US fashion company PVH Corp releases corporate responsibility report

The ongoing work of PVH’s brand businesses, regions and global functions reinforce the company’s purpose to drive fashion forward for good, the brand said in a media release.

The company co-created and endorsed the International Labor Organization’s Call to Action to mobilise emergency relief funds to protect garment workers’ income and employment through the COVID-19 crisis and establish long-term sustainable systems of social protection. It donated more than $2 million towards COVID-19 relief efforts through The PVH Foundation and delivered over 2 million units of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to support healthcare workers on the front lines, the report said.

The company co-authored with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), the industry’s first comprehensive research report on inclusion and diversity with a roadmap to create a more equitable future and rolled out nine global Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) commitments to deliver the greatest impact for its associates, consumers and communities.

Talking about sustainability in the report, the company said that it increased renewable energy usage by 15 per cent, resulting in 43 per cent of energy used in its offices, warehouses and stores being derived from renewable sources. A powerful solar roof was installed at its warehouse and logistics centre in Venlo, the Netherlands, consisting of 48,000+ solar panels.

PVH also launched its first circular business model through Tommy Hilfiger’s Tommy for Life programme, which has already diverted 36,429kg of textile waste to date and it continued to drive circular product innovation, as demonstrated by Tommy Hilfiger and The Ellen McArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign Collection.

The brand furthered work to eliminate single-use plastics by partnering with Fashion for Good to test with a view to scale polybag packing with 80 per cent post-consumer recycled content, the report added.

Additionally, it expanded its disclosure of living wage data in its supply chain to cover 86 per cent of its global manufacturing base, as it continues its work to advance the payment of living wages in the industry. PVH enrolled 3,078 more women workers in its supply chain in PVH Women's Empowerment Programming and launched its first community programme benefiting women near Hawassa Industrial Park, Ethiopia.

“Through the power and passion of PVH’s people, we made notable progress across key initiatives on inclusion and diversity, environmental sustainability, human rights and climate change. These areas of focus and our values are at the heart of everything we do,” said Stefan Larsson, PVH Corp. chief executive officer. “We will continue to build on our core strengths, connect to our consumers in ways that are meaningful to them, and remain dedicated to innovation and continuous improvement.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)