Gildan Activewear (PPAI 250187, Platinum) has published its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report for 2023, marking the 20th such report by PPAI 100’s No. 10 supplier.
- The report comes less than one month after the entire Gildan board resigned abruptly, following months of drama and conflict over the company’s leadership.
Recently reinstated president and CEO Glenn Chamandy took the report’s release as an opportunity to highlight the positives that the company accomplished through a tumultuous time.
“ESG has been integral to how we operate for many years and is one of the three core pillars of the Gildan Sustainable Growth strategy, reflecting our commitment to creating enduring value for all stakeholders,” says Chamandy. “ We remain steadfast in our commitment to continue to make apparel with respect.”
The report is thorough in its coverage of Gildan’s sustainability and social goals and accomplishments. Below are few highlighted takeaways.
Three Key Findings
- Gildan is working toward a goal of sourcing 100% sustainable cotton by 2025.
Cotton represents approximately 80% of the supplier’s total fiber input. To ensure those results, the company works with Beter Cotton for third-party verification. In 2023, 35.7% of its cotton supply was verified as sustainable, which is up from 21.7% in 2022.
- In 2023, Gildan reduced water consumption from all areas by 9%.
In its dyeing facility in Honduras, Gildan introduced a method to reuse water in the dyeing process rather than discharging it through the facility’s wastewater treatment process. In 2024, Gildan plans to begin using recycled water in garment dyeing.
- Since 2018, Gildan has reduced its emissions intensity ratio by 27.8%.
The majority of Gildan’s energy consumption occurs in its textile facilities.
“In 2023, we continued to look for opportunities to enhance operational efficiency and reduce energy at these facilities,” the report states. “This included working to optimize air compressors, examining system pressure optimization, and increasing the use of waste heat in our heat recovery systems for use in our new exhaust gas boilers.”
