Top 40 supplier SanMar (asi/84863) gave more than $933,000 in cash and in-kind donations last year; plus, the Issaquah, WA-based company grew its selection of products using recycled and reused materials and made progress on its emissions-reductions goals.

Those and other achievements were laid out in SanMar’s recently released 2023 A Canvas for Good sustainability report.

CEO Jeremy Lott, a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people, expressed pride at his company’s progress, noting how each individual milestone “connect[s] to one another in carrying SanMar steadily forward.”

SanMar (asi/84863) has released its 2023 A Canvas for Good sustainability report.

“This 2023 update represents the result of many hands working together to accomplish the ambitious goals we’ve set,” Lott explained in the report’s intro letter. “This is the work we must do to fulfill our purpose: creating meaningful connections that elevate lives.”

In the report, SanMar shared that it reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions – those associated with direct use and purchase of energy – by 13% in 2023. Its Scope 3 emissions – indirect emissions that occur up and down a company’s value chain – were down 10% last year. The supplier noted that it is 20% of the way toward its 2030 goal – approved by the Science Based Targets initiative – to reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 50% per pound of product.

The supplier also highlighted its reaccreditation by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) last year. SanMar was first accredited by the FLA in 2012; the reaccreditation process reviewed the supplier’s policies and oversight mechanisms over several years, representing what SanMar says is “the highest level of programmatic evaluation,” a distinction held by only a small number of companies.

“Being a part of the FLA means we’re working toward the same goal,” said Prathika Kurian, senior manager of factory compliance at SanMar and a board member of the FLA. “We get to learn what works and what doesn’t from others, and we can work on issues as a group. We have a say in how the organization evolves.”

On the product side, SanMar grew its C-FREE collection to 58 items. C-FREE products are certified carbon-neutral, through a combination of preferred materials and carbon offsets. As part of the program, SanMar noted, purchased products contribute to several offset programs, including a renewable energy project in India that installs solar panels to generate power that would otherwise have come from a nonrenewable source.

Plus, SanMar said that in 2023 it offered 124 products made from “preferred materials” – whether recycled fabrics, organic cotton or a combination of both. “A shirt that creates a canvas for good begins with the materials we choose,” the supplier said.

At a community and giveback level, SanMar shared progress on its Community Grants program, which provides direct and immediate impact to garment workers and their families. Construction of the Mhotivo School in Choloma, Honduras, was the “blueprint of that program.” Building of the school continued throughout 2023 and was completed early this year, according to SanMar.

Of the more than $933,000 in donations from 2023, about $35,000 was clothing donations and another $24,500 was combined donations through its employee match program. Other donations went to a variety of community organizations, including the Beyond Boundaries Children’s Foundation, NAMI, the For Kids Foundation, and PAL of Jacksonville.

SanMar, a family-owned company since its founding in 1971, has nine distribution centers nationwide, employing more than 5,800 people. The supplier ranked first on the most recent list of the largest suppliers in the industry, based on estimated 2022 North American promotional products revenue of $3.4 billion. The new list is due out this summer.

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