Gina Tricot’s sustainability work 2023

Yesterday Gina Tricot published its sustainability report for 2023. The report highlights our overall sustainability ambition, our focus areas, and specific initiatives. Main focus of the sustainability work is the ambition to reduce negative impact on people and the environment in our own operations and in our value chain.

Below is a selection of initiatives implemented according to Gina Tricot’s three focus areas; People, Product and Planet.

People

As part of our membership in amfori, an organization dedicated to improving working conditions and environmental performance in our value chain, over 100 audits were conducted by Gina Tricot, as well as 70 audits by third parties. All audits focused on working conditions in our direct supply chain. These audits form the basis for the minimum requirements we set in our supply chain.

During the year an extensive mapping of our supply chain was conducted, focusing on fair remuneration and equality. The result demonstrated that 49 % of the employees among our direct suppliers are women and that all suppliers pay above the statutory minimum wage in each country.

Gina Tricot also arranged educational assemblies for ten of our largest suppliers, focused on equality, in alignment with our Code of Conduct. In connection to the educations, a whistleblower system was implemented among all our direct suppliers.

We continued our over ten year long partnership with UNICEF during 2023, where the continued aid lies in pre-primary education in the immediate area of our suppliers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The work also focuses on our suppliers creating a better workplace for mothers and facilitating their return to work.

Product

During 2023, Gina Tricot increased the share of sustainable fibers in our products to 74 %. All cotton used are certified organic, recycled or from the Better Cotton Initiative. The share of purchased polyester and polyamide with sustainable fibers increased with 65 % compared to last year.

Also the amount of denim products produced with water, chemical and energy saving processes increased.

Other initiatives during the year included:

• "RENT Archives," an expansion of our RENT concept that now allows customers to rent designs from previous years online.
• "Transparency collection," a continued collaboration with PaperTale, providing increased traceability and transparency to the end customer.
• "Allvar," an underwear collection with raw materials sourced from Sweden and local sewing.

Planet

Gina Tricot continues to work towards the overall goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our operations with 50 % by 2030, in line with the company's SBTi-approved targets. In 2023 the company took significant measures to reduce climate impact on different operational levels, for example sustainable materials and renewable electricity. To identify opportunities to increase the amount of renewable energy in our production, dialogues with suppliers where prioritized throughout the year. These actions led to a reduction by 9 % of climate impact per purchased product. At the same time the overall emissions of the company increased with 0.4 %.

To handle water risks we have focused on continuing the partnership with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) within Water Stewardship. Through the partnership we assess risks and identify solutions with the aim of reaching sustainable water management, enhance soil and water health, increase competitiveness of local textile industry and cotton production, as well as to protect freshwater habitats and species. Throughout the year the efforts in mapping risks linked to biodiversity and cotton production were intensified. These risks are now being addressed as part of our sustainability work.

At Gina Tricot, sustainability work is a high priority. It is a dynamic process, and together with the world around us, we are learning what is a good way forward to achieve our ambitious sustainability targets.