American Eagle is a go-to destination for affordable and on-trend jeans and casual wear for young people with over 1000 stores worldwide. We take a look at how the brand rates in terms of environmental impact, labour conditions, and animal welfare. We ask—how ethical is American Eagle?
Environmental Impact
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Free Program American Eagle Employee Handbook 5/9/2018/ Comments off AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS INC. Is built on more than 38 years of customer focus, dedication and innovation. American Eagle was an amazing place to work for a long time. However, recently they have taken away the benefits that make being an AE manager great. We no longer have a comparable bonus structure, or reward system to other retailers. There is no incentive to driving sales. And even better, First Class and Coach are free. – you can even share your travel passes with family and friends. As an Envoy employee, you’ll share the same standby boarding priority as American Airlines employees, and if you want to purchase a confirmed ticket, all Envoy employees are eligible to take advantage of a 20% discount on all.
On the surface, American Eagle seems to be dedicated to sustainability. In practice, however, it appears to be doing very little to reduce its environmental impact. While it has set an absolute target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated from its own operations and supply chain, there is no evidence it is on track to meet its target.
There is also no evidence that American Eagle is taking adequate steps to minimise or eliminate hazardous chemicals in its supply chain. This is problematic, not just for the environment, but for the brand’s workers as well! While it does measure and report on its water usage and wastewater management, it has not set any specific targets. American Eagle also lacks adequate policies and initiatives for resource management and disposal, and uses few eco-friendly materials.
American Eagle outlines a number of sustainability strategies including the recycling of paper in its corporate offices, and the establishment of permanent I:CO recycling centres in over 823 stores across North America. As positive as these initiatives are, there is still a long way for American Eagle to go before it can consider itself sustainable! For these reasons we have given the brand a score of ‘Not Good Enough’ for the planet.
Labour Conditions
American Eagle is really lagging behind for people, too, with a score of ‘Not Good Enough’. There is no evidence that it provides its workers with a crucial living wage. It also sources from countries with high or extreme risk of labour abuse, however it has attempted to address these risks by signing the Bangladesh Building and Fire Safety Accord, and participating in the Business for Social Responsibility network. Despite this, it received a very low score of 11-20% in the Fashion Transparency Index, as none of its supply chain is certified by labour standards which ensure worker health and safety, living wages, or other labour rights. It also does not disclose any policies or safeguards to protect suppliers and workers in its supply chain from the impacts of COVID-19!
To make matters worse, in the past American Eagle has been linked to a number of scandals, including an incident in 2015 involving the dangerous use of sandblasting in a Chinese factory, as well as a leaked video in 2011 of a Chinese factory used by a number of American retailers including American Eagle that showed workers being subjected to poor conditions. In response to the sandblasting incident, American Eagle banned the presence of sandblasting equipment in any facility producing its clothing.
Animal Welfare
American Eagle is ‘Not Good Enough’ for the animals, either. It has a general statement about minimising animal suffering but not a formal animal welfare policy. It states that it sources wool from non-mulesed sheep, which is good, but it uses leather, down, and exotic animal hair without stating its sources. While it doesn’t use angora, fur, or exotic animal skin, there is no evidence it traces any animal products to the first stage of production. This is problematic as the welfare of the animals and workers can’t be guaranteed.
Overall Rating: Not Good Enough
While its greenhouse gas reduction target and recycling programs are a good first step, ultimately American Eagle appears more interested in talking the talk rather than walking the walk. Being more transparent about its environmental policies and labour conditions, paying a living wage to its workers, and using more eco-friendly materials in its products would be great places to start. At the end of the day, American Eagle follows a fast fashion model, promoting quantity over quality, which is inherently unsustainable. Note that Good On You ratings consider 100s of issues and it is not possible to list every relevant issue in a summary of the brand’s performance. For more information see our How We Rate page and our FAQs.
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Luckily there are ‘Good’ and ‘Great’ brands out there with higher quality, ethically and sustainably made clothes for you to rock.
Good Swaps
Ethical alternatives to American Eagle
Afends
Afends is a Byron Bay based fashion brand leading the way in organic hemp fashion, using renewable energy in its supply chain to reduce its climate impact. You can find the full range in sizes XS-XL.
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Kings of Indigo
Kings of Indigo makes quality denims, tops and accessories inspired by American classics with a Japanese eye for detail. The brand uses GOTS organic cotton as well as recycled cotton and wool, and avoids all chemicals from the REACH chemical list.
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Shop Kings of Indigo @ thegreenlabels.
Shop Kings of Indigo.
Seek Collective
Seek Collective is a line of elevated essentials inspired by the global woman blended with art, craft, and design.
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Ecoalf
Thanks to recycled materials like rescued ocean plastic, Ecoalf creates sustainable fashion with the same quality, design, and technical properties as the best non-recycled ones.
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Free Program American Eagle Employee Handbook Pdf
Shop Ecoalf @ Farfetch.
Free Program American Eagle Employee Handbook Template
Editor's note
Free Program American Eagle Employee Handbook Application
Feature image via American Eagle, all other images via the brands mentioned. Good On You publishes the world's most comprehensive ratings of fashion brands’ impact on people, the planet and animals. Use the Directory to search more than 2,500 brands. To support our work, we may earn a commission on sales made using our offer codes or affiliate links.