Explore EILEEN FISHER in and around 06820
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Years ago, Eileen Fisher set an ambitious goal: 100% sustainability. The company and its founder have consistently recognized this as an aspirational target. Transitioning from a wasteful model to an environmentally friendly one with circularity at its core is complex, time-consuming, and expensive. EILEEN FISHER is committed to transparency, sharing its successes, failures, and ongoing challenges as it evolves, while avoiding greenwashing. The brand acknowledges that no sustainable or circular company is perfect, but it is committed to honest communication and continuous improvement.
Discovering EILEEN FISHER in 06820
Darien Sport Shop, 1127 Post Road, Darien, CT 06820
Where to find EILEEN FISHER within ten miles of 06820
EILEEN FISHER Store, 160 Main Street, Westport, CT 06880 (7 Miles)
What they sell
Women’s clothes, accessories, and shoes.
What we like about EILEEN FISHER’s Sustainability Efforts
- Material Sourcing
- Bluesign ® Certified Dying
- Circular Fashion Initiatives
- Consumer Engagement
- Industry Collaboration
Material Sourcing
EILEEN FISHER looks at the entire value chain when creating a collection, starting with design and fiber, and then continuing through the garment’s end of life to ensure it does not end up as waste. The brand lays a solid foundation for achieving a circular model by sourcing regenerative, renewable, and recyclable fibers. In addition, they use “responsible wool,” tree fiber from renewable wood pulp (no old-growth trees), organic cotton (grown without pesticides or herbicides), and organic linen. They are increasing their use of recycled materials. As of June 2024, products made of recycled cashmere, recycled cotton, recycled polyester, recycled polyester satin, and recycled nylon can be found for sale on their website.
Traditional dyehouses use toxic dyes and chemicals that often end up in local water sources. EILEEN FISHER works with certified dyehouses that use safer chemistry and avoid dangerous dyes and wastewater pollution.
Circular Fashion: The Renew Take Back Program
“The journey to circular will be long. And we won’t always get it right. But there is no plan B.”- –EILEEN FISHER website
The Renew take-back program is the foundation of the brand’s circular design model. The program started in 2009 for employees and became available nationally in 2013. By 2023, Renew had collected two million EILEEN FISHER garments. One million garments have been resold, donated, or remade into new designs. The remaining one million garments that could not be resold or renewed were repurposed through various recycling and upcycling processes.
To illustrate the scale of this initiative, the company highlights that the two million pieces collected account for just 5.4% of EILEEN FISHER’S production during its 39-year history.
Engaging and Educating the Consumer and Fashion Industry Stakeholders
Every analysis of sustainable fashion acknowledges that consumption habits have to change along with the apparel industry. The EILEEN FISHER brand emphasizes storytelling and shares its journey and practices through various platforms to educate consumers and the fashion industry.
Industry Collaboration
To facilitate the industry-wide adoption of circular fashion models, EILEEN FISHER makes its research and strategies publicly accessible. The “Hey, Fashion!” report, developed in partnership with Pentatonic, offers a playbook for reducing textile waste and overhauling supply chains. It provides tangible solutions and resources for brands to implement sustainable practices and highlights successful initiatives across the supply chain.
EILEEN FISHER is a certified B Corporation committed to high social and environmental performance standards. The company publishes annual Benefit Corporation Reports detailing its sustainability efforts and achievements. In 2022, the company tracked 92% of its apparel manufacturers’ energy sources. The report also highlighted the company’s circular design model, which includes First Life, Second Life, and Third Life stages for its products.
The brand collaborates with various organizations to advance sustainability in the fashion industry. The company worked with the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business to monetize the financial and societal benefits of its sustainability initiatives using the Return on Sustainability Investment (ROSI) framework. This collaboration helped EILEEN FISHER understand the tangible and intangible benefits of its circular business models and informed its decision-making processes.
Additional Information:
Rifkin, S., Raman, R., Rosenthal, C., & Tan, C. (2021, January). The Business Case for Sustainable Apparel at EILEEN FISHER. NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business. https://www.stern.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/EILEEN%20FISHER%20Case.pdf
