SUPPORTING YOU...

AND MORE SUPPORTIVE OF

THE PLANET

At Berlei, we want our products to leave a lasting impression, just not on our environment. In recognising our responsibility to do better, we’re committed to not only supporting the planet, but supporting you too.

By advancing our standards in packaging, sourcing and social responsibility, we promise to do our part to make more ethical, more sustainable and more supportive choices. Our path forward is one of education, ambition and connection, rather than perfection. We’re learning. We’re evolving.

We’re a work-in-progress.

OUR GOALS

OUR PEOPLE

Globally, we will improve the lives of at least ten million people by 2030. We will do so by:

  • Supporting our global employee base, and those of our suppliers, primarily through programs focused on health and wellness, education, and diversity and inclusion.
  • Supporting our communities through health & wellness and education programs, philanthropy, encouraging volunteer-ism, and family.

We are currently supporting our communities by:

  • Helping to improve the lives of young people through our partnerships with Reach Foundation and Minus18.

  • Educating parents about the importance of safer sleep via our partnership with Red Nose Australia.

  • Providing clothing essentials to vulnerable Aussies in times of crisis through our partnership with GIVIT.

OUR PLANET

Emissions

As part of HanesBrands, we have signed the Science-Based Targets Call-to-Action Commitment Letter and will develop science-based targets by 2022. As such, together with our global HanesBrands family we will:

  • Continue to drive greenhouse gas reductions in our owned and key-supplier facilities, which we currently project will require an absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction of at least an additional 25% by 2030 to meet science-based targets.

  • Continue to drive energy use reductions in our owned and key-supplier facilities, which we currently project will require us to reduce energy use at least an additional 25% by 2030 to meet science-based targets.

  • Achieve 100% renewable electricity in our owned operations by 2030

  • We will also educate consumers on the energy, GHG emissions and money they can save by washing our products in cold water with a goal of 300 million consumer impressions by 2022.

 

Water

We will reduce water use within our operations by an additional 25% by 2030 off a 2019 baseline.

 

Waste

We will achieve zero waste across our operations by 2025 and support key suppliers to do the same.

OUR PRODUCT

 

We’re working towards using 100% sustainably sourced cotton and 100% recycled/ degradable polyester by 2030.

We define sustainable cotton as U.S. and Australian grown, organic, recycled or sourced through reputable sustainable cotton certification programs.

THOUGHTFUL PACKAGING

In supporting you, it’s also our mission to be more supportive of our planet. As a fashion brand, we’re conscious of the impact our industry is having on the environment. That’s why we’re passionate about reducing our footprint, not just in our offices, factories and supply chain, but also through our packaging.

With the help of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), we’re evolving our packaging to make sure it is more sustainable.

By 2025, our aim is to:

• Eliminate single-use plastics in our product packaging.

• Switch over to 100% reusable or recyclable packaging.

• Reduce our packaging weight by 25%, off a 2019 baseline, along with our global HanesBrands family.

REUSABLE HANGERS

Our Berlei hangers can be returned to any of our retail stores nationwide to be recycled as part of our partnership program with TIC.

MORE SUSTAINABLE SWING TAGS

We have started the journey to update to more sustainable swing tags, and other card-based packaging to a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) mixed card, which uses raw materials from sustainably managed forests.

Our swing tags are recyclable and we are transitioning them to include the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) logo. We’ve also reduced the amount of swing tags on our products, the weight and size of packaging, and switched foil over to a recyclable substitute.

Our new packaging will be rolled out from July 2021, so watch this space!

RECYCLABLE SHIPPING

SATCHELS

We’ve recently upgraded our shipping satchels to a more sustainable alternative. This means the next time you order from us it’ll arrive in a bag made from 90% post-consumer recycled plastic.

What’s better is that each bag can be reused and recycled through REDcycle, a national recycling program. Simply drop it off at any REDcycle bin, located at major supermarkets, and it’ll be converted into recycled materials for use in furniture, signage and other materials. To find out more about REDcycle, visit their website.

Our ethical standards

We have a responsibility to act with fairness, respect and integrity in relation to our employees. We hold ourselves and our suppliers accountable to strong ethical standards and are committed to human rights and responsible sourcing.

How are we doing this?

Under our parent company, HanesBrands, we run an ethical sourcing program that is accredited by the Fair Labor Association (FLA). This program monitors social compliance through ongoing annual assessments of factories to ensure compliance with our policies and identify any opportunities for continuous improvement.

Each of our facilities must undergo a social compliance assessment before production begins, and then has an annual assessment. To ensure accuracy and integrity, the initial and annual assessments are conducted by third-party auditors who measure the facilities’ performance using a detailed and scored set of criteria.

Our compliance program goal is to work with facilities to drive continuous improvement, but we will stop doing business with a factory if they fail to correct deficiencies in a timely manner or if a “zero-tolerance” issue is discovered such as child labour, forced labour, sexual or physical harassment or abuse, or attempted bribery of an auditor.

Unlike most apparel companies, HanesBrands owns and operates most of our manufacturing facilities, which enables us to create a positive and safe working environment. It also means we provide our production employees a living wage, so that they live in households that more than meet their basic needs – and have some discretionary income. For the families of these employees, HanesBrands also provides school supplies, health insurance, subsidised meals and transportation and generally invest in local communities.