Children’s Wear Looks to Be More Sustainable, Eon Nabs New Funding: Short Takes
CSR STRIDES: Companies are sharing their first corporate social responsibility reports, including babies and children’s wear company Carter’s Inc.
Along with its inaugural CSR report, Carter’s launched a cotton traceability initiative emphasizing a “no tolerance” approach to forced labor, assembled an ESG council and joined the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and Better Cotton Initiative, among other organizations.
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Setting goals for people, product and planet, the company aims to use 100 percent sustainable cotton and polyester fibers by 2030 as well as cut emissions by at least 25 percent in line with science-based targets.
Acknowledging the company is in the “early stages” of its sustainability journey, Antonio Robinson, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility at Carter’s, said, “Our focus on transitioning to sustainable cotton and polyester by 2030 is especially meaningful to us. We intend to achieve this through a combination of recycled, certified and organic fibers. We are committed to using more sustainable materials and packaging to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and our waste to landfills.” More efficient water use is also on the agenda, according to Robinson.
Today, the company touts apparel line “Little Planet,” which is using mostly organic cotton verified by the Global Organic Textile Standard. The OshKosh B’gosh owner reported more than $3 billion in net sales in 2020 and is dedicated to advancing environmental, social and corporate governance principles across its entire supply chain.
Despite having an all-white board at present, Carter’s said it hopes to increase racial diversity at the vice president and district manager levels.
GROWING TRACTION FOR DIGITAL SOLUTIONS: Software company Eon announced a funding round of $2.1 million to put toward scaling its digital identity solution in retail settings.
Already, the company counts fashion partners like Yoox Net-a-Porter, H&M, PVH Corp., Target, Gabriela Hearst and more. Eon was recently selected as a pilot innovation for Walmart delivery in select markets.
Leading retail technology company SML (known for its end-to-end radio frequency identification technology) was a key investor in the round, which was announced on Tuesday.
Expressing excitement on the investment, founder and chief executive officer Natasha Franck, said: “Together, Eon and SML extend the digital foundation of retail beyond the point of initial sale — radically redefining the relationships between brands and customers, and unlocking the intelligence, systems and transparency essential for sustainable and circular commerce.”
Dean Frew, chief technology officer and senior vice president of RFID solutions at SML Group, said the cohesion will position the companies “to provide brands and retailers with the industry’s first truly end-to-end solution for product life cycle connectivity and next-generation retailing.”
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