On The Journey To Creating Eco-Friendly Shopping
Experiences
FORT
MYERS, Fla., April 21,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Chico's FAS, Inc. (NYSE: CHS)
("Chico's FAS" or the "Company") today announces an update on
the retailer's journey to minimize its environmental footprint,
support ethical sourcing and help to preserve the future of our
planet through smart innovation and solution-driven design.
Cultivator of the iconic Chico's®, White House
Black Market® and Soma® brands,
Chico's FAS, Inc. is committed to building a better world by
actively taking steps to expand its sustainability initiatives
throughout its supply chain, stores, Global Distribution Center and
at the Chico's FAS headquarters.
"Chico's FAS's is fully committed to enhancing our environmental
efforts. Sustainability is a journey that we are navigating
together with our customers, our Associates and our value chain
partners and we are always actively looking for ways to better our
impact on the planet," says Kristin
Gwinner, Chico's FAS, Inc. Executive Vice President, Chief
Human Resources Officer. "We are customer-led and product-obsessed.
It is our goal to be a responsible steward of our planet's
resources, and to be recognized as a brand that cares for the
environment. In doing so, we can ensure we are designing to value,
including elements our shoppers feel are truly important and
continue innovating our design processes in ways that utilize
natural resources in the best, most ethical way possible."
While the Company knows there remains more work to be done,
Chico's FAS has recently put several initiatives into motion across
all three brands that serve to protect the environment and deliver
eco-friendly shopping experiences for its customers.
Sustainable Innovation & Responsible
Sourcing
Chico's FAS understands that its product design choices impact
the world we live in and continues to make improvements designed to
ultimately reduce the overall environmental footprint of its supply
chain.
Innovative Technologies:
As of 2022, Chico's, Soma and White House Black Market have all
implemented 3D technology into their design processes and continue
to adopt the practice across larger portions of their assortments.
3D technology reduces the number of physical samples shipped each
season by leveraging 3D modeling of product designs throughout the
development process. 3D technology permits greater online
collaboration and more consistent sizing, reducing the overall
reliance on paper usage and physical samples.
In addition, Soma has recently introduced digital printing into
its Foundations collections, which uses less water, energy and
color pigments than traditional printing techniques. White House
Black Market & Chico's have also emphasized a heavier reliance
on sustainable techniques in its denim finishing processes. This
includes laser printing, mechanical dry processing techniques,
biodegradable cellulase enzyme finishes and ozone bleaching,
designed to reduce reliance on potentially harmful chemicals.
Raw Material Sourcing:
Chico's FAS believes that the materials used to create their
products should be responsibly and ethically sourced. The
Company's design teams work closely with their suppliers to
identify opportunities to integrate sustainable raw materials and
components with important environmental benefits to further lower
their carbon footprint, decrease water usage and eliminate plastics
and chemicals from entering oceans and landfills. All three brands
boast expanded selections of trend-forward styles made with
recycled and sustainably-sourced materials such as Unifi's
REPREVE®, Lenzing's TENCEL™ and ECOVERO™ and Eastman's
Naia™ fabrics using biodegradable wood-based fibers and closed-loop
chemical recapture processes to help local water tables remain
viable.
- Select styles from the Chico's Travelers®
collection now use fabric made with OEKO-TEX® Certified
Eastman Naia™, a cellulosic fiber crafted with sustainably sourced
wood that is made using a low-impact, closed-loop process where
solvents are recycled back into the system for reuse.
- Across denim, swim and everyday essentials product
lines, White House Black Market® has recently introduced 19
fabrics with sustainable fiber content, including Lenzing's
Tencel™, Lenzing's EcoveroTM, Unifi's REPREVE®, and other recycled
polyester, and lyocell fibers. The White House Black Market online
shopping experience now includes a dedicated landing page with all
sustainable style offerings. Cotton, a durable and inherently
circular natural fiber, continues to be a staple in products. It
can be reused, recycled and breaks down in a variety of
environments at the end of a garment's life.
- From the brand's beloved nursing bras to the wildly popular
Embraceable® and Enbliss LuxeTM
collections, the Soma bra assortment now uses recycled
yarns including Unifi's REPREVE® (a recycled polyester
yarn), recycled nylon lace and recycled polyester. Several of the
Soma WKND™ collection styles contain more than 40% recycled
polyester, which is made from recycled PET, the same plastic used
in water bottles.
In-Store Recycling Initiatives
Chico's FAS prides itself on further extending the life of
products by regularly collecting gently-used clothing to donate to
women in need, and recycle unusable product materials and
components for use as raw materials in other applications and
beyond.
On an ongoing basis, Soma offers recycling initiatives that
encourage the brand's community to donate gently loved bras all
year long. In partnership with I Support The Girls and The Bra
Recyclers, this upcycled bra donation program allows
consumers to drop off new or gently used bras in support of women
around the country experiencing homelessness, impoverishment or
distress. I Support The Girls collects and distributes essential
items, including gently used bras, underwear and menstrual hygiene
products, allowing women in need to stand tall with dignity. Any
bras that can't be passed on are donated to The Bra Recyclers to be
kept out of landfills, to give bras (and Mother Earth) a second
chance.
Over the last decade, Soma has collected and donated over 2
million bras to women in need. To date, according to epa.gov
estimates, the number of bras recycled through these initiatives
have a greenhouse gas emissions impact equivalent to 44.1 tons of
waste recycled and kept out of landfills. In 2021 alone, over 4,000
Soma shoppers donated 9,306 bras in support of this program.
Similarly, in an effort to offer shoppers a more eco-conscious
way to declutter their closets, White House Black
Market® teamed up with Cotton Incorporated's Blue
Jeans Go Green™ denim recycling program to launch Give Back:
Recycle Your Jeans with WHBM® in January 2022. On a mission to keep more denim
from ending up in already-overcrowded landfills, the pilot program
saw over 8,000 lbs. of denim collected from shoppers at White House
Black Market® stores from January through February.
For Earth Day 2022, White House Black Market® will be
re-offering its Give Back: Recycle Your Jeans with
WHBM® program. From April
22 - April 25, customers will be encouraged to bring
pre-loved denim containing at least 90% cotton - from any brand -
to their local White House Black Market® store to
recycle via designated drop-off sites. Through the Give Back:
Recycle Your Jeans with WHBM® program, unwanted denim is
transformed into insulating material used in various applications
such as pet bed inserts, industrial mattresses, food shipping boxes
and building efforts.
Sustainability at Chico's FAS
Headquarters
Chico's FAS Inc. actively integrates sustainable practices
across core business operations to address systemic environmental
challenges. This includes recycling, reducing energy usage, going
paperless, identifying environmentally-friendly office supply
alternatives and factoring green optimization efforts into the
Company's overall logistics and transportation programs.
For more information on Chico's FAS Sustainability efforts and
programming, please visit www.chicosfas.com/responsibility.
For more information on Cotton's Blue Jeans Go Green™ program,
please visit www.bluejeansgogreen.org.
ABOUT CHICO'S FAS, INC.
Chico's FAS is a Florida-based
fashion company founded in 1983 on Sanibel Island, Fla. The Company
reinvented the fashion retail experience by creating fashion
communities anchored by service, which put the customer at the
center of everything we do. As one of the leading fashion retailers
in North America, Chico's FAS is a
company of three unique brands – Chico's, WHBM and Soma – each
thriving in their own white space, founded by women, led by women,
providing solutions that millions of women say give them confidence
and joy.
Our Company has a passion for fashion, and each day, we provide
clothing, shoes and accessories, intimate apparel and expert
styling in our brick-and-mortar boutiques, digital online boutiques
and through Style Connect, the Company's proprietary digital
styling tool that enables customers to conveniently shop wherever,
whenever and however they prefer.
As of August 24, 2021, the Company
operated 1,284 stores in the U.S. and sold merchandise through 66
international franchise locations in Mexico and 2 domestic franchise airport
locations. The Company's merchandise is also available at
www.chicos.com, www.chicosofftherack.com, www.whbm.com and
www.soma.com as well as through third-party channels.
To learn more about Chico's FAS, please visit our corporate
website at www.chicosfas.com. The information on our corporate
website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this press
release or incorporated into our federal securities law
filings.
ABOUT COTTON'S BLUE JEANS GO GREEN™
Cotton's Blue Jeans Go Green™ denim recycling program was
created in 2006 by Cotton Incorporated as a call-to-action to
recycle denim and give it "new life" by transforming it into
something new. The program strives to inspire sustainable living by
educating people on cotton's natural lifecycle and engages
consumers and local communities by diverting unwanted denim from
landfills, helping to close the loop on cotton sustainability while
emphasizing the environmental stewardship of the U.S. cotton
industry at large. Blue Jeans Go Green™ is a trademark of Cotton
Incorporated.
Media Contact:
SEQUEL
Sheila Smith
ssmith@sequel-inc.com
203-917-8644
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SOURCE Chico’s FAS, Inc.