October 14, 2020 – Gildan Activewear Inc. announced that it has ranked 32nd overall among The Wall Street Journal’s new ranking of the Top 100 Most Sustainably Managed Companies in the world. Gildan also claimed the 6th spot among the top 10 companies in the world in the business model/innovation sub-ranking. This recognition underscores the effectiveness of the Company’s vertically-integrated operating model and supply chain from a sustainability standpoint. This has been a founding principle of the Gildan’s business strategy which is fully aligned with the increasing expectations of our customers, investors, employees and other stakeholders. Gildan was second among only three apparel companies included in the top 100 ranking and was also the only North American apparel company.
“We are proud of our inclusion in this new Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ranking and acknowledgment as a top global performer,” said Glenn Chamandy, President and CEO at Gildan. “This recognition is a direct result of our unique business model of owning and operating our manufacturing facilities and reflects the continued commitment and progress we have made towards our vision of Making Apparel Better®. Over the last thirty-five years, we have built a company known as much for the quality of our products as for how they are made under our Genuine Responsibility® program which allows us to manufacture clothes responsibly and ethically,” he added.
The Wall Street Journal’s inaugural ranking of the World’s Most Sustainably Managed Companies was produced based on a review of more than 5,500 publicly traded companies around the world that met disclosure standards for data showing what programs, policies and performance metrics they have in place for several key sustainability dimensions, including environment, human capital, social capital, and business model/innovation. The scores take a broad view of sustainability that assesses a company’s ability to create value over the long term using criteria considered most financially relevant as defined by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), a nonprofit organization that works with companies and investors to create a framework for reporting on sustainability. More information on the methodology used to assess companies is available here.
The full list of companies included on the ranking as well as their individual scores is available here.