Kontoor Brands, an American apparel company with denim brands like Wrangler and Lee, has designed key initiatives over the years to drive sustainable, long-term growth that range from category expansion to design innovation and sustainability to talent and culture. The company aims to catalyse sustainable growth by cultivating a diverse and inclusive culture.

At its recently held first ever virtual Investor Day, Kontoor elaborated on future focus for Lee and Wrangler brands. Jen Molinaro, VP of global talent at Kontoor Brands, discussed the importance of cultivating a diverse, inclusive culture for growth at Kontoor.

“Our purpose, mission and values are not just words on a page – they are what define Kontoor Brands as a company. Our purpose (the reason why we exist) drives what we do (our mission) and how we operate (our values). We weave these foundational concepts into everything we do,” the company said in a media release.

The company had released its first Forest Derived Materials (FDM) policy back in 2019 to minimise impacts on the world's endangered forests and strengthen its commitment to responsibly sourced materials throughout its global operations and supply chain. It had also reached zero-waste designation for all of its owned distribution centres in North America in the same year to ensure that at least 95 per cent of the waste from these facilities is diverted from landfills through recycling, composting and reuse.

In October last year, Kontoor brands set targets to save 10 billion litres of water and power 100 per cent of owned and operated facilities with renewable energy by 2025 and establish a science-based climate target by 2022. In its first report on sustainability, the company said that it aspires to transform the industry by taking a holistic approach to apparel and denim production.

Wrangler and Lee have also been working for environmental protection. One example being Indigood foam dye which eliminates water from the denim dyeing process. Kontoor has helped bring this revolutionary process to market and is exploring new emerging technologies that further reduce water use in the denim production process.

Most recently, Kontoor Brands collaborated with Dallas-based Panda Biotech, an emerging leader in the industrial hemp fibre industry, to bring traceability and scale to the textile-grade cottonised hemp grown and processed in the US.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)

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