Recycling Abandoned PET Bottles... Lotte Switches to Eco-Friendly Uniforms

Department Store's New Uniforms After 4 Years
160,000 PET Bottles Used to Produce Over 20,000 Sets
Angel-in-us Also Adopts Eco-Friendly Uniforms
Accelerating ESG Management Efforts

Duty-Free Shop Produces Own Uniforms for the First Time
Reinterpreting Hanbok to Promote Traditional Beauty
Enhancing Brand Image Recognition

An employee at Lotte Department Store MVG Lounge is attending to customers wearing a new uniform (Photo by Lotte Department Store).

Lotte is fully embarking on a "wardrobe change" this month. By introducing eco-friendly uniforms with improved functionality, they aim to strengthen ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management while also enhancing brand value by clearly imprinting visual identity on customers.

On the 24th, Lotte Department Store announced that since the 21st, they have been gradually unveiling redesigned and functionally improved uniforms for employees who interact with customers. This is the first time in four years that Lotte Department Store has introduced new uniforms. The planning, design, and production took nearly a year, and approximately 11,000 employees across 15 job categories, including MVG lounges, VIP bars, information desks, and valet lounges, who directly serve customers, will wear them.

The most notable feature of the uniforms is the application of eco-friendliness. In June this year, Lotte Department Store launched an environmental campaign called 'RE:EARTH,' and as part of this eco-friendly resource circulation campaign, the uniforms were actively made using sustainable materials. They applied fabrics such as 'recycled polyester' and 'Regen,' which are made from discarded PET bottles, to various items including outerwear and bags for different job categories. Using about 160,000 PET bottles, they produced around 20,000 uniforms, creating products that are more durable and functionally superior than previous fabrics while using eco-friendly materials.

Functionality was also improved to enhance employee convenience. Considering that employees wearing the uniforms often work outdoors and engage in physical activities, all pants feature elastic bands to increase stretchability and allow comfortable wear on-site. They were designed with relaxed fits like culottes and wide pants to ensure no restrictions on movement. New items such as inner shirts, raincoats, and bags made from eco-friendly materials were also produced to create a comfortable working environment. High-quality fabrics such as wool were used, and the colors emphasize a sophisticated image with gray and navy accented by purple. A Lotte Department Store official stated, "The summer uniforms to be worn next year will also actively use eco-friendly materials and be newly designed, with plans to be worn at all stores starting May next year."

Lotte GRS-operated coffee franchise Angel-in-us also introduced eco-friendly uniforms made from recycled PET bottles at all its directly managed stores nationwide this month. This product was made in collaboration with Lotte Chemical and Hyosung TNC using materials recycled from waste PET bottles. As part of its ESG eco-friendly management strategy, Lotte GRS introduced eco-friendly uniforms at Lotteria and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts nationwide directly managed stores in June.

Models are showcasing new uniforms featuring Lotte Duty Free's visual identity (Photo by Lotte Duty Free).

Efforts are also being made to emphasize brand image clearly through the new uniforms' design. Lotte Duty Free revamped employee uniforms starting from the 17th to welcome customers more actively after the endemic phase of infectious diseases. This is the first time they have produced employee uniforms in-house, moving away from ready-made uniforms. To introduce the beauty of traditional Korean clothing to foreign customers, they reinterpreted hanbok and applied its design elements to the uniforms. Features of hanbok such as collars and sleeves were incorporated, and Lotte Duty Free’s visual identity patterns were used as accents. Before introducing the uniforms, they conducted evaluation meetings and fitting tests, actively reflecting the opinions of sales staff. Considering the long hours employees wear the uniforms, fabrics with better elasticity and wrinkle resistance than previous uniforms were used to enhance mobility and convenience. The new uniform design was handled by designer Kim Ah-young, who won the Prime Minister’s Award at the 2021 Korea Fashion Awards K-Fashion Audition.

Industry insiders say that Lotte’s recent "wardrobe change" is being adopted as a way to shift brand image impressions for customers while pursuing management that considers the environment and employees. In particular, by using eco-friendly uniforms, reducing carbon dioxide emissions generated during the disposal process of PET bottles can have an effect equivalent to planting thousands of trees, and the improved functionality also promotes employee convenience, making it a 'two birds with one stone ESG' approach. An industry insider said, "The wardrobe change in the distribution industry is accelerating as part of recent ESG management efforts. This trend will continue in distribution sectors that require direct customer interaction, including Lotte."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.