Ralph Lauren pushes forward with ‘Timeless by Design’ strategy

American luxury fashion brand Ralph Lauren has published its 2023 Global Citizenship and Sustainability Report, outlining its progress to create timeless products and support the people within its workforce, supply chain and communities.

In the report, Ralph Lauren reveals that its teams have made “meaningful progress” over the past year, particularly with its ‘Timeless by Design’ strategy to create products "made to live on responsibly," using materials in ways to reduce environmental impact.

This has included supporting the circular economy with its Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Certified Gold Cashmere Sweater, the first of five Ralph Lauren iconic products it has committed to having C2C Certified by 2025.

The company also revealed that it is developing products with increasingly higher recycled cotton content, including its new Denim Project capsule collection, as well as investing in scaling innovative technologies and regenerative practices with the launch of the Polo Mirum sneakers and crossbody pouch, which are partially made from a 100 percent plastic-free material from Natural Fiber Welding.

It has also launched a channel for recycling end-of-use 100 percent cashmere products and is continuing to grow its vintage offerings as part of its target to connect consumers with options to rent, repair and recirculate its products in select top cities by 2025.

In addition, 89 percent of the units it produced met at least one of our sustainable material criteria in FY23, up from 77 percent in FY22 and it is closing in on its target to achieve 100 percent sustainably sourced key materials by 2025.

Ralph Lauren Corporation publishes 2023 Global Citizenship and Sustainability Report

Katie Ioanilli, chief global impact and communications officer at Ralph Lauren Corporation, said in a statement: “Ralph’s vision of timelessness is apparent in the beautiful products we create, and it’s our commitment to ensure this vision is carried into how we create and address our impact on the world.

“Our approach is rooted in science, ambitious goals, collaboration and innovation that, together, will enable us to continue to inspire people to live the life of their dreams.”

When it comes to protecting the environment, Ralph Lauren added that it has decreased absolute emissions by 29 percent in FY23 from its FY20 baseline, as well as decreasing total water use across its operations and value chain by 25 percent and has met its zero-waste goal by diverting 92 percent of waste from landfill and incineration across its distribution centres.

It has also transitioned all key suppliers to 100 percent recycled content polybags and is continuing to remove and recycle all polybags from reduced packaging orders, ahead of its 2025 target.

For its third pillar to ‘champion better lives,’ the organisation revealed that it has achieved its goal to ensure at least 20 percent of its global leadership team is composed of racially and ethnically diverse talent, while also maintaining that 50 percent of its vice president and above roles held by women. In addition, it has increased the number of women in factory leadership roles by 27 percent across four target countries.