Is Guess Fast Fashion? An Expert Breakdown!

November 10, 2023

Guess is an American fashion brand that was founded by the Marciano brothers, Maurice, Georges, Paul, and Armand Marciano, in 1981 in Los Angeles, who emigrated from the south of France to pursue the American dream.

The Marcianos revolutionized denim, drawing inspiration from European design. The 3-zip Marilyn, a slim-fitting, stonewashed jeans, was one of their first creations.

The first department shop to carry the brand was Bloomingdale's, which placed an order for two dozen pairs of jeans. In a matter of hours, they vanished from the shelves. This was the start of an extended tale of triumph.

The business expanded in 2004 when it unveiled a new store strategy for its Marciano contemporary collection.

Currently, GUESS has evolved into a genuinely worldwide lifestyle brand, offering a comprehensive selection of denim, clothing, and accessories in more than 80 nations.

Spread across 100 countries globally, the company employs 14,700 people in its factories, stores, brands, logistics, and subsidiaries, in addition to operating over 1,200 locations.

Sustainability Rating: 5/10

Category: Clothing, footwear, accessories

For: Women, men, kids

Products: Tops, shirts, blouses, dresses, jumpsuits, jackets, coats, sweatshirts, denim, trousers, skirts, knitwear, underwear, swimwear, activewear, flats, sandals, boots, sneakers, bags, accessories

Style: Casual

Quality: Medium

Prices: $

Sizes: XS-XL, 2-10 (US), 4-12 (UK), 34-40 (EU), 4-12 (AU)

Fabrics: Cotton, linen, lyocell, modal, viscose, ramie, acetate, nylon, spandex, polyester, polyurethane, acrylic, neoprene, rubber, leather, wool, silk, down, denim

100% Organic: No

100% Vegan: No

Ethical & Fair: Yes

Recycling: Yes

Manufacturing countries: Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Tunisia, Vietnam

Certifications: GOTS, FSC, GRS, RCS, BCI, RDS, WRAP

Interpretation Of The Sustainability Score

Brands with a rating of 5/10 are somewhat on the right track to make fashion sustainable. They are more transparent and responsible than most fashion brands and take massive action to reduce their environmental impacts.

What Are The Sustainability Practices Of Guess?

Guess employs a variety of strategies to produce clothing that supports a circular economy and is environment-positive. It aims to bring about significant changes in sustainability through strong pledges and goals.

It aims that by 2024, over 20% of its denim will be eco-friendly, and they plan to quickly increase that percentage to 75% of their primary denim line.

The majority of their packaging is becoming recyclable or composed of recyclable materials. In keeping with this approach, they unveiled the Avana boxes, which are made of recycled paper, FSC RECYCLED certified, and PCR recyclable once again.

However, Guess only makes very little use of recycled materials like polyester, cotton, and regenerated nylon, or organic materials like organic cotton.

The majority of the materials it utilizes are either synthetic petroleum-based fibers like polyester, nylon, acrylic, and others, or natural materials like ordinary cotton or linen without the necessary certifications.

Are There Any Ethical Practices Of Guess?

Guess has put in place extensive programs, such as equal employment opportunity policies and processes, safety and health initiatives, and wage and hour procedures, to guarantee compliance with labor and employment regulations.

Additionally, the company upholds a vendor code of conduct that lays out certain legal, ethical, and business requirements that apply to its vendors. Among these requirements are bans on child labor, slave labor, and human trafficking.

As the company works to reduce textile waste, this cooperation also produced chances and jobs for people who had previously served time in prison to help them start again.

Guess produces their clothing in many Asian nations where human rights abuses and labor regulations persist.

However, this US apparel company displays labor certification requirements that guarantee the well-being, security, and other human rights of workers throughout its supply chain.

Additionally, Guess aims to improve ethnic diversity in executive leadership roles and prioritizes gender balance. It seeks to uphold the highest standards and promote transparency. The company also uses independent audits to evaluate adherence to its code of conduct.

Guess's corporate website lists all of its manufacturers and processing facilities. It promotes important subjects like diversity and inclusion and stronger relationships with suppliers because it believes in justice, equality, and community.

Does Guess Give Back To The Community?

Guess spearheaded several relief actions during the global COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating their shared belief that #WeAreInThisTogether.

To assist their worldwide community during the COVID-19 disaster, they collaborated with groups to distribute money, apparel, and personal protective equipment (PPE), including 150,000 masks in Italy and Spain. They also promoted blood donations.

Furthermore, Guess provides funds to the Associazione Fiorenzo Fratini Onlus, and with the help of this charity, Guess is able to fund the provision of a mobile incubator to the Meyer Children's Hospital in Florence, Italy, as well as a portable echocardiograph to aid children in Eritrea suffering from rheumatic disease.

Guess also funds The IEO-Monzino Foundation, which aims to increase public awareness of the value of cancer prevention and early detection, as well as the European Institute of Oncology's research on malignancies that afflict women.

Are There Any Animal Welfare Policies at Guess?

GUESS strives to guarantee that any material obtained from animals used in its products maintains the company's commitment to treating animals humanely and ethically. The Farm Animal Welfare Council's "The Five Freedoms for Animal Welfare" and international best practices serve as the foundation for their supplier policy.

To put this into perspective, just 1% of the components used by the corporation are produced from animals.

According to the report, Guess only accepts leather and down for usage in tiny amounts as byproducts of the meat industry that also have a certification for sourcing responsibly.

Guess prohibits using fur, derived from mink, fox, raccoon, lamb, rabbit, and dog, Ingrid Fiber derived from Angora rabbit hair or wool, and Hair made of mohair from Angora goats.

Sources:

https://www.guess.com/us/en/our-story.html

https://www.guess.com/us/en/size-charts.html

https://journal.guess.eu/en/guess-foundation-en/

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/609c10ed49db5202181d673f/t/61ba503e8d34ba47e5fea0dc/1639600190166/GUESS+Animal+Welfare+Sourcing+Policy+rev+2021.pdf

https://journal.guess.eu/en/covid-19-relief-effort-en/

https://esgreport.guess.com/application/files/7416/8855/0570/GUESS_SR22-23_Social_Community_investment.pdf

https://investors.guess.com/news-releases/news-release-details/give-protect-inspire-guess-inc-and-guess-foundation

https://journal.guess.eu/en/sustainability-2021-en/#:~:text=We%20will%20continue%20to%20use,plastic%2Dbased%20materials%20are%20recycled.&text=We%20are%20introducing%20new%20product,and%20waste%20less%2C%20reimagining%20fashion.