By Big news! Victoria’s Secret recently announced it will take action to end the risk of forest destruction in its clothing.
Victoria’s Secret is the latest iconic brand to take action for rainforest-free fabrics in response to RAN’s “Out of Fashion” campaign. This big announcement comes just weeks after Ralph Lauren made a similar commitment to ensure its clothing doesn’t contribute to rainforest destruction and human rights violations.
Victoria’s Secret is the most popular brand for its $10.7 billion parent company, L Brands, whose new rainforest-free fabric commitment will cover all its associated brands including Henri Bendel, Pink, and Bath & Body Works.
Victoria’s Secret is joining the sea change of over 60 leading brands like Ralph Lauren, H&M, Zara, Stella McCartney, ASOS, Levis Strauss & Co., and others, who have adopted similar rainforest-free fabric policies that are sending waves throughout global fabric supply chains. L Brands (Victoria’s Secret) is setting an example for other companies to follow. The ongoing pressure from our supporters has been critical to securing these commitments through RAN’s behind-the-scenes negotiations. RAN looks forward to seeing leadership from the other companies in the Fashion 15, like Abercrombie & Fitch, Michael Kors, Guess, Forever 21, Under Armour, and Footlocker.
Victoria’s Secret’s commitment not only sends a signal to other companies but also to rayon and viscose producers in countries like Indonesia, where the production of pulp for fabrics has been devastating to Indigenous and forest-dependent communities. Land-grabbing is commonplace: just in the area controlled by pulp producer Toba Pulp Lestari in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, over 15 distinct cases of land conflict have been documented.
This tragic legacy of forest degradation and human rights abuses is a reminder of the importance of achieving real, lasting results. RAN looks forward to our continued work with Victoria’s Secret to ensure that its policies create real change on the ground.
