PVH takes backward step on ‘sustainable’ viscose

August 26, 2023

Category: FIBRES

Country: United States

Written by David Styles
18 August 2023

NEW YORK – The amount of viscose being sourced ‘sustainably’ by brands owned by fashion giant PVH dropped markedly last year, despite the corporation having set a goal of reaching 100% by 2025.

In 2021 a quarter of all viscose used in the PVH empire met the self-imposed criteria of ‘environmentally preferred materials use’, whereas this slumped to 15% in 2022.

Percentages of cotton, polyester and wool meeting these standards have nevertheless all risen during the same period.

As outlined in the corporation’s ‘Forward Fashion’ plan, its overall aims are to “sustainably source 100% of PVH's cotton, viscose and wool by 2025 and 100% of polyester by 2030”.

While the latest published percentages of cotton (69%), polyester (38%) and wool (13%) all represented increases year-on-year, the 764 metric tonnes of viscose sourced according to PVH’s sustainability standards in 2021 had become 428 in the period January 2022 to January 2023.

This, the newly published PVH Corporate Responsibility Report states, contributes to an overall 56% of materials sourced being categorised as ‘environmentally preferred’ options – an increase of 12% on 2021 statistics.

PVH, which owns brands such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, says it draws up the criteria against which its materials sourcing is judged from a combination of Textile Exchange’s ‘Preferred Fiber and Materials Matrix’ methodology, the Higg Materials Sustainability Index (Higg MSI) and Fashion for Good’s technical insight and third-party verified data.

Essential to achieving the overarching targets set out in the Forward Fashion plan is “focusing on sustainability at each stage of the process”, according to CEO Stefan Larsson, “from design and fabrication to sourcing and manufacturing and scaling new operating models that are both demand-driven and circular”.

PVH has been approached for comment on the specifics of why the sourcing of ‘environmentally preferred’ viscose has fallen in 2022.

Courtesy: Ecotextile.com/