BY AMY DE KLERK 

Zalando has announced that it is making sustainability a requirement for the brands it works with. From 2023, all 2,000 fashion brands under its remit will have to have provided supply chain information – and any that do not measure up or not willing to improve on their score will no longer be featured on the platform.

The German company – which is the largest online-only retailer in Europe – has given its partners three years to measure up to these new requirements. All brands will need to be ranked by the Higg Brand and Retail Module, which will look into the environmental and social impact of a brand's products.

"Yes, this is a strong position we are taking," Kate Heiny, director of sustainability at Zalando told WWD. "But we believe this is the right thing to do and we see a crucial link between sustainability and the continued commercial success of our business." 

400 of Zalando's brands are already engaged with the first stage of the programme, which involves a 250-question audit, looking into every part of a company's supply chain – and the business expects that it will have its first results by November.

Zalando claims to be the first retailer in the world to make this latest version of the Higg Brand and Retail Module tool mandatory. Coming from such a large company with such a huge presence on the continent and so many brands on its platform, the move could have significant consequences for the industry, particularly as competitors look to match this strategy.