GUESS Joins Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Program for Innovative, Sustainable Denim

Yesterday, GUESS announced that it has joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular initiative, an initiative to redesign the future of fashion.

Specifically, GUESS has committed to develop denim according to the initiative’s Jeans Redesign Guidelines, which tackle the issues of waste and pollution associated with denim production. The guidelines establish minimum requirements for durability, material health, recyclability, and traceability.

"The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is leading the way in rethinking fashion design, and GUESS is thrilled to be a part of this transformation. The Jeans Redesign Program challenges us to revisit how we make denim – and GUESS welcomes this challenge! At GUESS, we are proud of the progress we have made to produce more environmentally sustainable products, and our partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is another step towards our quest to make this world a better place.” – Carlos Alberini, CEO, GUESS

"GUESS has been synonymous with denim culture throughout its history - and by joining the Jeans Redesign they are helping to shape the industry's future. We are delighted to be working with them to create jeans that last longer, that can be remade into new jeans at the end of their use, and are made in ways which are better for the environment and the people that make them.” – Francois Souchet, Make Fashion Circular lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

GUESS is partnering with students at its local fashion university, the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles, to develop the initial Jeans Redesign concept. This is a continuation of the company’s ongoing sustainability partnership with the university. The FIDM program has educated more than 250 students and employees combined since 2016.

"The GUESS-sponsored sustainability class at FIDM has opened the eyes for so many of our young designers. Through the GUESS program, we have trained our students on zero waste design, sustainable materials and product lifecycle, and sustainability’s role within the business of fashion. The Jeans Redesign partnership with GUESS is an exciting opportunity for our students to stay on the cutting edge of design; we are excited to give our students this opportunity to solve real world challenges when it comes to fashion and sustainability.” – Amanda Starling, Chair, Special Projects, FIDM

This is the latest effort GUESS has made towards fulfilling its commitment to sustainability education and promoting fashion circularity, the idea that clothing should be continuously reused, reworn and recycled. The progress the company has made on these commitments – in addition to its larger sustainability plan – is detailed in its latest sustainability report, available at sustainability.guess.com.

About GUESS?, Inc.

Guess?, Inc. designs, markets, distributes and licenses a lifestyle collection of contemporary apparel, denim, handbags, watches, eyewear, footwear and other related consumer products. Guess? products are distributed through branded Guess? stores as well as better department and specialty stores around the world. As of November 2, 2019, the Company directly operated 1,174 retail stores in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The Company’s partners and distributors operated 569 additional retail stores worldwide. As of November 2, 2019, the Company and its partners and distributors operated in approximately 100 countries worldwide. For more information about the Company, please visit www.guess.com.

About The Ellen MacArthur Foundation

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was launched in 2010 to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The Foundation works across seven key areas: insight and analysis; business; institutions, governments, and cities; systemic initiatives; circular design; learning; and communications. With its Knowledge Partners (Arup, Dragon Rouge, IDEO and SYSTEMIQ), the Foundation works to quantify the economic opportunity of a more circular model and to develop approaches for capturing its value. The Foundation collaborates with its Global Partners (BlackRock, Danone, DS Smith, Google, H&M Group, Intesa Sanpaolo, Philips, Renault, SC Johnson, Solvay, Unilever), Core Philanthropic Funders (SUN, MAVA, players of People’s Postcode Lottery (GB)) and its CE100 network (businesses, universities, emerging innovators, governments, cities, affiliate organisations), to build capacity, explore collaboration opportunities and to develop circular business initiatives.
ellenmacarthurfoundation.org | @ellenmacarthurfoundation

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