Made Circular™ is a set of three principles that inform how we design, craft and reuse Coachtopia products.
We’ve developed these principles to help us advance more quickly towards a circular ecosystem in which we’re working to eliminate both new material creation and waste by creating products from what already exists and designing them to be reused and remade over multiple lives. In doing so, our goal is to find new ways of making beautiful things that have a reduced impact on the planet compared to those made by conventional methods.
We’ve developed these principles to help us advance more quickly towards a circular ecosystem in which we’re working to eliminate both new material creation and waste by creating products from what already exists and designing them to be reused and remade over multiple lives. In doing so, our goal is to find new ways of making beautiful things that have a reduced impact on the planet compared to those made by conventional methods.
MATERIALS
DESIGN
PATHWAYS
Recycled, repurposed or renewable materials
We’re exploring new ways to craft from what already exists, with a mission to reduce our use of new, virgin materials and prioritize the use of alternatives made from recycled waste or Upcrafted from repurposed materials, such as production scraps. We’re also investing in materials that are kinder to the planet compared to conventionally sourced materials, such as leather from farms that use regenerative agricultural practices.
We’re exploring new ways to craft from what already exists, with a mission to reduce our use of new, virgin materials and prioritize the use of alternatives made from recycled waste or Upcrafted from repurposed materials, such as production scraps. We’re also investing in materials that are kinder to the planet compared to conventionally sourced materials, such as leather from farms that use regenerative agricultural practices.
By crafting with waste, we’re working to avoid the creation of new materials—a process that accounts for 38% of the fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions*. Our Upcrafted leathers are ingeniously crafted from the scraps left over from the production of Coach leather bags. Our Coachtopia Leather is made from at least 50% recycled leather scraps from tanneries. Other waste-based materials in Coachtopia include resin made with 70% recycled industrial plastic, cotton made from 95%+ recycled content and 100% recycled polyester.
* Source: Fashion on Climate, McKinsey & Company, 2020
Making with waste
By crafting with waste, we’re working to avoid the creation of new materials—a process that accounts for 38% of the fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions*. Our Upcrafted leathers are ingeniously crafted from the scraps left over from the production of Coach leather bags. Our Coachtopia Leather is made from at least 50% recycled leather scraps from tanneries. Other waste-based materials in Coachtopia include resin made with 70% recycled industrial plastic, cotton made from 95%+ recycled content and 100% recycled polyester.
* Source: Fashion on Climate, McKinsey & Company, 2020
Renewable materials
We’re investing in the future by using and developing responsibly sourced, renewable materials that have a reduced impact on the planet compared to conventional alternatives. These include leathers from farms using regenerative agricultural practices—those that that help rejuvenate grassland and increase biological diversity, soil health and productivity—as well as innovative materials created from renewable resources, like EVA made with sugarcane biofuel and ink pigment made by carbon-absorbing algae cultivation.
Renewable materialse
We’re investing in the future by using and developing responsibly sourced, renewable materials that have a reduced impact on the planet compared to conventional alternatives. These include leathers from farms using regenerative agricultural practices—those that that help rejuvenate grassland and increase biological diversity, soil health and productivity—as well as innovative materials created from renewable resources, like EVA made with sugarcane biofuel and ink pigment made by carbon-absorbing algae cultivation.
Design for multiple lives
We’re rethinking traditional luxury craftsmanship by designing our products not just to last but to be remade, crafting them from the start to be more easily disassembled, repaired and reimagined for second and even third lives. That way, we’re working to create products that remain in use and out of landfills, while delivering everything you would expect from Coach in terms of style, durability and functionality.
We’re rethinking traditional luxury craftsmanship by designing our products not just to last but to be remade, crafting them from the start to be more easily disassembled, repaired and reimagined for second and even third lives. That way, we’re working to create products that remain in use and out of landfills, while delivering everything you would expect from Coach in terms of style, durability and functionality.
We’ve developed a range of circular design details—including screw-back hardware, removable handles, binding constructions and monomaterial design—which, when incorporated in products, help them to be repaired, unmade and remade with less damage to their materials than in conventional products. This helps materials to remain in use at their highest value. We’re also exploring new techniques for proportional design that help us to minimize scraps when cutting patterns for first life as well as when products are recut and remade for second life.
Making to remake
We’ve developed a range of circular design details—including screw-back hardware, removable handles, binding constructions and monomaterial design—which, when incorporated in products, help them to be repaired, unmade and remade with less damage to their materials than in conventional products. This helps materials to remain in use at their highest value. We’re also exploring new techniques for proportional design that help us to minimize scraps when cutting patterns for first life as well as when products are recut and remade for second life.
Testing and learning
We’re working to keep improving the way we design for multiple lives through an ongoing feedback loop between our craftspeople, designers and suppliers. Through our Coach (Re)Loved program we’re continually identifying the aspects of traditional luxury leather craftsmanship that make circularity at scale challenging. These learnings feed directly into Coachtopia, where our teams research and prototype new methods of designing and crafting for ease of disassembly without sacrificing durability or functionality.
Testing and learning
We’re working to keep improving the way we design for multiple lives through an ongoing feedback loop between our craftspeople, designers and suppliers. Through our Coach (Re)Loved program we’re continually identifying the aspects of traditional luxury leather craftsmanship that make circularity at scale challenging. These learnings feed directly into Coachtopia, where our teams research and prototype new methods of designing and crafting for ease of disassembly without sacrificing durability or functionality.
Circular pathways
We’ll take back pre-loved Coachtopia products regardless of their age or condition, and have defined clear pathways for them to be restored, Upcrafted, remade or ultimately recycled at end of life.
We’ll take back pre-loved Coachtopia products regardless of their age or condition, and have defined clear pathways for them to be restored, Upcrafted, remade or ultimately recycled at end of life.
Trade it in, whenever
As part of our commitment to keeping our products in use and out of landfill—and creating a community in which they are passed between owners to live multiple lives—we’ll take back any Coachtopia product regardless of its age or condition. You can trade in pre-loved Coachtopia products at Coach Retail stores in exchange for a credit—calculated by the Coach team according to the product’s original price and current condition. Not ready to part with yours yet? Then you can keep it looking its best by making the most of our leather care and repair services.
As part of our commitment to keeping our products in use and out of landfill—and creating a community in which they are passed between owners to live multiple lives—we’ll take back any Coachtopia product regardless of its age or condition. You can trade in pre-loved Coachtopia products at Coach Retail stores in exchange for a credit—calculated by the Coach team according to the product’s original price and current condition. Not ready to part with yours yet? Then you can keep it looking its best by making the most of our leather care and repair services.
We’re continually working with our teams and partners to find new uses for pre-loved Coachtopia products so that their materials stay in use at their highest value. To make this goal a reality, we’ve defined clear pathways for our products and their materials to be restored, remade and recycled—down to the tiniest scraps.
We’re continually working with our teams and partners to find new uses for pre-loved Coachtopia products so that their materials stay in use at their highest value. To make this goal a reality, we’ve defined clear pathways for our products and their materials to be restored, remade and recycled—down to the tiniest scraps.
Each Coachtopia product has a unique digital passport that holds details about its impacts, materials, design and history—which is updated each time a lifecycle event, such as repair, trade-in or recycling, occurs. This not only allows every owner to learn more about their individual Coachtopia product and its impact, but means that when a Coachtopia product comes back to us, we have better information about where it is on its circular journey, to help us best prepare it for its next life.
Each Coachtopia product has a unique digital passport that holds details about its impacts, materials, design and history—which is updated each time a lifecycle event, such as repair, trade-in or recycling, occurs. This not only allows every owner to learn more about their individual Coachtopia product and its impact, but means that when a Coachtopia product comes back to us, we have better information about where it is on its circular journey, to help us best prepare it for its next life.
