WINSTON-SALEM - Activewear giant HanesBrands has been recognised as one of the 2021 World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere, a global organisation that works to advance the standards of ethical business practices.
HanesBrands is one of only two apparel manufacturers being recognised among 135 companies spanning 22 countries and representing 47 industries. Ethisphere’s assessment process includes more than 200 questions on culture, environmental and social practices, ethics and compliance activities, governance, diversity and initiatives to support a strong value chain.
This year, Ethisphere also gauged how applicants adapted and responded to the global health pandemic, safety, equity and inclusion and social justice.
“We have a strong commitment to acting responsibly, and we’re very proud to be recognised by Ethisphere,” said CEO Steve Bratspies. “This honour is the result of 61,000 employees around the world committed to operating our business in the right way. Consumers can be proud that when they choose our apparel they are choosing a company deeply committed to sustainability.”
Hanes says it has a longstanding commitment to leadership in ethical business practices. The company was recently named one of the 100 most sustainable companies in the nation for the second year by Barron’s and earned a leadership level A score, following two years at A-, in the CDP 2020 Climate Change Report. HBI is also the only apparel company in history to earn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award.
In October 2020, HBI announced wide-ranging 2030 global sustainability goals that include a commitment to science-based environmental targets, a goal of improving the lives of at least 10 million people, and addressing the use of plastics and sustainable raw materials in products and packaging. The goals were launched via a new sustainability website, designed to increase company transparency and reporting on key metrics, including diversity, human rights benchmarks and risk assessments for investors.
“While addressing the tough challenges of 2020, we saw companies lead – above all other institutions – on earning the trust of stakeholders through resilience and a commitment to ethics and integrity,” said Ethisphere CEO, Timothy Erblich. “The World’s Most Ethical Companies honourees continue to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the highest values and positively impacting the communities they serve. Congratulations to everyone at HanesBrands for earning the World’s Most Ethical Companies designation.”
The Ethisphere Institute has expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character and measure and improve culture.
The organisation honours achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA).