“We’re making apparel better” – Gildan outlines its commitment to sustainable, ethical and transparent practice
Gildan was founded on the belief that owning its factories and controlling every step in the process was the best way to make great apparel. “Starting from spinning our own yarn, all the way to assembling the final garments and distributing our products, our vertically integrated business model gives us unparalleled oversight of our operations, helping us integrate innovative and sustainable solutions across our entire value chain,” says the apparel manufacturer.
Vertical integration Gildan’s vertical integration includes the vast majority of its apparel production cycle, which begins after sourcing raw materials for its clothes. The company’s main raw material is cotton, which is mostly sourced from the US where it is sustainably and ethically grown and harvested. After selecting and purchasing the cotton, it is sent on a journey across four stages throughout Gildan’s operations.
“So much goes into our products beyond cloth and dye,” declares Gildan. “We’re committed to being sustainable, ethical and transparent about our practice, because while we fabricate many products, we never fabricate the truth behind how they’re made. We’re driven to make apparel better.”
Transparency Fashion Revolution agrees, placing Gildan seventh in a ranking of 250 fashion retailers and brands based on their public disclosure of human rights and environmental policies, practices and impacts in their operations and in their supply chains. Gildan scored particularly well for traceability – it was one of only four brands to score over 90% in that section of the 2021 edition of the Fashion Transparency Index (fashionrevolution.org).
