Is Zara Good or Bad?

I asked my Gen Z friends what they think about Zara's sustainability and compared their answers with the real data from the company's report.

Will you buy Zara clothes after reading this?

Why I Started This Project

My name is Lucy, and I’m a student. I created this project to learn more about sustainability in the fashion industry and brand communication around it.

I’ve always liked fashion, but I think it’s essential to understand how clothes are made and how they affect the environment – and I believe brands should be transparent and fair about it.

For this research, I chose Zara – one of the most popular fashion brands – and decided to check what it says about its sustainability and what it really does. Are they taking real action, or just pretending to be sustainable?

What Zara Says

You might be unfamiliar with the name Inditex, but you definitely know the company's flagship brand Zara.

I checked what the company states about their sustainability initiatives.

Zara's quotes

"We have ambitious sustainable targets for our key raw materials. Our move to innovative, organic or recycled raw materials is a key path to transform our industry, reduce our emissions and use clean energy and water. "

"Guided by ambition and passion to create quality fashion for all, we are determined to continue to innovate and raise our efficiency while reducing our impacts. "

"We are advancing towards a circular model and to achieving net zero emissions."

From what I've learnt from their sustainability section, is that Zara tries to make an impression of a sustainable company - or as a company that will achieve real sustainability very soon.

First of all, it claims it's working hard to become net zero. In addition, it highlights the use of eco-friendly materials, and clean energy and water.

Does it resonate?

I wanted to check if people believe Zara's statements, so I asked my friends about their thoughts on this brand. Do they think it's sustainable?

I made a survey, and 46 respondents took part in it. All of them are 15-20 years old and live in Monaco.

They are familiar with this brand:
57% buy Zara at least once or twice a year;
24% – a few times a month.
Just 15% buy Zara less than once a year, and 4% - never.

Quotes from my survey

"I think Zara is a great place to buy trendy clothes at a reasonable price, yet I don’t think that mass market brands are environmentally friendly or have thorough control over their employees."

"It’s very ethically incorrect that they renew their clothes almost every weeks which means that they throw away most of their clothes."

"I'm a consumer, I don’t really have any sorts of interest in Zara’s internal affairs. I like their products; they have good design for something that’s affordable to a certain extent."

What they like about Zara

Despite Zara's efforts to present themselves as a sustainable company, nobody from my survey called sustainability something they value about this brand.
What stands out as the most popular answer is Zara's design, with 65% mentioning it as a positive thing. Price is also important, but just 8% admire Zara's quality.

Do they think Zara is environmentally friendly?

Surprisingly, I found that most people don’t see Zara as environmentally friendly, with 33% saying “Rather no.” Positive opinions were less common, and only a small group said “Yes.” A few respondents, around 9%, weren’t sure at all.

Do they think Zara is fair to their employees?

My survey showed that a large number of respondents believe Zara is fair to its employees, with 43% choosing “Rather yes.” However, there was still a significant share of negative opinions (37%), and 9% said they didn’t know. Since social practices are part of sustainability, it also shows people don't really believe in Zara's claims.

What really happens

I analysed different parts of Inditex's Sustainability Report and compared them with Zara's statements. That's what I found...

Zara doesn't stand by its promises.

Microplastic pollution

In 2019, Zara claimed their clothes would be made from 100% sustainable fabrics by 2025.

However, six years later, just 30% of the materials they use are low-carbon and more eco-friendly. These include materials like organic cotton, recycled cotton, linen, wool, and special wood-based fabrics. The other 70% still comes from more common materials like regular cotton, polyester, nylon, and other synthetic fabrics.

26% of all Zara clothes are made of polyester. It is a synthetic material that can’t decompose in a natural environment. Over time, it breaks down into small plastic pieces, which contribute to microplastic pollution.

Emissions

Imagine three million cars on the road. Now, imagine the amount of greenhouse gases all these cars emit in one year. What if I told you that it’s exactly the equivalent of the emissions that just one fashion company releases?

Inditex alone produces 14 million tons of CO2. These emissions trap heat, making the planet warmer, which leads to the climate crisis.

In 2019, Zara set a goal of reducing GHG emissions by 30% by 2030. However, it has reduced them by just 3% over the last six years.

Table from the Inditex Sustainability report, 2024

Water consumption

In its Sustainability report, Zara says: “We promote adequate wastewater management by improving treatment processes and minimising the water footprint in the value chain.”

However, production of just one kilogram of Zara clothes still requires 78 litres of water. That’s enough for you to drink for 39 days if you consume around 2 litres daily.

It’s not just about how much water is used, but also how dirty the water gets. A lot of chemicals are used for dyeing and working on the fabric, and they mix with the water. In many places where clothes are made, this dirty water just gets thrown into rivers without being cleaned.

Employees' Rights

Zara states: "Our people’s talent and contribution are key to Inditex’s success."

There are more than 162 thousand employees working for Inditex (Zara). This is an official number. The company’s supply chain also includes 6,615 factories. Formally, these factories work independently and their employees are not Zara’s employees, but they produce clothes for this brand.

To be fair, Zara has the strategy with the goal to protect workers’ rights in the supply chain. They work with a human rights organisation called Shift to ensure they are fair to their employees. However, this strategy covers less than 40% of all factories. Which means that the majority of Zara’s supply chain workers remain unprotected.

What do I think?

Although I can see Zara does something for people and the planet, it still has a long way to go to fully diminish the damage on the environment it has created.

If you want to discuss it together, drop me a line →
medvedeva.llucy@gmail.com