AEO joins US Cotton Trust Protocol as new member

The US Cotton Trust Protocol has announced fashion retail group American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) has joined as a new member.

Through support from the organisation, the conglomerate, which owns the likes of American Eagles, Aerie and Todd Snyder, said it would strive to provide better transparency, communication and standardised reporting of its ESG progress.

It comes as part of AEO’s Building a Better World ESG strategy, in which the company set specific goals to achieve carbon neutrality in its owned and operated locations, as well as the mission of “significantly reducing water use”.

Via its own cotton system, the Trust Protocol offers members quantifiable, verifiable goals and measurements to push improvement in various sustainability metrics, including in soil carbon, water management and greenhouse gas emissions.

In a release, Mark Rose, SVP, production and sourcing for AEO, said: “AEO is excited to partner with the Trust Protocol as we work to move our sustainability practices forward, preserve our planet and meet the ambitious targets we have set on our journey to build a better world.

“The Trust Protocol will help provide AEO the opportunity to further verify our responsible sourcing practices and demonstrate the progress we’re making toward meeting our environmental targets.”