PVH signs up to three sustainability partnerships

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jun 27, 2018

New York-based owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, PVH Corp, announced on Tuesday that it has joined the Global Fashion Agenda, Fashion for Good and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Make Fashion Circular Initiative. 

The move is part of the group's wider corporate responsibility strategy seeking to contribute toward the establishment of a more sustainable fashion industry based on the principles of the circular economy. 

Tommy Hilfiger has been signed up to Global Fashion Agenda's 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment since last year but PVH has now signed the agreement on behalf of all its brands. The commitment sets out a series of targets to be accomplished by 2020 based around four main areas of focus: circular infrastructure, increased collection of used garments, increased sale of used garments and increased production of garments from post-consumer textile fibers. 

As part of the commitment, Global Fashion Agenda will help PVH accomplish its pledge through information sharing, industry alignment and policy engagement. 

Fashion for Good aims to support sustainable innovation, providing promising start-ups with the funding and expertise they need to engage in sustainable practices. The organization also runs an Innovation Hub and creates a wide range of open-source resources. 

PVH has joined Fashion for Good as a primary partner and will occupy a seat on the organization's Board, helping define its strategy moving forward 

The apparel group has also become a core partner and member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Make Fashion Circular Initiative's Advisory Board, a position in which PVH will help to develop solutions aiming to reduce waste and pollution in the fashion industry.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was founded in 2010 and launched its Make Fashion Circular Initiative in 2017. The program aims to bring stakeholders in the fashion industry together in order to do away with the sector's current system of "take-make-dispose" in favor of a circular model. 

"These three organizations are all focused on innovation, collaboration and system change, which is the foundation of our corporate responsibility strategy at PVH," said PVH Corp Chief Risk Officer Melanie Steiner in a release. "We are excited to work with other leading companies, innovators and stakeholders to support the move to a truly sustainable industry."

PVH Corp beat sales and profits estimates in the first quarter of fiscal 2018, reporting net sales of $2.31 billion and net income of $179.4 million.