Sustainability and transparency have become all the more relevant in the new normal. As far as responsible fashion brands are concerned, they are more aware in this regard and are taking most of the necessary steps to be sustainable. And the Spanish brand Mango is no different.

With the turnover of €2.32 billion in 2019 and 2,200 stores in 109 countries, the 36-year-old Barcelona-based Mango recently disclosed a list of level 1 (Tier-1) factories that have produced for the company during 2020. The brand offers apparels for women, men, girls, boys and plus size. As far as its overall supplier base is concerned, Asia (China, India, Vietnam and Bangladesh) dominates with 67 per cent of the total, Europe contributes 21.8 per cent (with 196 units) and Africa accounts for 9.12 per cent (75 facilities).

As per this list, in India, Mango works with 77 factories (including fashion, footwear and accessories) which is 9.37 per cent of its total Tier-1 suppliers. It is higher than Vietnam as well as Bangladesh as the brand is associated with 72 Vietnamese factories (8.76 per cent) and 61 Bangladeshi factories (7.42 per cent), but India is far behind compared to Turkey as 152 Turkish units (18.49 per cent) work with Mango.

The sourcing base of the company is spread across India. The brand mainly sources from three factories of Arvind Ltd. (Bengaluru), CR Garments and Ahill Knit Exports, Tirupur; Dhana Textiles, Erode; Alpha Overseas, Calcutta; Cheer Sagar Exports, Jaipur; Opera Clothing, Daman; Rishita Fashions, Vapi; Sahu Exports, San International, Concept Clothing, Dhruv Globals, Trend Setters International and Dimple Creations from Delhi-NCR. Majority of these factories have less than 1,000 workers.

India is also important for the brand, as it has 12 franchise points of sale in the country which is higher than many countries.

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Sharing their experience of working with Mango, some exporters claimed that over the last few years, there has been stagnation and even reduction in the sourcing basket from India. Many of them strongly felt that being a design-driven brand, the role of designers, especially exporters’ ‘understanding’ with senior designers or design heads is very important, and where the orders are placed is often decided by these relationships. Further, the kids’ business has become very price-driven and the overall order size of the brand, especially its plus-size segment (Violeta brand) has also reduced considerably.

A leading exporter of Delhi-NCR who has been working with Mango for many years shared on the condition of anonymity, “We are still sampling in large quantities for Mango, as our PD skills are very good, but orders are being placed elsewhere.” All suppliers unanimously agree that Mango is extremely concerned about the suppliers’ CSR and sustainable initiatives.

It is pertinent to mention here that the brand itself is also involved in some interesting CSR and sustainable initiatives. In Andhra Pradesh, a project of the generation of river hydroelectric energy involves the phased installation of six river hydroelectric power units, each with a capacity of 39 MW. These power units are installed along the Krishna River near the town of Revulapally (Mahbubnagar, Andhra Pradesh). The energy generated by the plant will be exported to the national grid, thus reducing the dependence on fossil fuel power plants. The plant will have a total installed capacity of 234 MW.

The brand is actively involved in training and empowerment of women as it also participates in the amfori Women’s Empowerment Programme, which offers training to women in India as well as Bangladesh. The brand continues in the third phase of the project of a production and training centre in textile crafts for 80 disabled women in Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh). Vicente Ferrer Foundation is also associated with this initiative. Similarly, in collaboration with Vita Mundi Foundation, Mango involved in a food programme aimed at people who live in a slum area of Ganeshnagar (Mumbai).

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