Dr Martens

Dr Martens doesn't publish a clear breakdown of its overall material portfolio. It appears to use mostly higher emissions materials such as LWG leather and PVC, but has begun to incorporate lower emissions materials, including deadstock leather and organic cotton. It plans to reduce its reliance on high impact materials by aiming for 100% 'sustainable materials' in its footwear by 2040, and it has reported on progress towards this goal within the last year. Its Genix Nappa collection contains more eco-friendly items.

Dr Martens uses some renewable energy and has energy efficiency initiatives in the majority of its owned and operated facilities. It has a goal of 100% renewable electricity across all owned and operated facilities by 2025. Dr Martens sources and manufactures its materials globally, which is standard practice in the fashion industry.

Dr Martens has made some efforts to reduce plastic in its packaging and to minimize packaging elements. Its eco-friendly packaging materials include FSC-certified material. It has a goal for 100% sustainably sourced packaging by 2028, but it's not clear how it's defining sustainably sourced.

Dr Martens is piloting a small-scale repair partnership in the UK. It offers a 1 year warranty for manufacturer defects, and gives detailed and environmentally conscious care instructions for its items.

Dr Martens has a take back program, Rewair, that accepts its own brand's shoes for resale. It shares details on how successful this program is at diverting items from landfills.

Dr Martens offers a core evergreen collection with additional items released frequently throughout the year.

Commons is still analyzing this brand's marketing materials.

Dr Martens has a sustainability page with information about materials and circularity, but it makes it hard to find on its website. Larger brands have a greater responsibility to make this information available and clear due to its outsized impact. This page was last updated in 2024. Dr Martens has a detailed annual report last published in 2024, with a clear, impact driven strategy and progress reporting.

Dr Martens internally measures its overall emissions and reports them on a company level. Dr Martens identifies its top driver of emissions, by including detailed breakdowns. Its 2023 estimated emissions total was 281,055 tonnes CO2e.

Dr Martens has SBTi-approved annual emission reduction targets for the long term. It has shared progress on these targets in the last year and is on track. Commons couldn't find verification that it offsets any emissions.

Dr Martens publishes names and locations of its Tier 1 supply chain partners and reports having 100% traceability on Tier 1 and 2 suppliers. It has a supplier code of conduct, which includes provisions for no forced labor, no unapproved subcontracting, and allowing collective bargaining. It doesn't report how frequently it conducts partner audits.