You opened your second German Ganni store in Hamburg in mid-May – although the Deutsche Bahn strike almost prevented you from travelling from Copenhagen...

Ditte Reffstrup: Yes, but we did it in the end! The store in Hamburg is really a milestone for us – after all, it is the place where our customers immerse themselves in the world of Ganni. At the same time, we know that opening a store is not sustainable per se, which is why we have made an effort to use vintage furniture and pedestals and tables made of recycled single-use plastic for interior design.

On Instagram, the hashtag of the #GanniGirls has long been established. Who is your customer?

Ditte Reffstrup: For us, the Ganni-Girl is actually not a single, sophisticated persona – we think in the plural. Ganni Girls is more of a movement, a state of mind, a community of independent and confident women whose personal style is a form of self-expression. It's more of a lifestyle style than a fashion style. At least that's how I imagine it.

Since 2019, Ganni has been publishing the annual "Responsibility Report", in which you review what you are doing to become a more sustainable brand. Are the #GanniGirls interested in sustainability?

Nicolaj Reffstrup: Transparency has always been important to us – although we try to be honest rather than perfect. We act for ourselves, but also for our community. We try to be the most responsible version of ourselves – and such a report makes it possible to present our progress, share insights and also hold ourselves accountable for our actions. Basically, it's a kind of self-examination.

Sustainability has become a buzzword, greenwashing is omnipresent. Is that why you talk about "responsibility" and not about sustainability in your report?

Nicolaj Reffstrup: We are not sustainable. So the word "responsibility" was never meant to be an excuse, but simply reflects how we at Ganni perceive the world. We are a fashion brand that thrives on novelty – and that is inherently unsustainable. There's no denying that. We were also worried about being decried for greenwashing – because we can never do enough to minimise our impact. In addition, we did not want to put the issue of sustainability at the center of the Ganni story. We believe that in the future, all fashion brands will have to be sustainable, either by law or by customer demand. In the long term, sustainable behavior will therefore not be a unique selling point, but rather a prerequisite for doing business.

Do you get any feedback from your customers about your efforts?

Nicolaj Reffstrup: It's nice to see people reacting to the report. But it's certainly only a fraction of our customers who actually read the report, a large part simply assume that we do the work behind the scenes and are not interested in how we do it. At the end of the day, we do all this because we see it as our moral obligation.

What goals have you set for yourself?

Nicolaj Reffstrup: We created the "Ganni Gameplan" in 2019, our goals include various sustainability aspects, including reducing emissions, improving a transparent supply chain, implementing circular economy initiatives and material innovations. We are currently aiming to reduce our CO2 footprint by 50 percent by 2027. In addition, by 2025 we want to generate five percent of our sales with circular business models – i.e. with rental and resale options.