How sustainable is Abercrombie & Fitch?
This screening has been done by Fairify on April 9th 2020
Abercrombie and Fitch is an international apparel brand that became world famous for its personnel policy, which basically dictated that it should primarily hire attractive muscular men to help customers in the store. In 2005, the company abandoned its controversial worker policy and committed to bettering itself.
Unfortunately, the new policies are not very sustainable. There are targets in place for more sustainable fibers, including 25% certified cotton, 25% recycled polyester and 100% certified wool, down and linen. These targets indicate that a very large percentage of current fibers originate from uncertified or unknown sources. Producing clothing with uncertified materials has a higher impact on the environment and poses greater risks for animal well-being. On top of that, there’s no information available on emissions generated throughout the company’s supply chain and concrete climate action is missing.
There are some energy goals for more green electricity and the fashion giant states that it’s working on tracking emissions in its supply chain, but actual climate action is non-existent at this moment. Social improvements are needed as well. Although the company has published a list of factories in its supply chain and has adapted the Higg Index to measure performance, there is no proof of third-party audits taking place to monitor the actual working conditions. Abercrombie & Fitch has taken the first steps towards improvement, but there is a lot more to be done.
