Are Office’s shoes ethical and sustainable?
Office, the high street shoe brand, has been rated and ranked on our Shoes & Trainers: Ethical Comparison Ratings Table for its ethics, has successfully passed our Ethical Benchmark and is eligible for Ethical Accreditation with The Good Shopping Guide. When applying for Ethical Accreditation, a brand opens itself up for even further investigation from The Good Shopping Guide‘s research team and receives recommendations on how to improve its Ethical Rating.
You can read more about the Shoes and Trainers sector, and the ethical issues that the industry faces in our comprehensive editorial guide.
About Office shoes
The South African business Truworths is the owner of the apparel retailer Office Holdings. Along with concessions in Las Vegas, New York City, and Chicago, it runs the “Office” chain of freestanding shoe stores in the UK, Ireland, and Germany. Offspring, a casual shoe and trainer shop in the UK, is also owned by Office Holdings.
The business’s initial location, known as “Office London,” debuted in 1981 as a concession within the “Hyper Hyper” shop on Kensington High Street. The name was given since the company’s goods were initially showcased on used office furniture. In 1984, the Kings Road in London saw the opening of the first independent Office store.
Is Office a sustainable and environmentally conscious shoe brand?
There are a few pages on the environment in Truworths’ Sustainability Report, however, there are no targets or many signs of success. Office also has a Sustainability page, however, it is very sparsely detailed and has not stipulated any clear goals.
Office sells items with a label that says they are 30–50% sustainable, however, there is no justification for this claim (plus none of the materials listed in the description is, in fact, sustainable).
Are Office shoes Vegan?
Office stocks a wide range of Vegan shoes, and has a good, clear Animal Welfare Policy.
How could Office improve its Ethical Rating?
Office should improve its Environmental Reporting so that it can be held to account for its targets and progress relating to the Environment. Office could also improve its Ethical Rating by applying for Ethical Accreditation, where it would receive tailored sustainability and ethical consultancy.
If your shoes and trainers brand values ethics and sustainability, why not check out The Good Shopping Guide‘s Ethical Accreditation? Increase customer and investor confidence and stand out from the greenwash.
Ethical performance in category
GSG score
GSG category benchmark
Ethical Rating
Environment
-
Environmental Report
Poor
-
Nuclear Power
Good
-
Sustainable Materials
Poor
Animal
-
Animal Welfare
Good
-
Vegetarian/Vegan
Good
People
-
Armaments
Good
-
Code of Conduct
Good
-
Political Donations
Good
-
Ethical Trading Schemes
Poor
-
Human Rights
Good
Other
-
Ethical Accreditation
Poor
-
Other Criticisms
Good
= GSG Top Rating = GSG Middle Rating = GSG Bottom Rating