Taking Responsibility a Step Further with Supply Chain Transparency

Sustainability plays a big part in every decision we make, right down to where we source our materials. In fact, several of our facilities have earned the Forest Stewardship Council® Chain-Of-Custody certification, which traces the path of FSC®-certified products from forests through the supply chain.

But it doesn’t stop there. It’s important that we partner with retail brands who share our commitment to responsible sourcing and supply chain transparency. Let’s take a closer look at these brands and how they’re doing better business.

American Giant™ was founded by a moment of opportunity: where its dissatisfaction with the way clothes were made, met new technologies that enabled smaller supply chains. 

The brand makes clothes in the United States because keeping things local means it can understand the whole supply chain. That supply chain includes the people who touch the product and make it better. In turn, they gain skills and opportunity, and their communities are revitalized. It's a virtuous cycle of good and humanity.

As a Certified B Corporation, Klean Kanteen balances purpose and profit, considering its impact on workers, customers, suppliers, community and the environment. In order to become certified, a company must meet high standards of verified performance, accountability and transparency on factors ranging from charitable giving to environmental impact and more.

The brand is driven to ensure the materials and operations involved with the manufacture of its products meet acceptable standards for quality and safety, fair labor, ethical business practices and environmental responsibility. Klean Kanteen works to achieve these standards through third-party social audits, quality assurance inspections and more.

When choosing suppliers, Thule® always considers the environment, human rights and good working conditions. To make its logistics more efficient, the brand lowers transportation distances, optimizes packaging and makes the best use of capacity.

Thule® is also a member of the bluesign® system, an international standard for sustainable textile production. bluesign® traces the path of each textile along the manufacturing process at every stage from factory floor to finished product, resulting in safer, more sustainable environments for people to work in and live in.

Karst, another Certified B Corp, makes paper products from 100% sustainably recycled stone, and without any bleaches or acids. Karst Stone Paper™ is rebuilt from first principles to be better than wood-pulp paper: more durable, more sustainable, and infinitely smoother to write, doodle or draw on.

Karst Stone Paper™ is C2C Silver Certified, to ensure an independent body is regulating its paper-making process. “Cradle to Cradle Certified™” is a globally recognized measure of safer, more sustainable products made for the circular economy. And while anyone can make paper-like material out of mineral material, only those who uphold the highest standards of environmental responsibility can achieve a C2C Certification.

Yet another Certified B Corp, Day Owl operates in the company of its sister organization, First Mile®, which formalizes waste collection networks in low-income communities and bridges the gap for global brands to purchase from these responsible supply chains, while diverting plastic waste from our oceans and landfills. So far, First Mile® has diverted over 130 million plastic bottles from landfills and oceans.

The plastic bottles used to create the canvas in Day Owl backpacks are collected in Taiwan and the final cut and sew happens at the brand’s factory in Vietnam. And when you’re ready to replace your backpack, you can recycle your old one with Day Owl to ensure it never ends up back in a landfill where it once began as a plastic bottle.

Click here to see our full selection of products from retail brands committed to supply chain transparency.