Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) has released its 2020 Global Sustainability Report, transparently summarizing actions and progress towards its bold sustainability commitments.
“At Gap Inc., we are committed to growing our business by enabling safe, fair working conditions for the people who make our products, enabling access and opportunity across our business and addressing environmental impact across our value chain,” said Sally Gilligan, Chief Growth Transformation Officer, Gap Inc.
Gap Inc.’s sustainability report reflects the efforts that the company and each of its brands have made in 2020 toward sustainability and creating a more inclusive and fairer workplace and world for everyone touched by the business. The company has aligned their Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) strategy to the following pillars, with each brand embracing work that connects to at least one pillar of the strategy.
Empowering Women and Human Rights
Gap Inc.’s business is driven by women – they are the majority of customers, leaders, employees and apparel supply chain workers – and the company is making industry leading investments to help ensure they are empowered to reach their full potential.
Through the company’s Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement (P.A.C.E.) program, Gap Inc. provides women with foundational life skills, technical training and support to advance at work and in their lives. In 2020, P.A.C.E. reached more than 804,000 women and girls, and is on track to meeting the goal of reaching 1 million women and girls by 2022.
Enabling Opportunity
Creating sustainable economies and a culture of equality and belonging means Gap Inc. uses its assets and scale to enable access to opportunity. Through Old Navy’s outreach program, This Way ONward, the company helps fuel the next generation of leaders with the skills and confidence they need to succeed in the workplace. Since 2007, the program has created a valuable pipeline of diverse talent. Tasked with providing 20,000 job opportunities to underserved youth by 2025, Old Navy is already halfway to their commitment with nearly 10,000 graduates of the program.
Enriching Communities
Gap Inc. has committed to becoming carbon neutral and water positive by 2050, eliminating single-use plastics from its value chain, and supporting a circular economy to protect natural resources and ensure healthy communities for generations to come. Additionally, the company is on track to meet its goal of sourcing 100% renewable energy by 2030 for globally owned and operated facilities.
Recognizing that women are disproportionately affected by climate change and water scarcity, the USAID Gap Inc. Women + Water Alliance pledges to improve access to drinking water and sanitation for 2 million people, of which 1 million are women, by 2023 in India’s textile manufacturing communities. As of the end of fiscal year 2020, Gap Inc. has empowered 650,000 people to improve their access to water and sanitation.
Gap Inc.’s 2020 Report highlights
- Gap Inc. has committed to source 100 percent more sustainable cotton by 2025. In 2020, the company joined Textile Exchange’s 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge and became the first company to sign up to the new U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. Each of Gap Inc.’s purpose-led lifestyle brands have expanded to more sustainable products and practices. Old Navy is on track toward its goal of having 100 percent of its cotton sustainably sourced by 2022 and is committed to increasing its use of recycled cotton in the denim assortment.
- In April, Old Navy announced additional sustainability goals, including a goal to reduce plastic waste across the supply chain and eliminate plastic shopping bags by 2023 in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Additionally, the brand is committed to converting 60 percent of its traditional polyester into recycled polyester by 2025.
- Gap continues its Gap For Good commitments, including saving water through the WashwellTM program. Ninety-one percent of Gap denim in 2020 was part of the water-saving WashwellTM program that has enabled Gap to save over 402 million liters of water since 2016 – enough to fill 804 million water bottles compared to conventional wash methods. In addition, Gap recently launched its most sustainable collection of apparel yet – Generation Good, iconic product made of organic and recycled fabrics.
- At Banana Republic, over 60 percent of the materials used in its 2020 Spring Collection are from sustainable sources, including denim styles that are designed and constructed with recyclability in mind.
- As a certified B Corp, Athleta enabled its climate ambitions when their solar farm in North Carolina came online earlier this year, which is intended to offset 100 percent of its operational footprint each year.
- Gap Inc. is currently partnering with other leaders in the industry as a signatory member of the Fashion Pact, to identify and pilot viable innovative alternatives to single-use plastic. Furthering its pledge to enrich communities, Gap Inc. has committed to eliminating single-use plastics by 2030. Through initiatives like Gap Inc.’s new garment folding standards that reduce the size of the polybags used and its new 50 percent recycled content mailer, the company plans to significantly reduce the amount of virgin plastic used in operations. Customers can visit gapinc.com/inthebag for information about the mailers and how to reuse and recycle them. New folding standards for Gap, Old Navy and Athleta have saved $13 million in freight costs and avoided more than 8 million pounds of plastic packaging.
This report covers Gap Inc.’s global operations for fiscal 2020, which ended on January 30, 2021, unless otherwise noted. To view the full sustainability report, click here. For in-depth information about the company’s efforts to be a force for good for people and the planet, please visit gapinc.com/sustainability.
About Gap Inc.
Gap Inc., a collection of purpose-led lifestyle brands, is the largest American specialty apparel company offering clothing, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta brands. The company uses omni-channel capabilities to bridge the digital world and physical stores to further enhance its shopping experience. Gap Inc. is guided by its purpose, Inclusive, by Design, and takes pride in creating products and experiences its customers love while doing right by its employees, communities, and planet. Gap Inc. products are available for purchase worldwide through company-operated stores, franchise stores, and e-commerce sites. Fiscal year 2020 net sales were $13.8 billion. For more information, please visit www.gapinc.com.
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