UK Fashion Retailers ASOS, Boohoo to Clarify Green Credentials Claims, Says Regulator 

New employees wait in the lobby on their first day of work at the ASOS headquarters in London April 1, 2014. (Reuters)
New employees wait in the lobby on their first day of work at the ASOS headquarters in London April 1, 2014. (Reuters)
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UK Fashion Retailers ASOS, Boohoo to Clarify Green Credentials Claims, Says Regulator 

New employees wait in the lobby on their first day of work at the ASOS headquarters in London April 1, 2014. (Reuters)
New employees wait in the lobby on their first day of work at the ASOS headquarters in London April 1, 2014. (Reuters)

Top fashion retailers ASOS, Boohoo and George at Asda have signed undertakings to clarify the way they display, describe and promote their environmental credentials, Britain's competition watchdog said on Wednesday.

The announcement follows a 2022 investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) amid heightened scrutiny of companies exaggerating their green credentials in an attempt to woo climate-conscious consumers as well as billions of dollars from environmentally focused investor funds.

Some of the undertakings include making clear statements about materials used in green ranges such as "organic" or "recycled" instead of "eco" or "sustainable" and setting out clear criteria to decide which products are part of the environmental collections, the CMA said.

The three brands together make over 4.4 billion pounds ($5.56 billion) annually from UK fashion sales alone, according to the regulator.



Hermes 2Q Sales Rise 13% on Continued Appetite for High-End Luxury

People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
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Hermes 2Q Sales Rise 13% on Continued Appetite for High-End Luxury

People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)

Birkin-bag maker Hermes reported a 13% rise in second-quarter sales on Thursday, demonstrating the continued appetite from wealthy shoppers for its luxury handbags, even as less affluent consumers pull back.

Sales at the French luxury group grew to 3.7 billion euros ($4.02 billion), a 13% organic sales rise that strips out currency fluctuations. The figure was in line with analyst expectations, according to a Visible Alpha consensus.

Operating profit for the first half was 3.1 billion euros, compared to a forecast from consensus provider Visible Alpha for 3.2 billion.

One of the most steady performers in the luxury goods sector -- even as economic conditions worsen -- the French group's results stand out after a string of disappointing earnings updates from peers which have raised investor concern about uncertain prospects for the sector in the coming months.

Hermes' famously classic designs and tight management of production and stock have helped reinforce the label's aura of exclusivity, and CEO Axel Dumas told reporters the company had seen "no big interruption in trends".

However, he said Hermes was seeing slightly less traffic with aspirational clients, which was impacting higher volume products like fashion accessories.