GANNI's new skin: Towards responsible fashion (B)

In the fall of 2023, four years after GANNI began to phase out virgin leather from all its fashion collections, the goal was now very close to completion. After internal debates, technical and operational challenges, and the commitment and work from all the people of GANNI, virgin leather had been replaced with more sustainable alternatives, like recycled leather or new, groundbraking, bio-based alternatives.
But one hurdle remained: the Production and Design teams had so far failed to find a viable replacement material for some versions of GANNI?s popular Western boots. These boots were one of GANNI?s best sellers in the footwear category, with 22% of total sales. GANNI had two options: either keep manufacturing these boots in virgin leather, or remove them from GANNI's collections entirely. If GANNI chose to stop production, it would be giving up a very popular item, but if it continued production, it would be failing the goal of its first major sustainability project. What was the best course of action for the Danish fashion company?
The case examines how GANNI carried out the leather phase-out project from 2019 until 2023, putting it in the context of a wider a comprehensive sustainability strategy that required the transformation of the entire business, as well as its suppliers, at a time when the company was also growing at a very rapid pace. The case also presents the sustainability challenges facing GANNI in the coming years, in order to go beyond the leather project to become a brand where sustainability is embedded in the business.