From a single down feather to a down jacket, what is the quality secret of Bosideng?

The issue of human and nature is prompting Chinese brands to complete quality upgrades.

On October 21, at the headquarters of the national brand Bosideng, a quality tracing journey with the theme of "Towards Leadership, Exploring the Ultimate" was launched here. The Antarctic Ambassador, "Brother Shui" Wang Yuheng, and several well-known bloggers and media representatives witnessed the entire process of a down jacket from raw material selection, cutting, sewing, quality inspection to transportation.

Mr. Gao Dekang, Chairman and President of the Board of Directors of Bosideng Group and the brand's founder, said in his speech at the event: "Bosideng has always been based on people's new needs and expectations for a better life, adhered to long-termism and value creation, focused on customer value, adhered to the strategic direction, insisted on brand leadership, strengthened innovation-driven, practiced social responsibility, moved from 'China's First' to 'Global Leading', and wrote a new achievement of 'World Down Jacket, China Bosideng, Leading the New Trend'."

In the current market environment, sustainability has become a kind of fashion industry convention. Consumers' purchasing behavior may also be affected by environmental protection values, but in the long run, sustainable consumption will eventually return to the essence of consumption, paying for the quality and use value of goods.

And how to achieve a value balance between providing good products and sustainable commitments has become a new proposition that brands cannot bypass.

The Seed of Sustainable Fashion is Taking Root and Sprouting

It is almost a well-known fact that the fashion industry is the second-largest polluting industry in the world after the oil industry. In recent years, how the fashion industry practices sustainability has always been a concern for investors and consumers. The ESG strategies and ESG concepts of clothing enterprises have also undergone significant changes in the past decade.

Consumers are beginning to actively embrace green consumption. Kantar, a consumer research company, surveyed 30,000 consumers in 32 countries. The results showed that 78% of the respondents expressed their intention to buy environmentally friendly and sustainable products. In China, the proportion of Chinese consumers who consider climate change and sustainable development when making purchasing decisions is as high as 93%.

On the industry side, from the research and development of environmentally friendly fabrics to the advocacy of the circular concept, more and more brand parties, designers, and suppliers are actively transforming sustainability from a moral responsibility and public relations means into their own development strategies.

In July this year, Bosideng released the 2023/24 ESG report. This is the eighth year that Bosideng has actively disclosed its ESG strategy and achievements. Following the high-quality growth of its annual report performance, its "second financial report" also delivered an excellent answer. During the reporting period, Bosideng was selected into the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook (China Edition) 2024 for the first time. The MSCI ESG rating remains at A, and the CDP Global Environmental Information Research Center's 2023 Climate Change Score is B, both of which are the best ratings obtained by textile and clothing enterprises.

The increasingly severe climate and environmental problems, the clear carbon reduction targets at the national level, and the shift in market trends are all putting new demands on clothing enterprises. This also means that brands should, from the perspective of specific business operations, truly integrate the seemingly "suspended" sustainability into the details of product production. As an innovator and promoter of sustainable fashion, Bosideng is helping the entire industry complete the low-carbon transformation with systematic sustainable practices.

Starting from the Production Process of a Down Jacket

If you want to add a winter clothing item during the Double Eleven shopping festival, a down jacket may be the top choice on many people's shopping lists.

Everyone has a down jacket, but few people understand the entire process of the birth of a down jacket. The process of a down jacket from 0 to 1 probably goes through several stages: raw material collection, down processing, fabric cutting, down filling, sewing and assembly, and finally quality inspection and logistics.

From the management and utilization of animal welfare, water resources, and chemicals at the source of materials to the final delivery, the concepts of high quality and sustainability have permeated every link in the upstream and downstream of the supply chain and have been integrated into the brand DNA of Bosideng.

From the source, down jackets inevitably need to use goose down as a thermal insulation material. The down purchased by Bosideng from around the world has 100% passed the international RDS (Responsible Down Standard) certification. Starting from humanitarian protection, animals are protected from abuse in the supply chain. In addition, Bosideng also has strict standards in down screening. The raw material expert laboratory of Bosideng not only established an internal control system higher than the national standard, but also implemented extremely strict screening standards for raw materials. Here, every piece of down and every piece of fabric needs to undergo a rigorous and precise testing process to ensure pure composition and excellent quality. According to the brand introduction, the zipper needs to withstand a 10,000-time load pull test, and the fabric needs to undergo a 20,000-time wear resistance test. Only raw materials that pass the test can enter the Bosideng production line and finally be sold.

In addition to the strength hidden in the "lining", Bosideng has also made sufficient efforts on the "appearance" of the down jacket.

Bosideng continues to research and develop and promote the use of new environmentally friendly fabrics. For example, the Century Fabric GORE-TEX used in the Polar Extreme Cold Series is an environmentally friendly and technological fabric with a GORETEX polyethylene (ePE) film. It is lightweight, thin, and strong, with durability. This film does not contain PFC (Perfluorinated Compounds). Through a lighter material quality and a new material combination, it can effectively reduce the carbon footprint. Due to material innovation, this product can also be waterproof and windproof, with a long product life, minimizing the negative impact on the environment and society throughout the product's life cycle.

Considering the low-carbon attributes of the product from the raw material stage can drive innovation and emission reduction in the entire production chain. And through innovative design, product quality and fashionability do not have to be sacrificed. Taking the high-end outdoor innovation series B30142230, which won the ISPO Global Design Award in the past year as an example, it combines a comfortable version, advanced color matching, and fashion technology, achieving a breakthrough in a younger style.

Unlike other winter warm jackets, the interior of a down jacket usually has a partition structure. Therefore, ensuring the even distribution and fluffiness of the down is crucial for a comfortable and warm wearing experience. With more than 100 inspection points, more than 4 inspection links, and a 4-person assembly line inspection team - from cut pieces to semi-finished and finished products, there are also responsible persons for inspection during the process. High-end products will also undergo a second assembly line inspection. A down jacket has to go through the strict quality inspection of "ninety-nine and eighty-one difficulties" before it is delivered to consumers.

The Bosideng Technology Center, which brings together the world's top scientific research wisdom and cutting-edge experimental equipment, is the core driving force for Bosideng's technological innovation. Among them, the "Wind, Rain and Snow Laboratory" simulates a variety of extreme weather scenarios and conducts strict tests on the various performances of clothing to ensure that each product can bring consistent warmth and protection to consumers.

Like business growth, sustainability requires brands to have first-class coordination and execution capabilities. In addition to the consistent concept within the enterprise, the brand also needs to reach an agreement with all external parties to translate the obscure ESG concept into specific and implementable actions. In the 2023/24 fiscal year, Bosideng conducted ESG significance issue research for more than 1,100 stakeholders, formulated the "Supplier Chemical Control Manual", and joined the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Alliance. At the same time, it has also independently developed the GIMS system to monitor the input and consumption of raw materials, which can achieve the full-process traceability of raw materials, ensure the transparency and sustainability of the supply chain, promote collaborative innovation in the entire process, and protect product quality.

The huge and diverse clothing industry chain does not have a standardized sustainable solution. Only through continuous exploration can brands find the best methodology that suits them. Only by integrating the sustainable concept into every link can it be possible to promote obvious changes.

For consumers, the product quality that can be touched is the best embodiment of concretizing the ESG concept. Only through quality control and innovation can enterprises achieve a win-win situation of sustainable development and commercial growth.

People-oriented, Continuously Leading Industry Value

Sustainable fashion requires quantifiable indicators, but it is never just a string of carbon emission figures or a carefully compiled annual report. Being consumer-oriented, people-oriented, and making good products is the best embodiment of a brand's resource intensification.

High-quality products are inseparable from high-level corporate governance. In many years of business practice, Bosideng has summarized a set of its own ESG strategic framework, namely the "1 + 3 + X" strategy.

1 is "consumer-oriented, leading sustainable fashion". 3 represents Bosideng's short-term, medium-term, and long-term ESG goals. The short-term goal is the implementation of the concept, so that the entire process of enterprise operation and 80% of the core stakeholders can work together. The medium-term goal is to achieve net zero emissions in the operational links by 2038. The long-term goal is to lead the sustainable fashion development of the entire value chain and promote the industry to achieve net zero emissions. X means that in the three major areas of nature-friendly, product pioneer, and people-oriented, multiple measures are taken to provide actions and support for ESG.

In this framework, the importance of people is placed first in terms of the environment, society, and governance.

First of all, "consumer-oriented". Without the interest of consumers as a prerequisite, the supply chain of the upstream and downstream cannot operate. In addition to the environmental protection label, the fashionability, comfort, durability, and cost performance of the product are all important measurement factors. At the same time, the sense of responsibility to consumers is not only reflected in the product end, but also the privacy protection of consumers, the timely response to consumer demands, and the community interaction with consumers, which outline Bosideng's insistence on "serving customers is the most important".

Secondly, Bosideng firmly believes that employees are the cornerstone of enterprise development. From designers to workers on the production line, only by being people-oriented, respecting the rights and interests of each employee, and providing employees with an equal and growth-oriented workplace space can the enterprise go further. In the 2023/24 fiscal year, the proportion of women in the Bosideng management team exceeded 50%, and the employee equity incentive plan was continuously implemented, and 10 million yuan was invested in employee training and further education and upgrading measures to build a good talent development system.

The social responsibility contained in ESG is not only the environment, and sustainability and commercial growth are not opposites. In the past six years, both the income of the Bosideng Group and the brand income have been increasing. In the 23/24 fiscal year, the income of the Bosideng Group increased by 38.4%, about 23.21 billion yuan; the group's net profit increased by 44.7%, about 3.12 billion yuan.

Innovation and sustainable development are bound to bring higher costs. In the current economic environment with increased uncertainty, it is not easy to continuously increase ESG. How to achieve business sustainability, product sustainability, and human sustainability in this process, and ultimately achieve the sustainable development of the entire value chain, requires the joint exploration of Bosideng and the entire industry.

Facing the comprehensive requirements of sustainable fashion, many brands are actively engaged in sustainability. But what can really convince consumers are the actions that are implemented and the high-quality products that are attractive enough. From the farm to the mall, from the product to the brand, the national brand Bosideng, which grew out of Changshu 48 years ago, has provided a set of sustainable practice templates as a pioneer and is leading the entire industry to complete the transformation in the entire chain layout.