Is Tommy Hilfiger A Fast Fashion Brand? An Expert Breakdown!
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Being a fashion enthusiast, you must have heard the term “fast fashion” before. It refers to manufacturing inexpensive and low-quality clothes that can only be worn once before they are ready to be thrown away.
Fashion brands that frequently produce such clothes come under fire for their unethical approaches. As consumers are demanding brands to be sustainable and ethical, they often question the brands that they religiously invest in.
About Tommy Hilfiger, the American brand was founded in 1985 by Thomas Jacob Hilfiger, now owned by PVH Corp, sells clothes, footwear, accessories, and undergarments for men, women, and kids.
The brand became well-known due to its marketing tactics and celebrity endorsements. However, it received criticism for producing low-quality clothes.
It is considered a luxury brand that offers a certain level of quality products meant to last for a long time and is not fast fashion.
While one brand may be viewed as being reasonably priced and another as being upscale and opulent, there are a lot of factors that should be taken into account.
Sustainability Rating: 6/10
Category: Clothing, footwear, accessories, underwear
For: Men, women, kids
Products: Tops, bottoms, jackets, coats, sweatshirts, sweatpants, sleepwear, undergarments, suits, blazers, swimwear, bags, wallets, hats, gloves, scarves, watches, jewelry, socks, belts, fragrances, sunglasses, ties
Style: Trendy, classic
Quality: High to moderate
Prices: $
Sizes: 2XS-2XL, 2-16 (US), 32-46 (EU)
Fabrics: Nylon, acrylic, polyester, polyurethane, spandex, cotton, elastane, elastomultiester, econyl, linen, wool, leather, down
100% Organic: No
100% Vegan: No
Ethical & Fair: No
Recycling: Yes
Manufacturing countries: China Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia
Certifications: GRS, OCS, RWS, FSC, RCS
Interpretation Of The Sustainability Score
Fashion brands receiving a sustainability score of 6 out of 10 means that they have taken significant measures to create sustainable clothes and accessories.
They are open about their practices and strive to become better.
What Are The Sustainability Practices Of Tommy Hilfiger?
The brand has been criticized for selling low-quality clothes in recent years without taking any sustainable measures.
However, according to the brand, sustainability practices are of utmost importance for any fashion brand. They intend to reduce textile waste and be better by 2025.
Even now, they use organic cotton, eco-friendly fiber, and innovative materials in many of their clothing products in an attempt to cause less damage to the environment.
They also use recyclable content in their clothes and sell pre-loved items. They have certifications to prove it.
It is quite refreshing to know that the brand is aware of reusing and recycling to produce less waste while also involving celebrities to promote this approach.
What Are The Ethical Practices Of Tommy Hilfiger?
It is not easy for all fashion industries to be completely ethical, however, they might possess some traits, such as using vegan content in their clothes, not using plastic in their products, embracing cruelty-free approaches, being kind to their employees and assigning flexible work hours, not using child labor, and donating to charities.
Now, about the ethical practices of the brand, let’s take a look at each of the above-mentioned components.
- The brand uses some but not 100% vegan content, such as vegan leather.
- They don’t mention not using plastic at all, however, one of their strategies for a better future is to phase out single-use plastic packaging.
- In terms of their cruelty-free practices, the brand does not use exotic animal skin or angora hair, but they still use wool, down(soft feather), and leather.
- Moreover, they have also mentioned using recycled wool and leather in their products and also claim to source them sustainably in the future.
- They are good to their employees and provide flexible work schedules as shared by many employees. The only drawback is that their pay is not that good.
- Regarding child labor practices, PVH Corp. has shared a statement, that said that the brand does not support child labor, nor does it engage in it in any way. This means that their suppliers don’t support it either.
- The statement was shared under the UK Modern Slavery Act, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, and the Australian Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act.
- Lastly, the brand actively takes part in raising donations and working for a good cause, such as the Elton John AIDS Foundation, UNEP, and Gabrielle's Angel Foundation.
- They also donated around 10k T-shirts to various healthcare providers in the USA and Europe that worked during the times of COVID-19.
Does The Brand Give Back To The Community?
A fashion brand can give back to the community by acting responsibly, reducing waste, causing the least damage to the environment, and partnering with organizations that support a good cause.
Tommy Hilfiger has mentioned many times that even if they cannot act 100% responsibly, they will achieve all their sustainability goals by 2025.
The brand has also collected donations and worked for healthcare providers as mentioned above, moreover, in 1995, the owner of the brand established The Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation which worked for the education of youth.
If fashion brands don’t know what they are lacking, they cannot get better. Tommy Hilfiger, on the other hand, knows what measures the brand should take to reduce its impact on the environment, hence it is constantly working hard to adopt sustainable approaches.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F70QVBa66Bw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyF_ou1MiLg
https://guide.ethical.org.au/company/?company=4942