BENTONVILLE – US retail giant Walmart says it’s set three new textile sustainability goals as part of its on-going efforts to reduce the environmental impact of textiles and clothing it sells. This includes, by 2022, a committment to source only from suppliers working with textile mills that use the Higg Index FEM for products sold in its US stores.
The company says this new focus has been informed by research from the Sustainability Consortium, of which Walmart was a founder member back in 2009. It details new goals on sourcing cotton and polyester, the more ‘responsible use’ of chemicals, with a goal to “to reduce the discharge of priority chemicals from the manufacturing process by 2025.” But ther eye-catching committment is to source only from suppliers that use the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higg Index Facility Environmental Module (FEM) for product sold in the US.
“With the global population expected to rise, demand for things like apparel, towels and other fabric products will continue to increase as our resources become scarcer. That’s why Walmart is working with suppliers to improve sustainability across the textile value chain,” according to Deanah Baker, Senior Vice President, U.S. Apparel at Walmart.
