Katie Ioanilli, chief global impact, and communications officer at Ralph Lauren, said in a statement: “The kind of luxury we stand for at Ralph Lauren has always been about timelessness, authenticity and a life well-lived. Today more than ever, we believe true luxury encompasses not only a product’s beauty and quality but how it was made and how it will endure.

“That’s why we’ve created the industry’s first-ever Cradle to Cradle Certified luxury cashmere product, with plans to deliver four more verified icons by 2025.”

As part of the Cradle to Cradle certification process, Ralph Lauren added that it is launching a cashmere recycling programme for 100 percent cashmere in partnership with Re-Verso, a leading textile production company that bridges science and technology to create a circular economy manufacturing system for high-quality wool and cashmere.

The programme will be initially available in North America and Europe, and will allow consumers to ship their 100 percent cashmere items, from any brand, to Re-Verso in Prato, Italy to be recycled.

The move is part of Ralph Lauren’s commitment to sustainability through its ‘Timeless by Design’ philosophy to ensure its products are re-used across generations. As part of this, Ralph Lauren has also set a goal to implement circular principles into its design and development process by 2025, and build on these commitments by enabling its past and future products to live on responsibly by 2030.