SUSTAINABILITY
At Eddie Bauer, our mission is to preserve natural resources and the environmental conditions that allow our community of outdoor enthusiasts—including employees, customers, and business partners—to thrive.
DESIGN FOR VERSATILITY, UTILITY AND LONGEVITY.
Build apparel and gear that can be used many times, for many purposes, and can be passed down from one generation to the next.
According to some studies, American and European consumers wear an item of clothing an average of 7 times before discarding it, and the average American discards over 80 lbs of clothing each year. The starting point for sustainability is not the use of lower impact materials, but a design ethos that compels our customers to to use and reuse an Eddie Bauer item for as long as possible. We aspire to give our customers a lifetime of use out of everything they buy from us prior to beginning the product creation process. We consider this goal the most important element of any sustainability strategy.
FOCUS ON LOWER IMPACT MATERIALS THAT WILL HAVE THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.
Our goal is to use the highest percentage of recycled polyester and nylon fibers in as many of our products as possible.
Polyester and nylon are plastic compounds derived from petroleum. Recycled polyester and nylon can be made instead from pre and post- consumer plastic waste. By using recycled fibers to create products, waste is diverted from landfills and we reduce the need to make new material from petroleum. Compared with virgin polyester and nylon, recycled versions use less energy, less water, and reduce GHG emissions.
We are adopting sustainable man-made cellulosic fibers like rayon, modal, and lyocell fibers for many of our products.
We believe in protecting the earth’s forests by sourcing our rayon, modal and lyocell fibers from renewable and responsibly managed forests. Man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCF) are made from wood that is converted to fibers through pulping, dissolving, and spinning through a chemical process. The use of trees for textile fibers threatens ancient and endangered forests and the species that depend on these habitats. We are committed to using MMCF’s from suppliers that officially source wood from certified renewable and responsibly managed forests and who responsibly reuse their chemical waste.
USE RECYCLED PACKAGING.
We are integrating the use of recycled packaging whenever possible and learning along the way to make sure we’re doing everything we can to reduce waste.
Packaging has a relatively small environmental impact compared to the products that are in it, but the useful life of packaging is very short and can create waste. Packaging serves a purpose during transportation, but the added weight and volume of inefficient packaging requires more energy to transport, creating unnecessary GHG emissions and air pollution.
RESTORE ECOSYSTEMS & HABITATS.
We’re continuing our nearly 30-year relationship with American Forests to help offset carbon and ensure underrepresented communities have access to green spaces through Urban Reforestation programs.
Since the start of our partnership with American Forests in 1995, we’ve targeted climate change by helping to plant over 8 million trees, which has led to the sequestration of over 19 million metric tons of CO2. That’s like taking over 4.1 million cars off the road annually! Starting in 2021, Eddie Bauer has amplified its efforts by not only focusing on wild areas but urban areas as well, committing to 1 new urban reforestation project each year over the next 5 years. By supporting urban reforestation projects, we will be able to bring the benefits of the outdoors to more communities.