Banana Republic

Banana Republic is owned by GAP, Inc.

Our “Planet” rating evaluates brands based on the environmental policies in their supply chains, from carbon emissions and wastewater to business models and product circularity. Here we rate Banana Republic “It's a Start”. These are a few factors influencing its score:

• It follows an unsustainable fast fashion model due to its regular heavy discounts and quick release of trend-led styles
• It uses a some lower-impact materials, however it does not publish an aggregate breakdown of materials used
• It’s set a science based target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in both its direct operations and supply chain, and it claims it’s on track.
• While it offers resale of secondhand products, there’s no evidence it’s taking further action to address textile waste in its supply chain.
• It uses recycled packaging.

Workers’ rights are central to our “People” rating, which assess brands’ policies and practices on everything from child labour to living wages and gender equality. Here we rate Banana Republic “It's a Start”. These are a few factors influencing its score:

• It sources its final stage of production from countries with extreme risk of labour abuse.
• It has a basic policy to support diversity and inclusion in its direct operations and supply chain.
• Its Code of Conduct covers ILO principles.
• It has an internal grievance mechanism for workers in its supply chain to anonymously report concerns like harassment and unpaid wages.
• It claims to have a program to improve wages but there’s no evidence it ensures its workers are paid living wages in most of its supply chain.
• During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, it disclosed some policies to protect workers in its supply chain from the virus.

Brands’ animal welfare policies and, where applicable, how well they trace their animal-derived products are the focus of our “Animals” rating. Here we rate Banana Republic “Not Good Enough”. These are a few factors influencing its score:

• It has a policy to source wool from non-mulesed sheep but doesn’t provide any evidence to verify its claims.
• It appears to use leather, shearling, wool, cashmere, alpaca, and down.
• It uses some recycled or certified alternatives of conventional wool and down
• It doesn’t appear to use fur, angora, exotic animal skin, or mohair.
• It has committed to eliminating some animal-derived materials by a target date.

Based on all publicly available information we’ve reviewed, we rate Banana Republic “It's a Start” overall.