Better Health for All
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Zalando offers extensive mental health support, including an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Internal Employee Assistance Service (EAS) for psychosocial counseling, an online partner platform (BetterHelp), and trained Mental Health First Aiders
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. It also has a Mental Wellbeing Community ERG
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, runs Health Days covering mental health topics
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, and provides leadership training on supporting team well-being
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. Externally, Zalando supported online psychological support
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and provided €1.8 million to the Red Cross for local mental health support in eight markets
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. The company demonstrates excellent data practices with comprehensive privacy protections, including internal Privacy Principles
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, a public Privacy Notice
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, a Privacy portal
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, and a Cookie Consent banner
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. It collects health-related data during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as through a COVID-19 hotline
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and thermal cameras
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. Zalando provides health and well-being training to 3,904 people across four factories in Bangladesh, with 96% of participants finding it helpful
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. As an online fashion retailer, Zalando's principal goods and services are generally health-neutral, and its products do not carry health risks or have addiction potential. The company does not operate in pharmaceuticals, food, or clinical trials.
Fair Money & Economic Opportunity
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Zalando SE, an online fashion retailer, contributed €9.52 billion in gross value added (GVA) to the European economy in 2023
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and supported approximately 113,000 jobs
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. However, the company does not directly engage in financial services such as lending or microfinancing. As a result, Zalando does not offer consumer credit products, manage customer finance data, or operate financial service access points, which limits its direct involvement in promoting fair money and economic opportunity as defined by the rubric's focus on financial institutions.
Fair Pay & Worker Respect
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In 2023, Zalando opened 40 investigations into alleged ethical standard violations in its supply chain
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, with 9 cases substantiated (7 remediated and 2 leading to business relationship termination)
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. The company reported a wage gap below 1% between women and men in comparable roles
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. In 2023, 9.8% of the workforce was on temporary contracts
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. The voluntary employee turnover rate was 15.1% in 2023
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.
Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
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Direct suppliers and all business partners are required to agree to Zalando's Code of Conduct as a mandatory element of contracts
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. The company has launched a Code of Conduct tracking mechanism
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and plans to integrate control mechanisms into annual risk assessments
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, aiming for alignment by the end of 2023
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. Private label Tier 1 suppliers are required to provide annual audits
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, and all direct suppliers are assessed annually on human rights risks
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.
Honest & Fair Business
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Zalando's score on the Fashion Transparency Index declined to 40 in 2023 from 45 in 2021
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, reflecting struggles in maintaining detailed disclosures about suppliers, policies, procedures, governance, and environmental goals. In February 2024, the company agreed to modify its sustainability claims by April 2024
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, addressing accusations from the European Commission of providing misleading information
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. This includes ensuring all claims are verifiable and removing misleading icons
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. Zalando's comprehensive Code of Conduct, updated in 2021
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, covers human rights, environmental protection, and ethical business practices
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, with compliance required by the end of 2023
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. Additionally, a 'Compliance AmbaZadors' initiative was launched in early 2022
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to embed compliance topics locally across various sites
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.
Kind to Animals
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Zalando prohibits animal testing for all cosmetics and beauty products sold on its platform, in accordance with the EU ban effective March 11, 2013
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, resulting in zero animals used for testing in this category since that date. The company's Animal Welfare Policy also lists principles for business partners supplying animal-derived materials.
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For its private labels, Zalando's business became certified to the Responsible Down Standard in 2018
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and the Responsible Animal Fibre Standards in 2020
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, which include Responsible Wool Standard and Responsible Mohair Standard. Zalando prohibits wool from mulesed animals, live-plucked feathers, and feathers from foie-gras production.
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It also forbids products made from wild animals, endangered species, or those killed solely for fashion
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, and requires animal-derived materials to come from domesticated farmed species not killed solely for fashion.
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By 2023, Zalando committed to sourcing 100% certified mulesing-free wool for its own brands.
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For animal-derived inputs, 46.4% of animal-derived fibers in apparel and soft accessories are responsible animal-derived fibers.
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No War, No Weapons
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Zalando SE, an online fashion and lifestyle retailer, has no documented connections to military contracts, arms manufacturing, or the military-industrial complex, with its operations focused entirely on consumer goods.
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This indicates zero revenue from arms or defense activities, no exposure to any weapons, including controversial ones, and no defense-related assets to divest.
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Consequently, no weapons-related ethical red lines are needed for its business model, and there is no applicable compliance rate for such red lines. In terms of peacebuilding, Zalando donated EUR 100,000 in-kind and spent EUR 75,000 from its disaster relief fund in 2019 for humanitarian aid.
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In March 2022, the company pledged €1 million to humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine and matched employee donations.
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These contributions represent a very small proportion of its revenue. For procurement, Zalando has a Code of Conduct, Sustainable Sourcing Policy, and Human Rights Strategy.
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It conducts human rights due diligence within its supply chain, evaluating 213 audit reports from private label suppliers in 2023.
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In 2019, compliance with social standards was reviewed twice a year for all Zalando logistics sites by an external auditor, with an average result of 1.64 (on a scale of 1-4).
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The company rejected 14 factories due to non-compliance in 2019.
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Planet-Friendly Business
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In 2024, Zalando's total Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions were 8,075,920.2 tCO₂e.
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The company's science-based targets, validated by the SBTi in May 2025, include near-term goals to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 55% and Scope 3 emissions by 33% by 2033 from a 2022 base year, and are aligned with a 1.5°C pathway.
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Zalando aims for net-zero emissions by 2040 for its own operations and private labels, and by 2050 for the entire value chain, with these interim targets.
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As of 2026, 90% of its global energy needs are powered by renewable energy.
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In 2024, 70.5% of suppliers within the scope of the target have set science-based targets.
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For packaging materials, 82% of the 52,000 metric tons used in 2023 were recycled.
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The company has published its third report in alignment with TCFD recommendations and provides TCFD indices.
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Respect for Cultures & Communities
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Zalando is connected to suppliers linked to the destruction of valuable Swedish forests, which harms the Sámi people, Europe's only recognized Indigenous People.
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However, Zalando has a framework for responding to cultural incidents related to products.
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This includes explicitly prohibiting cultural appropriation, conducting ongoing compliance checks, and implementing product removal and partner action plans for violations.
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The company also holds D&I Fashion Series sessions to proactively discuss and avoid cultural appropriation in design.
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Safe & Smart Tech
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Zalando partially complied with 5 of 71 applicable Digital Services Act (DSA) requirements during an audit from August 2023 to April 2024, resulting in negative conclusions for transparency reporting and notice and action mechanisms.
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Despite this, the company demonstrates strong commitment to ethical AI, with an Algorithmic Privacy & Fairness team conducting regular audits.
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Users are informed about underlying parameters for recommendations and data sources for size recommendations via an 'i' symbol.
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Zalando has excellent data governance, stating it does not possess sensitive profiling data and has no documented incidents of unauthorized data use.
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Users have strong control over their data, including rights to information, deletion, correction, data portability, and the ability to manage preferences in a 'preference centre' and view/edit data in 'Brand Hub'.
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Privacy is integrated early in the development cycle, with the legal team collaborating during the design phase of new features.
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Security testing is robust, with complete quarterly assurance testing combining internal and external assessments.
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Data minimization is strong, with IP addresses anonymized shortly after sessions and data stored only as long as necessary.
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Zalando uses standard SSL encryption for transmitting personal data, orders, and customer logins.
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The company operates a Vulnerability Disclosure Program (VDP) with average first response times of less than 5 days and triage times of less than 6 days, though it does not offer bounties.
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Zalando also signed and committed to the German government's Corporate Digital Responsibility Initiative and published its first report.
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Zero Waste & Sustainable Products
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Zalando demonstrates strong performance in packaging sustainability, with 99% of its total packaging being recyclable.
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The company achieved a 94.55% waste diversion rate for its operational waste in 2021.
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Zalando reduced single-use plastic packaging per item shipped by 37.5% as of the end of 2022.
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The company has implemented 8 distinct waste reduction initiatives, including focusing on circular business models, material substitution, and piloting repair services.
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Ambitious waste reduction targets include eliminating single-use plastics from packaging and extending the life of 50 million fashion products by 2023, as well as phasing out virgin polyester and conventional cotton for private labels by 2033.
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Circular design principles are integrated, with 775,000 items designed according to these criteria and private label teams trained.
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For suppliers, 70.5% have set Science Based Targets as of 2024, and factories producing sustainability assortments representing 96% of production volume are required to complete the Higg Index’s Facility Environmental Module.
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Customer education includes "Please Recycle Me" messages on packaging and educational videos.
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