Eileen Fisher is waving a flag for regenerative agriculture.
The ethical women’s clothing brand has pledged to combat biodiversity loss, soil degradation and habitat destruction as a “frontier founder” of Land to Market, a program by Colorado’s Savory Institute that supports the regenerative production of raw materials using a methodology known as Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV).
EOV, according to the Savory Institute, measures key ecological indicators—including soil health, sequestered carbon and water infiltration rates. Viewed in aggregate, they “indicate positive or negative trends in the overall health” of land and grazing systems.
‘Regenerative agriculture results in increased soil fertility and biodiversity, leading to carbon sequestration, drought resistance and plenty of grass for the sheep to graze,” Megan Meiklejohn, Eileen Fisher’s sustainable materials and transparency manager, explained in a statement. “By partnering with Savory, we have assurance that the Land to Market producers are realizing continuous improvements in ecological health through verified outcomes. We’re proud to be working with Savory and like-minded brands to expand regenerative farming.”
Eileen Fisher is implementing EOV with its wool sourcing in collaboration with Ovis XXI, an Argentinian B Corp network whose livestock producers already use the protocol as an assessment tool. Both the brand and the Savory Institute will spend the next year “exploring additional opportunities” to broaden the program’s scope on other continents and into Eileen Fisher’s leather and other fiber supply chains, the company said.
This ecological verified merino will appear in more than 40 styles in Eileen Fisher’s upcoming fall and winter collections. All products made with the verified regenerative Ovis XXI wool, the brand said, will carry a hang tag that reads, “Our wool supports Argentinian ranchers who regenerate depleted grasslands through holistic farming methods.”
“Eileen Fisher is committed to leading the change towards sustainable clothing,” Meiklejohn said. “By sourcing wool from ranchers practicing holistic and regenerative land management, we’re supporting more than just a sustainable fiber, we’re supporting whole ecosystem health.”