Supply Chain
Across the supply chain, we can minimize the environmental impact of the manufacturing process through environmental compliance, reduce carbon emission and water consumption. This ensures traceability in our supply chain and responsible sourcing of materials aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 12.
Programs & Partnerships
Cascale
As a member of Cascale, A&F Co. has access to the Higg FEM tool to measure and improve environmental performance in laundries and mills across key areas: environment management systems, air emissions, chemical use and management, wastewater, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste management. The Higg FEM, a self-assessment tool, provides facilities with a clear picture of their environmental impacts. Cascale continues to update the content of Higg FEM to align with the key industry standards such as GHG Protocol, Science-Based Targets initiative, and ZDHC.
Under the Higg FEM, facilities are scored at three levels: 1, 2 and 3. These signify general thresholds of good, better and best environmental practices. When a facility achieves Level 1, it indicates an “awareness and understanding of sources and systems
A&F Co. Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers complete the Higg FEM on an annual basis to identify opportunities to reduce their environmental impact.
A&F Co. partners with the suppliers to ensure they align with industry norm and continuously improve. To help suppliers work towards our goal, the A&F Co. Hong Kong team will support facilities through factory visits, trainings, setting targets, identifying area of improvement across all seven sections and tracking improvement progress through the Performance Improvement Plans.
In 2024, 674 suppliers completed the Higg FEM, up 18% from the previous year, and the average verified Higg FEM score was 55. The overall Higg FEM score in 2024 is 31% higher than in 2018 which reflects our suppliers’ improvement on their environmental efficiency and efforts on carbon reduction.