The Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s vision and purpose are based on a set of shared beliefs that:
  • The environmental and social challenges around the global apparel supply system affect the entire industry.
  • These challenges reflect systemic issues which no individual company can solve on their own.
  • Pre-competitive collaboration can accelerate improvement in environmental and social performance for the industry as a whole and reduce cost for individual companies.
  • This collaboration enables individual companies to focus more resources on product and process innovation.
  • Credible, practical, and universal standards and tools for defining and measuring environmental and social performance support the individual interests of all stakeholders.

Our Vision:
An apparel industry that produces no unnecessary environmental harm and has a positive impact on the people and communities associated with its activities.

Our Purpose:  The Sustainable Apparel Coalition was founded by a group of sustainability leaders from global apparel and footwear companies together with leading environmental and social organizations who recognize that addressing our industry’s current social and environmental challenges are both a business imperative and an opportunity. Through multi-stakeholder engagement, the Coalition seeks to lead the industry toward a shared vision of sustainability built upon a common approach for measuring and evaluating apparel and footwear product sustainability performance that will spotlight priorities for action and opportunities for technological innovation.

Desired Environmental and Social Outcomes
Water Use & Quality:

  • Improve water-use efficiency and/or re-use in cultivation or production of raw materials (e.g. cotton) and the manufacturing of apparel products
  • Minimize the volume and chemical constituents of water discharges associated with manufacturing of apparel products and eliminate impacts to local communities
  • Reduce the need for water use in garment care by challenging conventional washing practices and developing alternative approaches

Energy/Greenhouse Gas:

  • Minimize direct and embedded energy use and carbon in apparel products
  • Drive innovative design and technology to create apparel products that mitigate other carbon impacts in society (such as reducing the need for heating and air conditioning systems)

Waste:

  • Develop effective uses for textile waste, creating a second life for materials
  • Commit to minimizing waste in our operations, supply chain, and end-of-life of apparel products

Chemicals/Toxicity:

  • Reduce the use of chemicals and potentially hazardous materials which pose health or environmental risks if not properly handled in cultivation or production of raw materials, and the manufacturing of apparel products

Social/Labor:

  • Collaborate with industry peers and supply chain partners to achieve full life cycle transparency (back to origin of material) about the social and ethical performance impacts of all companies and products
  • All workplaces are fair, safe, and non-discriminatory, including zero exposure to toxic chemicals