Eileen Fisher by Michelle Williams

On Wednesday December 5^th Lim College’s Sustainability and the Future of Fashion class embarked on their last field trip of the semester to the Eileen Fisher office on 5^th Ave. There, the class enjoyed a presentation about the company’s commitments and work by Isha Patel and Christopher Barret who work on the social consciousness and sales teams respectively.

Founded by Eileen Fisher in 1984 with simplicity and comfort in mind, Eileen Fisher’s namesake brand has evolved to be a sustainable centric fashion brand, that unlike many of its counterparts, works towards sustainability in all areas. Expanding on the traditional triple bottom line, the brand considers sustainability as a quadruple bottom line, consisting of financial, environmental and internal and external social dimensions. The brand views business as a movement, as illustrated in their Vision 2020, which outlines their desire to not only eliminate negative impacts but implement and design in positive change.

Part of their 2020 Vision, their environmental vision addresses materials, chemistry, carbon and water. Much of their product is focused on satisfying these first two aspects. Chris explained that Eileen Fisher partnered with a consulting firm to develop a tool to help rank their fabrics based on their environmental impact, considering fiber, chemistry, pre-treating, printing, dyeing and finishing. Named the Material Ranking Tool, their materials are ranked on a numerical scale from 0-10 with a score above 3.8 representing an eco-preferred material. Currently, Eileen Fisher use around 66% eco-preferred materials, which is well on their way to reaching their 2020 goal of 100%. Describing some of their eco-preferred pieces, Chris explains that Eileen Fisher’s product is unique, as while they use organic and recycled material, it is almost impossible to tell them apart in terms of quality and aesthetic, from competing products that use conventional fabrics.
In addition, to reduce their carbon footprint, Eileen Fisher work towards offsetting their emissions through investments in renewable energy projects. And, through their support of organic farming (which has a lower gray water footprint) and increased water efficiencies during the manufacturing process they address their water impact.

Aside from their environmental goals, Isha also described how Eileen Fisher works towards social sustainability. Their social goals include conscious practice, fair wages and worker happiness to name a few. Through initiatives such as grant programs, community partnerships and philanthropic events, Eileen Fisher have a focus on the empowerment of women and children, which is equally as important as their environmental work in preventing the degradation of the environment. Among the drivers of environmental degradation, as described by scientists using the IPAT formula, is population growth in developing countries. By empowering, educating and supporting women and children in these countries, Eileen Fisher is allowing these people the opportunity to become leaders and expand their horizons beyond childrearing and working only to support their families, which is key in reducing poverty and population growth.

On their journey towards sustainability, Eileen Fisher have also gained an array of sustainable certifications to support their mission. Earlier this year, the brand was re-certified as a B-corp brand, in addition to being the only certified Blue Sign US brand. Their certification as a New York benefit corporation however, truly cements their commitment to their mission, meaning they now have a legal responsibility to achieve positive social and environmental impact.

Understanding the relationships between the pillars of sustainability and utilizing a system’s thinking approach to guide their business operations is what makes Eileen Fisher's business truly unique. While it is hard to sum up all the amazing work the brand does in a blog post, from their vision and achievements to date alone, it is clear Eileen Fisher are leaders in the industry, with a lot to give, and plenty of knowledge to share.

Photo credit: eileenfisher.com
Ref: Robertson, M. (2017). Sustainability Principles and Practice. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.