GAP Inc. wants its brand, GAP, to get all its cotton from more sustainable sources by 2021. The company also wants the label to source 80 per cent of its technical fabrics from sustainable fibres for its Athleta activewear brand. “With our new sustainable cotton goal, we have the opportunity to make a big impact on the global cotton community and bring to light what’s so incredibly important to the future of garment manufacturing, what matters to us as a brand and what matters to our customers,” averred Wendi Goldman, Chief Product Officer, Gap.
To ensure that the goal is achieved, GAP has decided to continue its alliance with the Better Cotton Initiative, which works with farmers worldwide to improve cotton production for the people who cultivate it, the environment and the cotton sector’s future.
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For Spring 2017, the fashion brand sourced 3.8 million pounds of Better Cotton. Gap also plans to use other sustainable cotton such as organic, recycled and American-grown. Over the past two years, Athleta has been working to increase its use of sustainable materials by converting materials to recycled synthetics and organic cotton. They are then made into fabrics for many of Athleta’s signature styles.
The brand hopes to meet its 2020 goal by allying with fibre and manufacturing suppliers on innovative solutions. It also plans to use more efficient fabric dyeing and finishing techniques to save water as well as minimise waste at the brand’s stores and headquarters. GAP Inc., which is a US $ 15.5 billion enterprise, has also committed to reducing its environmental footprint across its supply chain.
By the end of 2020, GAP has committed to a 50 per cent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions in its owned and operated facilities worldwide from a 2015 baseline and to divert 80 per cent of its waste in the United States.
