At Rusta, we take our sustainability work very seriously. As a leading player in our industry, we want to be a role model in many areas. Sustainability is among the most important.
Rusta is committed to its long-term goal of being the most sustainable brand within our sector. Rusta aims to achieve its goal by having a structured and target-based approach to its sustainability work and therefore bases its sustainability strategy on four key areas of sustainability, Products, Social, Environment and Economic, where Rusta aims to create long-term improvement.
Products
Rusta offers safe, durable, and fully functional products of good quality while ensuring low prices. Rusta aims to increase the sustainability of its product range and customer offerings by actively working to maintain and enhance the quality of its product assortment by designing durable products that last longer, can be repaired, reused, and recycled—while also reducing the proportion of products returned by customers due to defects.
Between 2012 and 2024, the share of products returned by customers due to defects were reduced from 0.37 percent to 0.05 percent, a clear indicator that our sustainability and quality efforts are generating results. In addition, Rusta employs a Supplier Quality Evaluation tool on the scale poor, average, good and high, to assess and rate the suppliers’ quality systems, and to motivate and encourage the suppliers to pursue further progress in their production quality efforts. The share of suppliers rated as good or higher was 74 percent by the end of the financial year 2023/24. Rusta aims to increase the share of suppliers rated as good/higher to 80 percent.
Social
Rusta has developed an external code of conduct, which incorporates the ten principles of the UN Global Compact, to assist the company in meeting its responsibilities in relation to, among other things, human rights and working conditions. The code of conduct sets out eight principles to which a Rusta supplier must adhere in order to be used as a supplier by Rusta and since 2008, all suppliers of Rusta’s private label products must annually sign the code of conduct. The eight principles are:
- Critical health and safety risks must be prevented
- No child labour
- Voluntary labour only
- Critical environmental hazards must be prevented
- Good business ethics shall be practiced
- All employees have an employment contract
- Wage equal to or exceeding the statutory minimum level
- Access to fresh drinking water and toilets
In addition to the basic minimum requirements, Rusta’s external Code of Conduct further contains a number of requirements that the supplier should comply with. These requirements include good working conditions, health and safety regulations, business ethics and environmental regulations, as well as protection of animals and endangered species. Suppliers are rated based on how well they comply with the external Code of Conduct.
Environment
Rusta develops its products with environmental sustainability in mind and is committed to care for the planet. Rusta works together with its suppliers to continuously improve its environmental performance and the environmental performance of all potential suppliers of Rusta are screened and evaluated before the suppliers are approved to produce products for Rusta. In addition to Rusta’s non-negotiable requirement that all critical environmental hazards are eliminated or handled in a sustainable manner, Rusta rates its suppliers based on the following areas: Wastewater, electricity consumption, direct fuel consumption, waste management and emissions to air (non-greenhouse gases) on the scale poor, average, good and high. The share of suppliers rated as good or higher was 52 percent by the end of the financial year 2023/24. Through its work with its suppliers, Rusta aims to increase the share of suppliers rated as good/higher to 55 percent.
Rusta aims to only use raw materials that are legally extracted as well as certified and non-harmful chemicals in its products. Additionally, Rusta also works to promote recycling and discloses the share of recycled materials in all of its private label products, both with respect to the products themselves and the product packaging. During the financial year 2023/24, 11 percent of the polyester assortment that came from China was made from recycled polyester, and 96 percent consisted of so-called more sustainable cotton (Better cotton, organic or recycled cotton). By the financial year 2024/25, Rusta aims to ensure that 100 percent of the cotton it purchases will consist of so-called more sustainable cotton.
Economic
By having a structured approach to its sustainability work, Rusta’s key strategic areas Products, Social, Environment and Economic together pave the way for a sustainable business, which offers Rusta’s customers value for money while enabling Rusta to see past short-term profits to reach long-term sustainability objectives and to grow its business with partners and suppliers that prioritise sustainability, thus also enabling an economically sustainable business.
Read our latest sustainbility report here.