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American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. is ramping up its efforts to provide extra sustainable denim and mentioned it has exceeded its water discount targets two years forward of its unique goal date.
The corporate’s transition to resource-efficient denim processing has saved greater than 3.5 billion gallons of water since 2017, the American Eagle and Aerie proprietor detailed in its first environmental social governance (ESG) report printed final week. To date, it has slashed water consumption by a mean of 36 p.c per pair of denims produced, aiming for 50 p.c by 2023.
American Eagle’s ESG technique focuses on mitigating the ecological impression of its denim merchandise and supplies portfolio. The corporate credit the Water Management Program it arrange in 2017 to set expectations with denim factories and woven mills for wastewater, water recycling and chemical administration for accelerating extra environment friendly textile processing. The platform scores every Tier 1 and Tier 2 provider based mostly on its progress so the corporate can steer new enterprise towards high-scoring producers.
“We work with key laundries to implement new applied sciences and tools that drastically lower total water wants for garment ending and washing, finally lowering the quantity wanted to be discharged,” it mentioned. “Our producers and laundries have made investments to develop new approaches and set up computer-controlled washing machines that use a fraction of the water utilized by typical washers, in addition to different applied sciences corresponding to nebulization.”
Many laundries have applied Jeanologia’s Environmental Impression Monitoring (EIM), which assesses water consumption, vitality consumption, chemical use, and employee well being. This yr, the corporate is ready to recycle 45 p.c of the water utilized in denim processing. Its 42 laundries and dye homes and 56 cloth mills undergo annual wastewater assessments to trace enchancment.
“AEO’s inaugural ESG report underscores our dedication to constructing a greater world, guaranteeing better transparency, communication, standardized reporting and, most significantly, outlining our targets for ongoing enchancment,” CEO Jay Schottenstein mentioned. “We’re taking purposeful actions to guard our planet, look after our folks and function with the very best degree of integrity by the easiest practices.”
In line with Schottenstein, the corporate can be “increasing using sustainable supplies in our merchandise—recognized by our Actual Good label.” The badge, which is utilized throughout American Eagle’s product traces, factors to using eco-conscious fibers like recycled polyester comprised of plastic bottles, recycled nylon or sustainably sourced cotton. Greater than 95 p.c of American Eagle denim fall beneath Actual Good, whereas 50 p.c of mixed American Eagle and Aerie merchandise function the badge.
“We’ve made nice progress increasing Actual Good throughout assortments and types, and we are going to proceed to set the bar increased as we try to make merchandise our clients love whereas minimizing our impression on the surroundings,” mentioned president and government artistic director Jennifer Foyle, who oversees design for American Eagle and Aerie.
Aerie’s 2021 bestselling Sunnie bra was made utilizing recycled nylon, whereas the swim assortment additionally consists of recycled nylon and recycled polyester content material. Aerie Play leggings comprise recycled polyester from First Mile, which sources plastic waste from Haiti, Honduras, and Taiwan to help revenue technology for native populations.
American Eagle designates greater than half of its total providing as Actual Good for its use of recycled and responsibly sourced content material. Cotton, polyester, and man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCFs) make up 82 p.c by weight of the supplies used throughout its vary, with cotton representing 57 p.c of fabric consumption.
“Utilizing supplies that reduce the environmental impression is significant to reaching our targets for water, carbon and waste discount,” vp of accountable sourcing and sustainability Michelle Tarry mentioned. The corporate is dedicated to sourcing one hundred pc of its cotton and MMCFs extra sustainably by subsequent yr by continued partnerships with Higher Cotton and Cover, the latter of which works with manufacturers to assist protect very important forests.
By the 2023 back-to-school season, the corporate goals to see all of its denim denims made with sustainably sourced BCI cotton or recycled cotton, she added. American Eagle launched its partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Basis’s Denims Redesign undertaking in 2021, debuting 4 denims types comprised of natural cotton. Simply detachable {hardware} was used to make sure that the merchandise might be recycled on the finish of their helpful life. That partnership will proceed on as the corporate explores new methods to make its denims extra sturdy and recyclable whereas guaranteeing traceability and materials well being.
The model can be forming partnerships with organizations that promote circularity or end-of-life options for used clothes and textile waste. New York-based Fabscrap collects, types and shreds post-production cloth scraps to be used in industrial supplies corresponding to insulation, whereas Cotton Inc.’s Blue Denims Go Inexperienced program allows shoppers to show of their used denim by mail or in shops for recycling. Since teaming up with the group in 2014, American Eagle mentioned the partnership has recycled 569,000 pairs.
In gentle of geopolitical points and altering laws, the corporate reiterated its stance on cotton sourcing, stating it’s totally compliant with the Uyghur Compelled Labor Prevention Act prohibiting imports of supplies or completed merchandise of any variety from China’s Xinjiang area, the place experiences of the pressured labor of Muslim minorities proliferate. The corporate additionally mentioned it prohibits its factories from sourcing cotton from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan because of allegations of pressured and youngster labor within the area. The U.S. authorities banned cotton items imports from Turkmenistan in 2018, citing human rights abuses.
Whereas Uzbekistan’s imports haven’t been sanctioned, American Eagle has banned its factories from sourcing uncooked materials from the area. In line with the corporate, the Worldwide Labor Group (ILO) has documented widespread enhancements to labor practices in Uzbekistan. American Eagle is reevaluating its stance, and contemplating utilizing cotton from verifiable, traceable sources.
The corporate is a member of ILO’s Higher Work collective of trade stakeholders, governments and NGOs aiming to spice up competitiveness throughout the trade whereas bettering working circumstances. In line with government vp and chief operations officer Michael Rempell, the corporate audits greater than 300 producers in 20 international locations annually to make sure compliance with its code of conduct. “We’re devoted to upholding international human rights, which is prime to dwelling our values wherever we do enterprise,” he mentioned.
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