PVH Corp. has a new corporate sustainability strategy, one that the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger owner says will set a “new level” of ambition and transparency for the industry.
Announced ahead of the Copenhagen Fashion Summit in Denmark this week, Forward Fashion is a “vision of the future” that seeks to reduce the conglomerates negative impacts to zero, increase its positive impacts to 100 percent and improve the lives of more than 1 million people throughout its value chain.
To achieve this, PVH will roll out initiatives that fight climate change, address waste and hazardous chemicals, ensure worker safety and provide development programs for women.
Forward Fashion consists of 15 priorities, each with key targets to track progress and ensure accountability. To fulfill its overarching goal of achieving zero carbon emissions, for instance, PVH has pledged to power its offices, warehouses and stores with 100 percent renewable electricity and drive a 30 percent reduction in its supply-chain emissions by 2030. To mitigate toxic effluent, all water leaving wet processors will have zero hazardous chemicals and be filtered for microfibers by 2025. And as part of its efforts to end waste, all PVH offices, distribution centers and stores will eliminate single-use plastics by 2030.
PVH says it will also be innovating for the circular economy. By 2025, three of the conglomerate’s most commonly purchased products will be “completely circular” and include full traceability of key raw materials. To accelerate the company’s use of regenerative materials, PVH says it seeks to transition key product and packaging materials to sustainable alternatives, including 100 percent of its cotton and viscose by 2025 and 100 percent of its polyester by 2030.
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Another area PVH is tackling is the issue of worker welfare, complete with the desire for 100 percent of its suppliers to “respect human rights and be good employers.” The conglomerate says it wants to create conditions for national living-wage agreements through industry-wide collective bargaining linked to PVH purchasing practices. It wants 100 percent of its key suppliers in two key production countries by 2025 and four by 2030 to “proactively support” industry-wide collective bargaining to achieve living wages. Forward Fashion makes similar considerations for the promotion of safe workplaces, empowering women, providing access to water and fostering inclusion and diversity.
“Forward Fashion represents a renewed sense of urgency to use the collective power of PVH to achieve transformative change at scale,” said Emanuel Chirico, Chairman and CEO of PVH, in a statement. “The challenges and opportunities we face are bigger than PVH, but we are confident Forward Fashion will position us for success over the long-term, leading to more engaged associates, more loyal consumers and, ultimately, a more sustainable and responsible future for the fashion industry.”
In January, the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), the think tank that organizes the Copenhagen Fashion Summit every year, welcomed PVH to its Strategic Partner program, where it will provide “expert opinion” and help shape the sustainability agenda and thought leadership. Other hand-picked industry leaders in the exclusive group include Asos, Bestseller, H&M, Kering, Li & Fung, Nike, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and Target.
“Addressing the challenges facing the fashion industry today requires going beyond the influence of any one organization. Partnership is critical to achieving true transformation at scale,” Chirico said at the time. “We are excited to be part of the Global Fashion Agenda Strategic Partner Group, as PVH is eager and open to working with others who share our goal to drive fashion forward for good.”