Fruit of the Loom (asi/84257) is serious about reducing environmental impact across its supply chain, according to an assessment by CDP.

The Bowling Green, KY-headquartered global apparel basics supplier ranked among the top 8% assessed for supplier engagement on climate change, based on its 2022 CDP disclosure. CDP is a worldwide nonprofit that runs a global environmental disclosure system that assesses companies, cities, states and regions. Its annual environmental disclosure and scoring process – through which Fruit of the Loom and more than 18,000 other companies were evaluated – is widely recognized as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency.

CDP analyzes companies across 11 categories, including risk assessment and opportunities, targets and goals, governance, strategy and mitigation efforts, and response performance.

Adam Wade, senior director of sustainability and risk management for Fruit of the Loom, noted that the apparel manufacturer recognizes that sustainability goals need to work across the entire supply chain. “We make the majority of what we sell in our own facilities,” he said. “However, we also source from other suppliers across the globe and work with them to ensure they meet our standards and commitments.”

Supply chain management is one focus of Fruit of the Loom’s commitment to sustainability in an effort to reduce Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions. Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions a company causes by operating facilities and machinery it owns. Scope 2 emissions are those created by the production of energy an organization buys. Scope 3 are the indirect emissions produced up and down the supply chain – from the customers using a product to those created before raw materials and unfinished goods make their way to a company.

Fruit of the Loom says it has committed to more operational efficiency in upstream supply chains, working with strategic suppliers to reduce energy use and increased use of renewable electricity.

“This year’s report shows that environmental action is not happening at the speed, scale and scope required to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees, with many companies still not acknowledging that their impact on the environment extends far beyond their operations and that of climate change,” said Sonya Bhonsle, global head of value chains at CDP. “Therefore, we need to see environmental leadership from companies right now by tackling their impacts on climate change and nature together, working with their suppliers in an integrated way that includes nature as standard, and incentivizing this engagement within their organization.”

Fruit of the Loom says it’s among other top companies taking action to measure, disclose and reduce climate risk within their supply chains. The company is on a journey to map its supply chain to raw materials and is collaborating with the HIGG Facility Environmental Module (FEM) to ensure transparency on environmental metrics with key suppliers.

Fruit of the Loom received an A- score from CDP for its environmental performance and transparency of its disclosures. The brand was also included in CDP’s Leadership Band as part of its 2022 Climate Change report.

“Our improved scoring and recognition as a leader in the industry underscores our planet-conscious commitment to operate sustainably by holding ourselves accountable and sharing our progress transparently,” adds Wade.

Fruit of the Loom isn’t the only promotional products supplier receiving recognition by CDP. Earlier this year, Hanesbrands (asi/59528) announced that it had received an A- for climate change and water security from CDP.

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