Business Chief USA April 2019

259
“Because of our presence and brand
awareness, we have the opportunity to
bring about big changes with regard to
sustainability,” says Ardene’s representative.
“We already have programs
we’re proud of, like community engagement,
our garden, the end of single use
plastic and Styrofoam, store hanger
re-use programs and more. But we’re
ready to make an even bigger impact.”
These changes range from small-scale
steps, like replacing plastic water
bottles with boxed water in stores and
offices, to large-scale operations like
analysing the company’s entire supply
chain to be more sustainable and
efficient.
“In the past it was very easy, especially
in the fashion world: you need it, you
ship it. Today, one of our first thoughts
is: ‘How can we do this better? How
can we create fewer emissions from
our transportation?’” explains Ardene’s
representative. “We’ve already scaled
back and consolidated all our shipments
in order to optimize the movement
of merchandise. Now our
products move as directly as possible
from the source to the end store, and
we have dedicated weekly shipping
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