Environmental Management

We view environmental issues as fundamental human rights issues. People can’t live without clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. And those who already face challenges due to poverty or lack of opportunity tend to suffer the most from environmental harms, as their communities are often the most vulnerable and have the fewest resources.

A healthy planet is also critical to our own survival as a company. We depend on natural resources like water to make our products, and we also rely on the people who make our clothes: If they cannot thrive in the communities where they live, neither can we. The planet is shared by all of us, and it is imperative that we act together to protect it.

This urgency is heightened by current environmental threats, including those caused by our industry. We are keenly aware that the environmental impacts of the apparel industry are significant, including water impacts, waste, pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Our current environmental approach centers on addressing our contributions to climate change, waste and water stewardship, in addition to creating more sustainable products. These are the issues where we see significant potential to positively impact people’s lives—and they also greatly important to our business.

In addition to needing access to natural resources to remain viable in the future, we need to help ensure that the people who make our clothes have access to clean water to sustain their health and well-being. We focus on these issues individually, and we also consider the connections across environmental challenges. For instance, climate change and water issues are closely linked, as scientists have documented that climate change affects water supplies in a number of ways. It has reduced the world’s freshwater, for example, and the warming of the planet’s atmosphere is leading to unpredictable shifts in annual runoff and precipitation, as well as melting glaciers, more intense storms and impacts to agricultural crops such as cotton, and other vegetation.

THE SHORT STORY 
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

• We view a healthy planet as a human right. 

• We frame our water strategy under the umbrella Women + Water. 

• We achieved our 2020 goal to save 10 billion liters of water in manufacturing processes from a 2014 baseline. 

• In 2020, we announced a science-based target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our owned and operated facilities and supply chain by 2030. We also committed to being carbon neutral across our value chain by 2050. 

• Through the renewable energy contracts we’ve signed, we are on track to meet our goal of 50% absolute reduction of GHG emissions in our owned and operated facilities globally. 

• We commit to divert 80% of waste from landfill for our U.S. operations by the end of 2020 and to eliminate single-use plastics by 2030. 

To achieve our ambitious environmental goals, we are making improvements in our policies, practices, processes and decision-making. We are also forming partnerships—with our brands, cut and sew vendors, textile mills and laundries, industry initiatives, civil society organizations and governments—to make a larger impact.

We believe that the health of our planet depends on bolder action across all segments of society, from governments to companies to environmental organizations to consumers. The need for people everywhere to work together to create a healthy planet is not up for debate, nor is it optional—for any of us. We feel an urgency to act to protect the resources that we all share and depend on to create a better future.

We take a holistic approach to addressing environmental issues, looking at ways to minimize the impacts of both our direct operations and our broader supply chain. We do this by:

Creating solutions for Women + Water: Our water strategy is focused on the intersection between our industry’s significant use of water and the basic right people have to clean, safe water. Our supply chain connects us to many of these women and their communities, giving us an opportunity to help improve their access to water and help them manage water issues. We support women and communities through our P.A.C.E. program, which includes a water-focused curriculum, and through partnerships, with groups such as USAID, to address systemic challenges such as access to clean, safe water.

Improving manufacturing at mills and laundries: The processes behind making a piece of clothing affect both the environment and people in the surrounding communities. Traditional fabric mills use a great deal of water and chemicals, and wastewater must be treated to protect ecosystems and nearby communities. Laundries also require a great deal of water and pose pollution risks. We are working with fabric mills and laundries to improve practices, and we are pursuing partnerships across our supply chain to reduce water and chemicals use.

Together with our suppliers, we achieved our 2020 goal to reduce water use in manufacturing by 10 billion liters.

We established our first science-based targets to reduce GHG emissions in our own operations and supply chains by 2030 and commit to being carbon neutral across our value chain by 2050. 

We commit to divert 80% of waste from our landfill for our U.S. operations by the end of 2020 and eliminate single-use plastics by 2030.

Doing our part on climate and waste: A healthy planet is critical to healthy populations and our success as a business. We address climate impacts within our own operations—including our retail stores, offices and distribution networks—and we are also working with our suppliers and across the industry reduce the impacts of our supply chain. In 2020, we established our comprehensive science-based targets for reducing emissions in our own operations and our supply chain. We are also working diligently to reduce waste impacts within our operations, with a commitment to divert 80% of waste from landfill across our U.S. facilities by 2020. Looking ahead, we commit to eliminate single-use plastics by 2030.

Enhancing the sustainability of our products: Our integrated commitment to sustainability begins with our design teams and the development of products that look good, have lower impact on the environment and bring confidence to our customers. Since the materials in our clothes greatly contribute to each garment’s environmental impact, our design and production decisions have significant power to make our products more sustainable. Our brands are tasked with developing strategies to improve their sustainability performance. To scale up our work, we also leverage partnerships with organizations such as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Textile Exchange, Hong Kong Resource Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) and the  Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular initiative, among many others.