How are retailers making their store environments more sustainable?

Agnè Baltakienė · 11 Oct 2026

Retailers are making their store environments more sustainable by rethinking the materials they use, reducing waste across visual merchandising, choosing suppliers with transparent production practices, and designing store fixtures and displays with longer lifecycles in mind. The shift is happening across all retail sectors, from fast fashion to luxury, driven by both genuine environmental commitment and growing customer expectations. Below, we break down the most common approaches and what they mean in practice.

What sustainable practices are most common in retail store design?

The most common sustainable practices in retail store design include switching to energy-efficient lighting, choosing recyclable or long-lasting display materials, reducing single-use packaging in-store, and sourcing fixtures from suppliers with verified environmental credentials. Many retailers are also rethinking how often they refresh their store layouts, opting for modular designs that can be updated without replacing everything from scratch.

Lighting is often the first area retailers tackle because the return on investment is fast and measurable. LED systems use significantly less electricity than older alternatives, and paired with smart controls, they reduce energy consumption without affecting the customer experience.

Beyond lighting, the bigger sustainability gains tend to come from material choices and supply chain decisions. A sustainable store refit is not just about what goes on the shop floor, it is about where those products come from, how they are made, and what happens when they need replacing. Retailers who think about the full picture tend to make more meaningful progress than those who focus on one visible change at a time.

Nearshoring is another practice gaining traction. Sourcing display solutions from European manufacturers rather than overseas suppliers cuts transportation-related emissions significantly and gives retailers more control over quality and labor standards throughout the supply chain.

How are retailers reducing waste in visual merchandising?

Retailers are reducing waste in visual merchandising by investing in durable, reusable display props and mannequins, standardizing fixture formats across store locations, and working with suppliers who use recyclable materials and minimal packaging. The goal is to get more use out of every display asset rather than treating visual merchandising as a disposable, season-by-season expense.

One of the most practical shifts is moving away from single-use or low-durability display props. When a mannequin or display form is built to last and made from a recyclable material like polystyrene, it can be reused across multiple seasons and, at the end of its useful life, fed back into a recycling process rather than sent to landfill. This closed-loop approach reduces both material waste and the cost of constant replacement.

Packaging is another area where visual merchandising teams can make a real difference. Choosing suppliers who use FSC-certified cardboard packaging, for example, means that even the boxes and protective materials arriving at your stockroom come from responsibly managed sources.

Standardization helps too. When all your store locations use compatible fixture systems, you can redistribute display assets between stores rather than ordering new ones every time a location refreshes its layout. That alone can meaningfully reduce the volume of materials flowing through your visual merchandising operation each year.

What materials are retailers choosing for sustainable in-store displays?

Retailers focused on sustainable store design are increasingly choosing materials that are recyclable, durable, and produced with low environmental impact. For mannequins and display forms, polystyrene has emerged as a preferred option because it is 100% recyclable through widely available mechanical recycling processes, making it more resource-efficient than fiberglass or polyurethane alternatives that dominate much of the market.

Fiberglass and polyurethane, which are common in mannequins produced in Asia, are difficult to recycle and often end up in landfill at the end of their life. Polystyrene, by contrast, can go through multiple recycling cycles and can be used to produce new mannequins or repurposed into other product categories entirely. That recyclability makes it a stronger fit for retailers building a circular economy approach into their store operations.

For other display elements, retailers are gravitating toward wood sourced from FSC-certified forests, recycled metals, and water-based paints and finishes. Water-soluble paints reduce the release of volatile organic compounds during application and are a straightforward swap that improves air quality in both the production facility and the retail environment.

The key question to ask any supplier is not just what the material is, but how it was produced and what can be done with it at the end of its useful life. A material that looks sustainable on paper but requires energy-intensive processing or has no viable recycling pathway is not as green as it first appears.

How does sustainable store design affect a brand’s customer perception?

Sustainable store design has a positive effect on customer perception, particularly among shoppers who factor environmental values into their purchasing decisions. When customers can see that a brand has made deliberate choices about materials, energy use, and supplier ethics, it reinforces trust and brand credibility. The effect is strongest when sustainability is visible and genuine rather than cosmetic.

Customers today are more informed than ever. Many can spot the difference between a brand that has made a structural commitment to sustainability and one that has added a recycled paper bag and called it a day. Retailers who invest in an eco-friendly retail interior, choose suppliers with verified environmental credentials, and communicate those choices clearly tend to build stronger loyalty over time.

There is also a staff dimension worth considering. Retail teams who work in environments built around responsible values tend to be more engaged and more confident talking to customers about the brand. That translates directly into the quality of the in-store experience.

For retailers operating across multiple markets, a consistent approach to sustainable store design also signals professionalism and long-term thinking to landlords, investors, and potential partners. It is not just customers who notice.

What should retailers look for in a sustainable display supplier?

When choosing a sustainable display supplier, retailers should look for verified environmental credentials, transparent production practices, use of recyclable materials, and a supply chain that minimizes transportation emissions. A supplier who can demonstrate measurable progress on greenhouse gas reduction, uses renewable energy in production, and holds recognized certifications is a more credible partner than one making unverified sustainability claims.

Here are the most useful things to check when evaluating a display supplier on sustainability:

Third-party certification: Look for recognized accreditations such as EcoVadis ratings, FSC certification for packaging and materials, or membership in initiatives like the UN Global Compact. These provide independent verification rather than self-reported claims.
GHG emissions tracking: A credible supplier measures and reports on Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions and sets binding reduction targets. Ask to see their targets and whether they have been met.
Renewable energy use: Suppliers who power their production facilities with renewable electricity have a meaningfully lower carbon footprint than those relying on fossil fuel-based energy.
Material recyclability: Check what the display products are made from and whether those materials can be recycled through widely available processes. Polystyrene, for example, supports mechanical recycling, which is the most accessible and cost-effective recycling method available at scale.
Nearshoring and supply chain transparency: A European supplier with local sourcing and in-house production gives you far more visibility into the supply chain than a distant overseas manufacturer. Shorter supply chains also mean lower transportation emissions and faster delivery times.
Labor standards: Sustainable production is not only about materials and energy. Suppliers who can demonstrate zero tolerance for forced labor, child labor, and workplace discrimination are operating to a higher standard across the board.

At IDW Display, we take each of these areas seriously and back our commitments with measurable targets. Our sustainability approach covers everything from GHG emissions and renewable energy use to FSC-certified packaging and ethical labor standards, all verified through our EcoVadis Silver Medal rating, which places us in the 93rd percentile of all assessed companies. If you want to talk through what that means for your next display project, get in touch with our team and we will walk you through it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do we get started with making our store design more sustainable if we have a limited budget?

Start with the changes that offer the fastest return on investment, which typically means switching to LED lighting and smart lighting controls first. From there, focus on replacing your highest-turnover display assets with durable, recyclable alternatives so you reduce ongoing replacement costs over time. Sustainability does not require a full store refit overnight — a phased approach based on lifecycle and usage frequency is both practical and financially manageable.

What is the difference between greenwashing and genuine sustainable retail practice, and how can we avoid the former?

Greenwashing typically involves making high-visibility, low-impact changes — like switching to a recycled paper bag — without addressing the deeper environmental footprint of your store operations or supply chain. Genuine sustainable practice means making verifiable, measurable commitments: choosing suppliers with third-party certifications, tracking and reducing emissions, and designing for product longevity and recyclability. The safest way to avoid greenwashing is to ask for evidence at every stage — if a supplier or material cannot be independently verified, treat the claim with caution.

How often should we be refreshing our visual merchandising if we want to reduce waste?

There is no single right answer, but the key principle is to decouple visual freshness from physical replacement. Modular fixture systems allow you to update layouts, add seasonal elements, and refresh the look of a display without discarding the underlying structure. Many retailers find they can significantly extend the time between full display overhauls by investing in higher-quality, adaptable assets from the outset, which reduces both waste and long-term cost.

Are polystyrene mannequins actually more sustainable than other options, or is that just a marketing claim?

Polystyrene’s sustainability advantage is rooted in its recyclability — it can be processed through widely available mechanical recycling systems and used to produce new mannequins or other products, making it genuinely circular in a way that fiberglass and polyurethane are not. Fiberglass in particular is notoriously difficult to recycle and typically ends up in landfill at end of life, which is a significant liability for any brand with circular economy commitments. That said, the full picture also includes how the material is produced and transported, so it is worth evaluating polystyrene alongside the supplier’s broader environmental credentials, not just the material in isolation.

What certifications should we realistically expect a credible sustainable display supplier to hold?

At a minimum, look for FSC certification covering packaging and any wood-based materials, and an independent sustainability rating such as an EcoVadis score that covers environmental, labor, ethics, and supply chain criteria. Membership in internationally recognized frameworks like the UN Global Compact is also a meaningful signal of structured, ongoing commitment rather than one-off compliance. Be cautious of suppliers who rely solely on self-reported claims without any third-party verification — credible sustainability credentials should always be independently assessed.

How does nearshoring display production actually reduce our brand's carbon footprint?

Transportation is one of the most significant and often underestimated sources of emissions in a retail supply chain, particularly when display products are manufactured in Asia and shipped to European markets. Sourcing from a European manufacturer dramatically shortens the logistics chain, cutting freight-related emissions and reducing the risk of delays that can lead to rushed, wasteful reorders. Nearshoring also gives your team more direct visibility into production conditions, making it easier to verify environmental and labor standards without relying on remote audits.

How should we communicate our sustainable store design choices to customers without it feeling like self-promotion?

The most effective approach is to let the specifics do the work — rather than broad claims like ‘we care about the planet,’ share concrete details such as the materials you have chosen, the certifications your suppliers hold, or the percentage of your store fixtures that are now recyclable. In-store communication works best when it is informative and understated rather than promotional, and when it connects to choices customers can actually see in the environment around them. Authenticity matters more than volume here: one well-explained, verifiable commitment will land better with informed shoppers than a long list of vague sustainability pledges.