Mulberry launches ‘Lily Zero’, its first carbon neutral bag range

Luxury British leather goods brand Mulberry has today launched ‘Lily Zero’, its first carbon neutral bag collection, with 12 styles added to its iconic ‘Lily’ collection, which has become one of the brand’s signature silhouettes.

The collection is carbon neutral all the way from field to shop floor and is in line with Mulberry's commitment to
become Net Zero by 2035, and build on the commitments set out in the brand’s ‘Made to Last’ manifesto which was revealed last year for the brand’s 50th anniversary.

The “soft and supple day-to-evening chain bags” come in a variety of sizes, colours and styles, including the original ‘Lily’ silhouette and ‘Top Handle’, all featuring the brand’s unique “postman’s lock” hardware, and all created in Mulberry’s carbon neutral Somerset factories.

The bags have been crafted using carbon neutral leather from a tannery in Germany, which measures, reduces and offsets its carbon emissions. The carbon neutral leather is also now being used on all of Mulberry’s heavy grain styles, which make up 26% of its AW22 collection.

Mulberry CEO, Thierry Andretta, said: “I’m very proud to launch ‘Lily Zero’, Mulberry’s first carbon neutral range, which represents another step on our sustainability journey, towards increased transparency and our goal of Net Zero by 2035.

“The ‘Lily Zero’ demonstrates what we can achieve together through working closely with our long-term partners. This reinforces Mulberry’s commitment to a sustainable future, outlined in our ambitious Made to Last manifesto published last year during our fiftieth anniversary.”

A ‘Life Cycle Assessment’ has also been undertaken to analyse the full carbon emissions of the range including components, transport, and packaging, all of which have been additionally offset with the World Land Trust, Mulberry’s carbon offsetting partner.

Alongside the new range, the new ‘Lily Zero’ campaign looks to the future, imagined as a futuristic landscape enhanced through an Instagram AR filter. The filter opens a portal which allows the user to fully immerse themselves in a surreal environment, as well as virtually try on the new ‘Lily’.

Exploring the origins of leather’s place in fashion history and its role in a sustainable future, Mulberry launched a ‘Made to Last’ podcast on 5 May 2022, on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, hosted by fashion journalist Susie Lau. Bringing to life areas of the manifesto by the same name, the series takes the listener on a journey over three episodes, speaking to a range of people including television presenter Miquita Oliver, fashion designer Nicholas Daley, fashion historian Judith Watt and Rob Percival, writer and head of food policy at the Soil Association.

Additionally, following Mulberry’s commitment to transparency, the brand is releasing its first sustainability report, sharing its progress from the past year, which will be available to download from the Mulberry website this month.

The report highlights include the increase of leather sourced from environmentally-accredited tanneries to 88%, on track to reach 100% by 2023, and details on the Mulberry Exchange, which has repaired and refurbished over 10,000 products in its Lifetime Service Centre. It has also found new owners for thousands of pre-loved Mulberry bags.

The ‘Lily Zero’ collection is now available in stores globally and from the Mulberry website, with prices starting at £950.