Case Studies / La Vie en Rose Group: Validating a Science-Based Targets Journey

La Vie en Rose Group: Validating a Science-Based Targets Journey

Brands & Retailers
Decarbonization

For la Vie en Rose Group, sustainability directly informs business direction.

La Vie en Rose Group has built its sustainability work within a business that continues to grow in scale and reach. Experts in lingerie, swimwear, and loungewear since 1985, la Vie en Rose Group is headquartered in Montreal and operates more than 320 boutiques across Canada and the United States, and has 89 franchise locations in 19 countries internationally. As the company has expanded, it has continued to strengthen its approach to corporate social responsibility, integrating social and environmental impacts into its operations.

In December 2021, the company became a Cascale member and integrated the Higg Index, delivered through Worldly’s global technology platform, into its corporate social responsibility strategy to help evaluate environmental impact, working conditions, and governance. In collaboration with manufacturers, la Vie en Rose Group works to improve supply chain practices. With Cascale’s guidance in November 2023, la Vie en Rose Group submitted its commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to set near-term science-based emissions reduction targets in line with SBTi criteria and recommendations.

Recently, la Vie en Rose Group reached an important milestone when its target was approved by the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi). Under its parent company, Administration LVER Inc., la Vie en Rose Group committed to reducing absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 63 percent by 2035 from a 2023 base year. They also committed to reducing scope 3 GHG emissions by 66.3 percent per unit sold within the same timeframe.

Responding to a New Requirement During Validation

As companies move through science-based target setting, technical requirements can become more detailed during validation. For la Vie en Rose Group, one of those requirements was accurately accounting for forest, land, and agriculture (FLAG) impacts within its emissions inventory.

The FLAG requirement surfaced during target validation with SBTi Services. Because la Vie en Rose Group’s Scope 1, 2, and 3 inventory had not originally been developed with FLAG emissions in mind, the company needed to integrate this component mid-validation while remaining aligned with SBTi Services’ 30-day validation timeline.

That made FLAG emissions a significant step in the process. It required la Vie en Rose Group to adapt quickly and apply a credible methodology within a narrow window.

Applying Sector Guidance to Integrate FLAG Emissions

To guide FLAG emissions accounting for the sector, Cascale and Worldly published the Navigating Forest, Land, and Agriculture (FLAG) Emissions report in August 2025. The report offers a standardized method for estimating FLAG emissions for the apparel and footwear industry using the Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI).

La Vie en Rose Group was already calculating product impacts for tiers 2, 3, and 4 using Higg MSI LCA assessment values, which gave the team a strong starting point for applying the methodology in a way that aligned with the logic and factors already being used in its inventory work.

However, one point required additional clarification. The methodology needed to be applied only to the raw material source portion of the LCA impacts. Before that was clarified, the company encountered estimates that appeared unusually high. With quick 1:1 support from Cascale’s technical team, la Vie en Rose Group was able to proceed with greater confidence in both their calculation and their submission to SBTi.

“Integrating FLAG impacts into our validation process required us to move fast and work in a very structured way. Careful application was essential, and Cascale’s methodology gave us a clear framework for addressing the requirement with confidence,” said Sarah Baker, corporate social responsibility principal advisor, la Vie en Rose.

Achieving Approval and Strengthening an Ongoing Effort

La Vie en Rose Group’s target was approved by SBTi Services without follow-up questions regarding its FLAG emissions calculation.

A huge achievement that reflects the work la Vie en Rose Group completed internally to adapt its inventory, apply the methodology, and stay on track through the validation process. It also shows that a structured approach, grounded in sector-relevant guidance, can support companies as they respond to more technical requirements within target setting.

Putting FLAG into Practice

Even for companies that are not assumed to fall within FLAG sector remits, there is a lesson to be learned. La Vie en Rose Group’s experience shows that integrating FLAG emission calculations during validation is possible and that earlier preparation can make the process smoother.

Another takeaway for CSR professionals is the necessity of leading with a sound methodological approach. The Higg MSI in its current iteration does not include land-use change emissions, which form part of what needs to be measured in FLAG. Those values need to be adjusted to account for FLAG emissions. La Vie en Rose Group’s experience shows that companies can work through that requirement with a sound methodology and the right application.

For Cascale, this is a practical example of how shared methodologies can support members in achieving their goals. The guidance did not replace the work la Vie en Rose Group needed to do internally. It gave the company a sector-specific framework it could apply at a critical point in the process. That kind of support can help members move forward more efficiently, respond to evolving expectations, and build confidence in their approach.

For other companies navigating similar questions, la Vie en Rose offers a strong example of how thoughtful preparation and shared industry guidance can support progress on complex climate goals.

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Blogs / 30 x 30: What Does it Mean for the Apparel Industry?

30 x 30: What Does it Mean for the Apparel Industry?

Science-Based Targets

Amina Razvi

May 16, 2023

So many of us appreciate how much the natural world means to our mental and physical health. But as nature nears a tipping point, there’s now so much more at stake.

Nature loss now threatens people and the planet. To put this in perspective, our world’s wildlife populations plummeted by 69% between 1970 and 2022 due to our unsustainable use of our planet’s resources.

That’s not just a tragedy for all the incredible life-forms that run, fly, swim, grow and inhabit the world alongside us, enriching us in countless ways. It’s an alarming sign of how quickly we’re moving towards the collapse of complex, interwoven ecosystems on which all of life on earth depends – including us.

We need fertile soils, thriving oceans, plentiful forests, balanced and diverse species and clean water systems to survive. Scientists and experts warn that we need every one of these aspects of nature to help us reduce the intensity and frequency of climate-related risks.

30 x 30 is a wake-up call to use the tools and knowledge we have and unleash the creativity and innovation needed to restore nature before it’s too late.

The 30 x 30 goal is to put aside 30% of the world for nature by 2030. It was agreed at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15), and is an ambitious but vital target.

30 x 30 gives us aligned goals that we collectively need to hold ourselves accountable to, and to achieve, in order to bring nature back from the brink.

So what does that mean for our industry?

The textile and apparel industry has huge impacts on nature, due to our use of water and chemicals, and our greenhouse gas emissions. These are all key drivers of biodiversity loss.

But the way I see it, this heavy impact also offers us great opportunities in terms of reversing the trend, co-creating solutions together and positively contributing to the global communities in which we operate.

Here’s one example that proves we not only urgently need to do this, but that we absolutely can.

At the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), we continue to see companies putting competition aside to collaborate to achieve a 45% reduction in emissions by 2030.

Our Decarbonization Program is the result of work we are doing with our members and industry partners, as are many other industries, to ensure meaningful action and impact. It will take nothing less than working hand in hand across the value chain to increase education, sharing of best practices and ensuring real progress towards shared goals. While there is more to do, we’ve learned a lot from it. So let’s build on these learnings to advance progress more rapidly when it comes to nature restoration.

What’s the first thing we know we need to do? Get our framework right.

We need to use science-based targets for nature to form action plans that everyone in our sector is working towards. By aligning on achieving science-based, measurable targets and benchmarks, SAC members can make real and vital progress.

Our industry has an ability to bring people and knowledge together to collaborate and co-create solutions; catalyzing collective action to protect people and planet.

The era of working in silos is over. The future lies in harnessing the textile and apparel industry’s vast amount of talent, creativity, innovation and ingenuity, and collaborating to protect nature.

Let’s also make the most of the tools and systems we’ve created to take action against reversing biodiversity loss.

At SAC we’re already incorporating biodiversity within our Higg Index suite of tools that allow brands and retailers to assess their impacts.

For example, we recently made biodiversity a category in a major update to our Higg Brand and Retail Module (BRM), one of the five assessment tools within the Higg Index, allowing brands and retailers to assess their impacts when it comes to land use and habitat protection, including more in-depth questions on water and circularity as key levers of change.

We developed the update in collaboration with members and key partner organizations to ensure close alignment with standard assessment protocols.

We’re also exploring opportunities to utilize our Higg Facility Environmental Model (FEM) to help achieve nature-based targets – including using the vast amount of data we have gathered on chemical usage, water usage and wastewater, to identify hotspots where businesses can drive collective action for substantial impact.

Our data, insights and scale of our membership offer significant opportunities for helping to address fashion’s biodiversity cost.

Reversing the alarming rate of nature loss, and creating a thriving, resilient and just future, requires urgently transforming our systems. Based on more than a decade of collaboration, we know that if you put in place the tools, processes and policies, they do work. There are countless examples of specific actions that can yield outsized positive impacts, but more needs to be done to significantly scale these types of interventions to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.

From boardrooms and sourcing teams to manufacturing floors and policy makers, now’s the time for radical collaboration to restore nature. Together, we can make the changes needed to bring nature back from the edge.

Publications / Decarbonization Guide for Members

Decarbonization Guide for Members

Decarbonization

The Decarbonization Guide for Members supports the fashion and apparel sector in committing to science-based targets and delivering against validated SBTs.

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