Gap’s sustainable goals: ‘progress rather than perfection’

• January 27, 2021

In December 2020, the retail group joined the US Cotton Trust Protocol, which helps companies to source sustainable cotton by tracking it throughout the supply chain. It has also signed up to Textile Exchange’s 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge, which calls for more than 50% of the world’s cotton to be converted to more sustainable growing methods.

Alice Hartley, Gap Inc

The pledge has been made across all of Gap Inc's fascias, including Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta.

Just over half (57%) of cotton used by Gap Inc has been sourced sustainably since 2016.

The business's director of product sustainability, Alice Hartley, tells Drapers how the group is aiming to source 100% of its cotton from more sustainable sources by 2025.

Why is sustainability important to Gap?

Since our founding in 1969, Gap Inc has aspired to “do more than sell clothes”. We have deeply held values and a commitment to using our scale to be a force for good in the world. We look at sustainability through a wide lens that includes people and the environment, and look for ways to have a positive impact on the communities where we do business.

Gap Inc has committed to sourcing 100% of its cotton from more sustainable sources by 2025 – how is it tackling this challenge?

We have defined “more sustainable sources” to include organic, recycled, and cotton from the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and US Cotton Trust Protocol. We are making good progress toward our goal: 57% of our cotton volume comes through these programmes.

You align with the Textile Exchange’s 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge. Why?

The sustainable cotton programmes we support were also recognised by the 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge, so it made sense to sign on to this initiative. Sustainability is a pre-competitive realm in which we can make progress faster by working together, so we look for opportunities to join forces with like-minded brands that want to lead change across our industry.

Why did you focus on cotton?

Across Gap Inc, cotton is our number one fibre – representing more than 60% of our total fibre volume. So it’s critical for us to be a leader in sustainable cotton – for example, by signing on to the new US Cotton Trust Protocol, which will year-on-year field data under which we will commit standards on areas including water use, greenhouse gas emissions and soil health. Our sustainable cotton goal also supports our climate and water strategies, as materials are a significant contributor to supply chain impacts.

How are you bringing this cotton into your ranges?

Our participation in sustainable cotton sourcing is through a mix of approaches led by our brands and by Gap Inc’s Global Sustainability team. With certified recycled and organic cotton, our brands’ design teams play a lead role in selecting fabrics with these fibres and marketing the benefits to customers. With BCI and the US Cotton Trust Protocol, because they are mass balance based [calculation-based] programmes, Gap Inc takes the lead on supporting these programmes on behalf of all our brands.