Gap Inc. Celebrates Earth Day 2021 - Seite 2

Building a Circular Economy

In parallel, Gap Inc. has already made significant progress in moving towards a circular economy by partnering across the industry to activate and scale an ecosystem of solutions. Gap Inc. is a founding partner of Make Fashion Circular, an Ellen MacArthur Foundation program (EMF), advancing the industry dialogue on circularity. Gap and Banana Republic participated in EMF’s Jeans Redesign, a challenge to redesign denim in line with the circular economy's principles. Gap recently launched a partnership with Give Back Box, where customers can reuse their mailer pouch, pack up gently used clothing, shoes, and accessories, then print a free shipping label; all donations are sent to a charity in need. Additionally, Banana Republic, aligned with their heritage of upcycling, partnered with Thrilling to curate vintage pieces from the past few decades. Gap Inc. has funded leading-edge research with The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) to tackle the challenge of separating cotton and polyester during recycling so that more fabrics can be turned into new textiles. Gap Inc. is also a member of the steering committee for Accelerating Circularity, an industry collaboration between apparel brands and supply chain partners focused on developing guidance and supporting the fashion industry’s move from linear to circular business models.

Eliminating Single-Use Plastics

Furthering its pledge to enrich communities, Gap Inc. has committed to eliminating single-use plastics by 2030. One of the first steps towards achieving this goal is to reduce the volume of virgin plastic currently used in e-commerce mailers. Through initiatives like Gap Inc.’s new garment folding standards that reduce the size of the polybags used and its new 50 percent recycled content mailer, the company will significantly reduce the amount of virgin plastic used in operations. Customers can visit gapinc.com/inthebag for information about the mailers and how to reuse and recycle them. In order to accelerate progress towards its single-use plastic elimination goal, Gap Inc. is currently partnering with other leaders in the industry as a signatory member of the Fashion Pact, to identify and pilot viable innovative alternatives to single-use plastic.