Canopy Style and
Pack4Good Commitment
Stitch Fix cares deeply about social responsibility and the impact the apparel industry has on global economies and the environment. We strive to operate all aspects of our business with the highest levels of integrity, and this commitment extends to how we manage our supply chain. For this reason, Stitch Fix is committed to protecting the world’s forests through our approach to procurement of pulp, paper, packaging and fabrics.
Stitch Fix supports the approach being taken by the collaboration of over 260 clothing designers, retailers and brands, who are working with the environmental not-for-profit Canopy as part of the CanopyStyle and Pack4Good initiatives. Together we will:
- Pursue, with the goal to achieve it by 2022, viscose apparel garment supply chains that are free of ancient and endangered forests,[1] endangered species and controversial sources.
- Pursue, with the goal to achieve it by 2022, paper and packaging supply chains that are free of ancient and endangered forests, endangered species and controversial sources.
- Avoid illegal sources,[2] and plantations converted after 1994.[3]
- Support sourcing of fabrics made from recycled fabrics, agricultural residues[4] and, where forest fiber is used that has already met items 1 to 3 above, Forest Stewardship Council certification (FSC) when available and meet product performance requirements and competitive market conditions. Support product lines consisting of at least 50% more sustainable materials.
- Preference for sourcing paper packaging that has high-recycled content, specifically post-consumer waste and/or agricultural residues. Where virgin forest fiber is used, preference will be for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified fiber.
- Commit to reduce overall packaging material needs through design efficiencies and innovations.
- Work with stakeholders to ensure that existing requirements, such as respect for workers’ rights, care for the environment and responsible development of new plantations and harvesting, including the principle of Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), are robustly enforced.
- Work with stakeholders and suppliers to support collaborative and visionary solutions that protect remaining ancient and endangered forests such as the Coastal Temperate Rainforests on Vancouver Island and Indonesia’s Rainforests.
- Should we find that any of our products are sourced from ancient and endangered forests, endangered species habitat or illegal logging, we will engage our suppliers to change practices and/or re-evaluate our relationship with them.
[1] Ancient and endangered forests are defined by the CanopyStyle initiative and include landscapes such as Canadian and Russian Boreal Forests; Coastal Temperate Rainforests; tropical forests and peatlands of Indonesia, the Amazon and West Africa
[2] Legal forest management is management that complies with all applicable international, national, and local laws, including environmental, forestry, and civil rights laws and treaties. Both FSC and the CanopyStyle Audits work to address this.
[3] Plantations are areas that have been “established by planting or sowing using either alien or native species, often with few species, regular spacing and even ages, and which lack most of the principal characteristics and key elements of natural forests”. Plantations prior to 1994 are often FSC certified with the assurance they are not causing recent deforestation. Source FSC Principle 10.9: http://plantations.fsc.org/
[4] Agricultural Residues are residues left over from food production or other processes, such as flax, soy or hemp. (Agricultural residues are not from on-purpose crops that replace forest stands or food crops.)