakeholders can reach out via the website for more information on joining.

^[1]WWF France contributes its critical expertise to strengthen the transparency and methodological rigor of the SRI, without certifying the performance of assessed retailers or assets.

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