Responsible Product
Better Choices
Through our Care FP program we developed fabrication standards to reduce our footprint. In 2021 we doubled sustainable styles from 2020 and in 2022 will continue this growth across our categories: eco-conscious design, artisan made, vintage, tools for sustainable living. The shifts have contributed to over 4M+ L of water per season saved in production, and over 400,000 kg of C02 saved from the atmosphere.
Circularity
We are transparently taking responsibility for the second life of unsold wholesale + direct dimeouts through our partnership with Poshmark and donation of product to nonprofits: The Wardrobe, Girls Inc, + William Way. This year we’ve diverted 100,000+ units of apparel from the landfill through donation and secondhand options.
Responsible Sourcing
We are committed to making supplier decisions with social and environmental factors in mind. In our practices, we follow high ethical and legal standards to work with vendors and suppliers who share our commitment, and are adamant about protecting the safety, freedom and rights of those we partner with to produce our products.
Waste Reduction
Polybag Recycling
In 2021 we began to roll out a recycling program to divert our garment polybags from the landfill. As of February 2022 the program has rolled out to 100% of Free People US stores, and we’ve already diverted over 115,000 polybags. This program is made possible with our partner Trex, an eco-friendly composite decking company.
Packaging
100% of our packaging - from polybags to cardboard boxes to mailers to tissue paper is recyclable - and all bags are reusable. In partnership with our bag skip program we save over 400,000 bags annually from the landfill. We are currently working on finding biodegradable solutions to replace our recyclable options.
Virtual Sampling
CLO reduces the number of samples we need from 2.5 to 1 per garment, eliminating around 8,000 garment samples a year, and waste due to mutilation. The carbon footprint of any CLO garment is significantly reduced because of reduced logistics and transportation.
Resource Preservation
Renewable Energy
Our main distribution center has one of the US’s largest solar arrays with a 22-acre roof and a net effect of 22 million kilowatts per hour of saved energy, 965 tons of CO2, and 24,212 trees per year. Our home office houses a Bloom Box Energy system that converts chemical energy into electricity with a lifetime energy generation of 26,666 MWh.
Adaptive Reuse
Our stores and offices have always been built with and Adaptive Reuse strategy, centered around preservation through reuse. We recycle concrete to make walkways, and materials and artifacts found onsite were used as part of the building process. Old doors are collaged together to form walls, wood floors were reclaimed.
National Park Foundation
Entering our fifth year of our partnership with the National Park Foundation we are donating $125,000 to fund Inclusive Service Corp groups to clean up parks and advocate for park stewardship across over 400 national parks, while bringing traditionally marginalized groups (BIPOC, Native, Sign, etc) into parks.