Commitment
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (“A&F Co.”) through its subsidiaries (collectively, A&F Co. and its subsidiaries are referred to as the “Company” and “we”), recognizes the importance of environmental stewardship. We’re committed to advancing environmental initiatives in internal practices by increasing education and awareness throughout our partnership base and through collaboration with the communities where we make and sell our products. On behalf of the customers, employees, stockholders, and the communities we serve, we strive to continually reduce the environmental impact of our global business.
A&F Co.’s commitment to strive for environmental impact reduction is aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals 6, 12, 15 and 17. Our regular updates to our sustainability website track our progress and actions against our environmental goals. We reaffirm our commitment to strive to reduce our environmental impact by focusing on the topics below.
Climate & Energy
A&F Co. is a UN Global Compact (UNGC) participant and aligns with its views regarding the need to proactively address climate change and the key role the private sector plays in making realistic progress. A&F Co.’s climate goals fit with the aim of the UNGC to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C and will consider this when setting future goals and measuring progress. For more information about our strategies, emissions, and partnerships, please see our Climate and Energy page.
Restricted Substances
A&F Co.’s Global Regulatory Department conducts comprehensive research, evaluates, and communicates regulatory requirements applicable to all brands within the company. These regulatory requirements are mandated by laws and regulations where A&F Co. operates physical stores and websites. The primary role of the Regulatory Department is to determine which laws and regulations impact our products, how our products impact the consumer, and how our products impact the environment.
We publish our chemicals of concern, listed in our Restricted Substance List (“RSL”), to provide transparency around our limitation of certain chemicals. We test items regulated by law annually. We also publish ingredients and allergens on each personal care product in accordance with local regulation and the Personal Care Products Council’s Consumer Commitment Code. Customers can contact customer service about specific questions related to product formulation.
Supply Chain
While A&F Co. does not own the production of the products we sell, we work closely with our agents and vendors to increase our supply chain transparency and provide this information to the public. We work closely with our supply chain partners to help identify and implement opportunities to minimize the environmental impact of the manufacturing process. A&F Co. utilizes Cascale’s Higg Index to partner with laundries and mills to measure and improve environmental performance through assessments. The assessments are conducted at least once a year and are verified by Cascale-approved, on-site assessors. The results guide manufacturers to make improvements and provide current best practices in the field.
Materials and Traceability
A&F Co. has implemented several initiatives throughout its supply chain to confirm materials are sourced in a responsible, transparent manner and works with supply chain partners to trace the origin of the materials through the tiers back to the forest or farm. A&F Co. is committed to providing quality products and maintaining transparency regarding the manufacturing and processing of our textile fabrics. A&F Co. strives to source more sustainable fibers in key commodities, including cotton, polyester, down, wool and manmade cellulosic fiber.
Waste
A&F Co. will identify and improve ways to manage and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills through programs at our global home office, distribution centers and stores. We continue to increase opportunities to recycle and reuse, as well as prevent unnecessary waste generation, motivated by our goals set throughout our value chain.
Water
We work to reinforce our water stewardship and conservation practices by identifying and implementing specific efficiency projects in our stores, global home office, distribution centers and supply chain.
The A&F Co. sustainability and sourcing teams work together closely to drive our denim suppliers to implement innovative technologies, equipment, and water saving methodologies to decrease the water use in denim production. Other key focus areas include proper use, storage, and disposal of chemicals, increased use of recycled water and adherence to use of the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) guideline throughout our supply chain.
Governance
The Environmental, Social and Governance Committee of the Board of Directors of A&F Co. oversees the Company’s strategies, policies, practices, and programs regarding environmental and social matters and the Company’s governance and management of risk with respect to such matters. The Company maintains an Environmental, Social, and Governance Committee Charter available on our website.
The Global Sustainability Department manages the environmental and social program, including communications, reporting, goal setting, and implementation of strategy. Through the management of our goals and environmental programs supported at the Board level, A&F Co. works to continuously reduce our environmental impact across our supply chain.
For more details, please visit our corporate website.