URBN Sourcing Webinar Series: Sustainability and Social Compliance at URBN

In September, Allie Noll, Manager of URBN Global Sustainability, Mike Lambert, Executive Director of Global Trade and Compliance, and Lynsie Reese, Manager of Social Compliance hosted a webinar to illuminate all the current, new, and different ways URBN, Production and Sourcing, and the Brands are approaching “Sustainability” and what it means to them.

Thinking about sustainability not as one piece, but as a wholistic idea, is the main approach when it comes to strategy.  The UN defines Sustainability by 17 different Sustainable Development Goals which cover a range of topics from carbon emissions to reducing inequalities, to promoting peaceful societies.  Within these goals, there are over 250 “sub goals” that help guide the implementation of them.  (You can read more about them here: https://sdgs.un.org/goals).  What does this mean for URBN? Well, in the words of Fleetwood Mac, “You can go your own way”! The broad definition of Sustainability has allowed URBN and its brands to shape their sustainability strategy according to the ideals and ethos of the brand.  Our goal is to make permanent, lasting change, which requires time and thoughtfulness, in order for this to “stick”.  Now that we have committed to the change, we are not going to go back to the old way!

So, how have we been doing this so far?  Well, in many ways!  Lynsie and Mike walked us through our vendor compliance, global code of conduct, Prop 65 (and more!) requirements that our vendors agree to when they sign on to work with us, and not just in the ownbrand space!  We audit our vendors, and create corrective action plans where needed.  This is a huge part of the sustainability landscape, as accountability, traceability, and transparency become increasingly more important.  We see this in the yearly evaluation by Fashion Transparency Index, a not-for-profit group that evaluates top retailers from all over the world and assigns a score based on what they are doing to reduce the impact of their operations and their product on the world, and increase its meaningfulness.  You can read more about it here: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/about/transparency/

To read more about our commitments as a corporation, head over to www.urbn.com/making-an-impact to see all that we are doing and all we plan to do over the next 3-4 years.  For detailed information on Free People’s strategy, you can head to: https://www.freepeople.com/care-fp/

Our strategy here is guided by the principle that its “Progress, not perfection”.  Our vision is to continue to make meaningful change and become more environmentally conscious and social mindful towards our product, our customer, and our supply chain.

 

For questions about social compliance, reach out to Lynsie: lreese@urbn.com

For questions about environmental and corporate sustainability strategy, reach out to Allie: anoll@urbn.com