Ralph Lauren

Inspired by Manager and Co-founder William McDonough’s idea of “Timeless Mindfulness”, Ralph Lauren’s ‘Timeless by Design’ approach to sustainable fashion has led Ralph Lauren (the Company) to achieve the industry’s first-ever Cradle to Cradle Certified® cashmere sweater. This is one of five iconic products that the Company has pledged to certify by 2025.

The Company purchased carbon offsets to cover >50% of the GHG emissions associated with the final manufacturing stage. The final manufacturing facility has on-site solar panels and creates enough renewable energy to cover 100% of the energy required for the final manufacturing stage.

The Company gained further insight into their supply chain in collaboration with MBDC as we gathered material and chemical information for all materials in scope for the sweater and assessed them according to MHAM. The materials, which were optimized and assessed under Cradle to Cradle standard V3.1, achieved Platinum level and the Company is continuing to work to make sure they are Platinum level under the latest standard V4.0.

This sweater was designed with optimized materials in order to minimize waste, directly reflected in the high Material Reutilization score of 94.89. The majority of the sweater is made from rapidly renewable and naturally biodegradable resources including cashmere and cotton for the logo label.

The Company strives to source materials that have gone through vigorous certifications which ensure materials are not made with social risks. For example, the supplied cashmere has achieved The Good Cashmere Standard®, an independent standard for sustainable cashmere that aims to improve the welfare of cashmere goats, the working conditions of farmers and to protect the environment.

The final manufacturing facility uses closed-loop processes for some of the manufacturing stages to reduce the amount of water needed, and is using rainwater recovery to reduce the amount of water it requires from municipal sources. This cyclic process prevents waste generated during the manufacturing process from entering the environment.

Clean Air & Climate Protection

Material Health

Product Circularity

Social Fairness

Water & Soil Stewardship