Yahoo Finance HanesBrands Reaps $23 Million in Savings From Sustainability Efforts, Targets Zero Waste by 2025
In its 2023 sustainability report that sums up the progress of its initiatives, HanesBrands Inc. said it was reaching its goals while also saving money. A lot of money.
“HanesBrands’ investments in sustainability have yielded $23 million in savings since establishing goals in 2020, including more than $10 million in savings in 2023,” the company said, adding that it is “well on its way to achieving zero waste across its operations by 2025 and using 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030.”
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The apparel brand said its 2025/2030 goals center on three pillars: people, planet and product, and encompass its brands, which include Hanes, Champion, Bonds, Maidenform and Bali.
The company said since 2019 it has achieved a 53 percent reduction “in absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions and a 41 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 intensity, along with making notable reductions in both water use and packaging weight.” On the people front, HanesBrands said it continued to “create comfort in communities around the world by contributing to improving the lives of 3.4 million people since the company began tracking this effort in 2021.”
Other efforts in the people pillar include HanesBrands’ Green for Good program, which is funded by savings from plant recycling efforts. The program “provided thousands with access to medical services and more than 1,500 life-changing surgeries since the program started in 2007.”
Other progress milestones include: 94 percent of waste from owned operations diverted from landfills while close to 60 percent of the electricity consumed is from renewable sources. HanesBrands also said 75 percent of cotton used is sustainably grown in the U.S. and Australia.
Steve Bratspies, chief executive officer of HanesBrands, said the group is “incredibly proud of the work we have done over the years to drive us closer to reaching our aggressive goals around people, planet and product. Our consumers expect quality, comfortable products from our iconic brands at a great value that are manufactured with the planet and people in mind. Thanks to our associates who are passionate about doing what’s right, we’re able to deliver on those expectations while making sustainability accessible for all.”
HanesBrands also said in its report that thousands of the company’s products are now in Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly program. The program helps Amazon shoppers identify products with sustainability features. “In order to qualify for the program, select HanesBrands products were GreenCircle Certified, meaning the products have been manufactured in facilities that have significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions and use renewable energy,” the company said, adding that the products tout a “sustainability features” label near the product’s name in the Amazon store or online at the Climate Pledge Friendly shop.
HanesBrands said by 2025, the company will achieve zero waste across its operations and support key suppliers to do as well. It also expects to align its wastewater with Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) standards and source and make products only from facilities that have gone through the Higg Facility Environmental Module process and include Higg FEM scores in its factory compliance evaluations.
And by 2030, HanesBrands expects to reach a 25 percent reduction in energy use in its owned facilities and support its key suppliers to do as well. And it expects to have 100 percent renewable electricity in its owned operations via direct investment and renewable energy credits, “where reasonably possible,” the company said. It also looks to have a 25 percent reduction in water use in its owned operations.
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