News / Inditex partnership with Maersk shows it has designs on greener transport

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Inditex, parent company of fashion brand Zara, said today it would commit to shipping all its ocean cargo on Maersk’s green fuel vessels.  

Both Maersk and Inditex have a 2040 net-zero emissions target.  

Abel Lopez, head of import, export and transport at Inditex, said: “This collaboration is a great example of how boosting innovative solutions with dedicated partners is key to fighting climate change. Through this joint initiative with Maersk, we are making significant strides in reducing emissions associated with our sea freight.” 

Inditex is one of the world’s largest fashion retailers, operating in more than 200 markets through online platform and stores. 

Maersk noted: “The fashion and lifestyle companies make up more than a quarter of the total ECO Delivery volumes we sell. It is a significant premium they are willing to pay for very low GHG emission transport.” 

The fast fashion industry is responsible for some 10% of global emissions a year, and Inditex has been rather quiet on its green actions in the past, but a Maersk spokesperson said: “It is a major commitment by Inditex and we are very happy that companies like Inditex are going seriously into the green transformation with us.” 

Through its ECO Delivery programme, Maersk replaces fossil fuels on its ships with green methanol or second-generation biodiesel based on waste feedstocks. This is expected to deliver an estimated reduction of more than 80% in GHG emissions compared with conventional sources. The Maersk service will be exempt from the forthcoming  EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) charges. 

The partnership with Inditex comes after Amazon’s delivery deal with Maersk for the transport of 20,000 FFE containers using green biofuel, estimated to reduce 44,600 tonnes of CO2. 

Inditex ships much of its cargo by air, mainly from Zaragoza Airport, which alone accounts for some 60% of Spain’s e-commerce traffic. Atlas Air, thought to have a contract with Inditex, saw three of its aircraft land at the airport over the weekend, suggesting that the garment company still ships significant volumes via air. Georgian carrier GeoSky also operated a 747-200F into the airport on Sunday. 

However, Inditex has highlighted an interest in multimodal transport and collaborated with Maersk in piloting a green bio-diesel container train from the port of Algeciras to Madrid in June.