By Big news! GUESS?, Inc. recently announced it will take action to end the risk of forest destruction and human rights abuses in its clothing.
GUESS?, Inc. is the latest brand to take action for rainforest-free fabrics in response to RAN’s “Out of Fashion” campaign. Over the last several years, nearly 70,000 RAN supporters have helped create a major shift in the fashion industry by making phone calls, signing petitions, sending emails, and sharing actions online.
GUESS’s policy makes the company one of more than 100 leading brands, including Ralph Lauren, Victoria’s Secret (L Brands), and Abercrombie & Fitch, which have developed similar commitments for rainforest-free fabrics.
With this new policy, GUESS?, Inc. has committed to trace the sources of wood-based fabric, such as viscose and rayon, used in its own clothing lines. The company will put in place measures to ensure it does not work with suppliers sourcing from ancient or endangered forests, or suppliers linked to violating the rights of Indigenous peoples who depend on such forests.
RAN is encouraged by GUESS ’s commitment and looks forward to seeing laggard fashion companies, like Michael Kors, Forever 21, Under Armour, and Footlocker take action to address these important issues. GUESS’s commitment sends an important message to rayon and viscose producers in countries like Indonesia, where the production of pulp for fabrics has been linked to land-grabbing and human rights abuses. One egregious example is in the area controlled by pulp producer Toba Pulp Lestari in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, where over 20 cases of land conflict have been documented.
This tragic legacy of forest degradation and human rights abuses reminds us that GUESS ’s policy is an important step, but it’s only the first step. RAN looks forward to working with GUESS?, Inc., and others, to ensure that its policy is implemented, and that it creates real, lasting results for frontline communities and down to the forest floor.
