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AE BETTER WORLD SUPPLY CHAIN LEVERAGING COLLECTIVE EFFORTS
Leveraging Collective Efforts (continued)
Responsible Cotton Network
In 2008, a group of socially responsible investors and civil society organizations
brought to our attention the practice of forced child labor in the cotton fields of
Uzbekistan. Deeply disturbed by the images we saw and reports we heard, we
adopted a policy in June 2008 45 banning the use of cotton from Uzbekistan in
all products manufactured for American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. Since that time,
we have been active participants in the multi-stakeholder Responsible Cotton
Network, which is a joint initiative of several brands, investors, non-governmental
organizations, and trade unions. Under this umbrella, we have engaged with
government officials in both the US and Uzbekistan in an effort to convince the
Government of Uzbekistan to put a stop to this unacceptable practice.
Fire Safety in Bangladesh
In December 2010, a tragic factory fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh, resulted in the
deaths of more than two dozen garment workers. Although American Eagle
Outfitters, Inc. had never worked with that particular factory, we recognized
that the tragedy highlighted the ongoing, critical need to ensure adequate worker
protection and fire safety in Bangladesh.
We therefore joined with a large group of other brands and retailers to help
bring together key suppliers, industry association leaders, and representatives
of the Bangladeshi government to urge them to begin taking meaningful action
to help prevent similar tragedies from happening again. Following an initial
meeting in February 2011, we issued a joint statement 46 emphasizing the need for
a collaborative process to ensure the sustainability of long term efforts to improve
fire safety within the Bangladesh garment industry.
When a new president assumed leadership of the powerful Bangladesh Garment
Manufacturers Exporters Association (BGMEA) later in 2011, we also joined with
other brands in co-signing a letter 47 asking him to lead the local industry in taking
45 http://www.ae.com/Images/corpResp/images/supply_chain/Uzbek_CottonLetter.pdf
46 http://www.ae.com/Images/corpResp/images/supply_chain/Bangladesh_Statement.pdf
47 http://www.ae.com/Images/corpResp/images/supply_chain/Joint_Letter_BGMEA_President.pdf
a proactive, collaborative role to strengthen building, systems, and fire safety
within the Bangladeshi garment industry.
Our collaborative work on this critical issue remains ongoing.
Sandblasting
In early 2011, American Eagle Outfitters decided to join other leading companies
in our industry to eliminate sandblasting from our denim manufacturing process.
Sandblasting is a common technique used to create the “worn” look of jeans.
Sandblasting involves high-pressure spraying of abrasive material on denim fabric.
During the sandblasting process, factory workers must wear highly specialized
equipment to protect themselves from potentially serious health effects that
can result from exposure to silica, a component found in sand. Sandblasting
can be done safely, but proper health and safety precautions must be rigorously
maintained. Unfortunately, despite extensive oversight by many companies -
including American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. - to ensure that all workers have access to
and use proper equipment, we have been unable to ensure compliance in all cases.
Every pair of jeans is unique. Like good red wine, jeans age well. One of the
reasons our customers love our denim is because it helps them live their life more
comfortably. The good news is that we can use alternative techniques to create the
same comfortable jeans without sandblasting. We believe our customers not only
want to live their lives comfortably, but also in a better world.
Until we believe that proper controls can be put in place to ensure that sandblasting
is done safely, we are no longer developing new denim styles with sandblasting.
“Sumangali” Schemes
“Sumangali” is a Tamil word that means a married woman who lives a fulfilling
life with her husband. Unfortunately, in parts of India, it has become the name
of schemes used to recruit young women into contractual working arrangements
in fabric mills and yarn spinners in exchange for a promised lump sum payment
at the end of their contracts. This lump sum is marketed by factories as potential
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