Guess grows green-minded denim mix, reduces China sourcing
In a recently released sustainability report, Los Angeles-headquartered Guess reported an 18% increase (from 3% of its range in 2020 to 21.2% in 2021) in denim produced in line with its green-minded Smart Guess principles over the course of the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
The denim, apparel and accessories brand’s new goal is for 75% of its denim offering to mesh with its Smart Guess philosophy by 2025, the report stated.
For a denim garment to be labelled Smart Guess, the company specified that the fabric blend must contain a minimum of 20% certified sustainable materials, plus be produced using “methods with reduced environmental impact”.
Guess noted that “some” of its suppliers currently have the capacity to dye denim a deep indigo shade “with no water”. It markets this method of production as “off-water blue” to its customers and reportedly plans to expand dry indigo dyeing to encompass more collections across its range.
Some other (unspecified) suppliers’ use of Jeanologia’s water-reducing and zero-discharge e-Flow technology was also spotlighted as a positive for the brand.
Elsewhere in the report, the company highlighted a significant reduction in the amount of product it had sourced from China in during its 2021 fiscal year, down to 26.8% of apparel, jewellery and accessories from 42.3% in 2020 (and 43.23% the year prior). Reports suggest that this is due to the US-based company seeking to mitigate against tariff risk.
Instead, the company notably boosted its sourcing from within Bangladesh to around 23.5% of its mix (up from 14.7% in 2020), with India also receiving a larger share of the brand’s sourcing. 17.6% of Guess’ apparel, jewellery and accessories were sourced from the subcontinental nation in 2021, compared to 14.4% in 2020.
“During this reporting period, we made a number of refinements to our supply chain practices. We consolidated the global vendor count and streamlined and simplified global operation processes, resulting in greater efficiencies for the business,” the company explained within the document.
Image: Guess via Instagram.
