Gildan Activewear Inc. (GIL: TSX and NYSE) announces the release of
its 16th Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report,
available on the Company’s dedicated genuineresponsibility.com
website. The 2019 ESG report, prepared in accordance with the
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards: comprehensive option,
showcases Gildan’s approach and commitment to ESG, including
highlights of the Company’s 2019 results, key priorities, and
future commitments towards achieving its vision of Making Apparel
Better®.
In 2019, the Company continued to focus on making
progress towards fulfilling its 2020 goals centered around three
Genuine Responsibility® pillars: Caring for People, Conserving the
Environment, and Creating Stronger Communities.
“I am pleased to present our newest ESG report,”
says Claudia Sandoval, Vice President, Corporate Citizenship at
Gildan. “Our strategy of owning and operating our facilities has
given us the ability to provide rewarding jobs, safe and healthy
work environments, and the capability to implement innovative
environmental solutions in our operations while continuously
improving the lives of our neighbouring communities. Even more so
during these uncertain times, our vertical integration enables us
to minimize disruption in our supply chain and allows us to
leverage our manufacturing excellence to adapt our business to this
changing environment,” she continues.
FLA re-accreditation
In July 2019, Gildan’s Social Compliance Program
was re-accredited by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) for the
second time, after becoming the first basic activewear apparel
manufacturer to receive this accreditation in 2007. The
re-accreditation comes after an extensive two-year review of the
Company’s practices and policies that are in place to ensure fair
labour practices across its global supply chain.
Caring for People
Year after year, Gildan remains committed to
maintaining industry-leading working conditions and labour
practices at each of its worldwide locations through creating safe
and ergonomic workplaces, respecting human and labour rights and
employees’ freedom of association, empowering women, and offering
competitive benefits. In 2019, 96% of Gildan workers were
represented by formal Health and Safety committees. The Company
provided almost 2.5 million hours of training to its employees and
invested $13.9 million in supplemental benefits, which included
free onsite medical health care, vaccination and medicine programs,
parental leave, financial assistance, subsidized meals, and free
transportation at Gildan facilities in Latin America and Asia. As
part of the Company’s overall commitment to diversity and
inclusion, Gildan also continued to strengthen its focus on women
empowerment by continuing to roll-out various training
opportunities to uplift women in the workplace at all levels of the
organization and by strengthening its relationship with partners
such as Catalyst. Through these initiatives, Gildan aims to help
elevate and empower women in the workplace while breaking down any
barriers they may face.
Conserving the Environment
On the environmental front, Gildan undertook and
made further progress across a range of initiatives this past year,
and achieved two of its 2020 targets early, related to water
intensity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which represented an
11.2% and 13.0% reduction from their 2015 baseline, respectively.
Some of the Company’s 2019 progress also included continuing to
integrate more energy efficient technologies at Company-owned
facilities, completing the installation of its Biotop filtering
system at all textile and hosiery facilities in Honduras, and
continuing to replace bunker fuel with biomass for steam
production. Gildan also launched its updated Global Environment
& Energy Policy, which will help strengthen environmental
performance as one of the Company’s key priorities. In 2019, 44% of
total energy use at Gildan was powered by renewable resources, an
area which will continue to remain a large focus for Gildan in the
coming years.
Creating Stronger
Communities
Gildan also believes that it has a responsibility
of being an active participant in the communities where it
operates, starting with buying locally wherever possible – a
directive which is mutually beneficial, reducing lead times and
costs for the Company while fostering economic growth. In 2019,
over 3,700 local suppliers in Latin America and Bangladesh
benefitted from the Company’s presence in the region, and over $260
million worth of materials were purchased by Gildan from these
suppliers. The Company also continued to implement various
community projects and enhanced meaningful partnerships with
organizations to respond to regional needs while giving back to the
communities where it operates. One of these projects was Gildan’s
renewed partnership with Room to Read to help improve girls’
education and literacy and promote gender equality in Bangladesh.
In 2019, Gildan’s donations to community causes amounted to
approximately $1.5 million towards creating sustainable local
impacts.
The 2019 ESG report is available here.
The executive summary is available here.
About Gildan
Gildan is a leading manufacturer of everyday basic
apparel which markets its products in North America, Europe, Asia
Pacific, and Latin America, under a diversified portfolio of
Company-owned brands, including Gildan®, American Apparel®, Comfort
Colors®, Gildan® Hammer™, Prim + Preux®, GoldToe®, Anvil® by
Gildan®, Alstyle®, Secret®, Silks®, Kushyfoot®, Secret Silky®,
Therapy Plus®, Peds® and MediPeds®, and under the Under Armour®
brand through a sock licensing agreement providing exclusive
distribution rights in the United States and Canada. Our product
offering includes activewear, underwear, socks, hosiery, and
legwear products sold to a broad range of customers, including
wholesale distributors, screenprinters or embellishers, as well as
to retailers that sell to consumers through their physical stores
and/or e-commerce platforms, and to global lifestyle brand
companies.
Gildan owns and operates vertically-integrated,
large-scale manufacturing facilities which are primarily located in
Central America, the Caribbean Basin, North America, and
Bangladesh. Gildan operates with a strong commitment to
industry-leading labour and environmental practices throughout its
supply chain in accordance with its comprehensive Genuine
Responsibility® program embedded in the Company's long-term
business strategy. More information about the Company and its
corporate citizenship practices and initiatives can be found at
www.gildancorp.com and www.genuineresponsibility.com,
respectively.
Investor inquiries:Sophie ArgiriouVice President,
Investor Communicationssargiriou@gildan.com |
Media inquiries:Genevieve GosselinDirector,
Corporate Communications and
Marketingcommunications@gildan.com |
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