Not Just a T-shirt
Future Shapers
A Decade of Innovation in Textile Sustainability (2002-2012)
09
Anvil
Over a century ago, Anvil Knitwear began by selling work clothes during the
industrial revolution. Over the years, the company increasingly focused on
offering an extensive line of activewear clothing and accessories to wholesale
distributors (for the imprintable market) and private label brands such as
Disney, with products including t-shirts, polo shirts, shorts, towels, bags and
caps. By keeping closely in touch with its customers’ evolving needs, Anvil has
remained successful and ahead of its time. Since 2007, the company has been
on a journey to make a difference, working on embedding sustainability at all
levels of its operations. It started with just one organic cotton t-shirt under the
AnvilOrganic® brand and since then Anvil has become the largest buyer of US
grown organic cotton; working closely with the farmers in the Texas Organic
Cotton Marketing Cooperative (TOCMC). The company always believed
that launching an organic cotton program was the right thing to do. But it is
also convinced that sustainability makes business sense and gives its brand a
competitive advantage.
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© 2012 Textile Exchange
“What we’d like to see in the future is a strong link
between not only how cotton is grown but how
the t-shirt is made, exposing the work of an ethical
manufacturer where the stories of the people and
communities that make our products are showcased.
Equally important is empowering the consumer to
understand that their purchasing decision can make a
difference and when they choose organic, they’re doing
their part to support family farmers who prioritize
responsible farming methods. More farmers will be
inspired to convert to organic farming methods if the
demand is there”
Anthony Corsano,
Senior Vice President, Gildan.
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Location:
Headquarters in New York - Manufacturing in Central America
Type of Business
Anvil is both an intermediary and a private label brand selling activewear
products and accessories to brands and retailers
Turnover (2011):
US$ 250 million
Number of Employees:
Approximately 4,000 worldwide
Began selling organic cotton products
2007
OC Value Chain Partners:
Texas Organic Cotton Marketing Cooperative (TOCMC)
Sustainability Collection: Organic cotton, transitional cotton, recycled cotton, recycled polyester
Certification:
USDA NOP, Oeko-Tex Standard 100
Targets: “Double It!” Campaign: Double the number of acres dedicated to organic
cotton farming in the US by 2020.
Recent Recognition:
•
•
•
Disney: Most Sustainable Vendor- Global 2010
Disney: Most Sustainable Vendor- North America 2011
Top Leader of Change in Sustainability by the Foundation for Social
Change and United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP) 2010
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© 2012 Textile Exchange
The Journey So Far
The company’s commitment to
sustainability is part of a bigger
Corporate Social Responsibility strategy
embedded in the different parts of its
business. Anvil is vertically integrated
and owns three production sites, located
in Central America, where textile
manufacturing, cut&sew, and distribution
take place. Anvil implemented its
AnvilSustainableManufacturing (ASM)
program in 2010, with a main goal of
increasing efficiency improvements
and practices at all Anvil facilities.
The company trains its employees
with innovative leadership skills and
procedures to empower them to make
better working decisions, respect
one another, reduce energy, maximize
raw material utilization and optimize
production lines and equipment.
In addition, all three Central American
facilities are WRAP certified and audited
both internally and externally on a
frequent basis.
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© 2012 Textile Exchange
In the Beginning
In its 100 plus years, Anvil has always
been a partner of choice for private
label brands wanting to buy ready-made
t-shirts and other basics. In 2006, Anvil
carried out a market review and came
to the conclusion that environmental
issues would be the next important step
for businesses to take into consideration
for the future. The company’s corporate
responsibility platform formally began
the following year with the adoption of
company-wide policies and procedures,
including Anvil’s Environmental and Social
Responsibility Principles, a set of guiding
principles that enforce the company’s
responsibility to empower both
employees and stakeholders to improve
the environmental and social impacts
of its business activities. In addition, a
three-pillar approach to sustainability was
implemented focusing on environmental,
social and product responsibility.
During this time, Anvil launched the
AnvilOrganic® t-shirt, made using US
grown organic cotton certified under
the USDA National Organic Program.
The success of the AnvilOrganic® t-shirt,
which was well received by distributors
and screenprinters alike, lead to the
interest of private label brands to inquire
about using Anvil as the blank canvas
to tell their own sustainability story.
Additional products were then added
to the Anvil Eco-Collection®, including
the AnvilSustainable™ made from
transitional cotton and post-consumer
P.E.T. recycled polyester. The transitional
cotton used for the AnvilSustainable™
was an opportunity for farmers to
sell their cotton to market, which was
undergoing the three-year period before
being certified under the USDA National
Organic Program. Anvil’s current EcoCollection® extends to a selection of ten
t-shirt styles.
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© 2012 Textile Exchange
Success Factors:
• Being a t-shirt of choice for both wholesale distributors and private
label brands who want to embark on a sustainability journey by using
an ethically manufactured product
• Having a close relationship with farmers on the ground which enables
the company to both extend its support wherever it can and be
flexible to quickly adapt when the harvest is low • Being able to offer a good price point to customers, as organic cotton
does not always have to come with an excessive premium
• Commitment to sustainability comes from the top and is integrated at
all levels of the business and is backed up by a comprehensive set of
company-wide policies and procedures
• Educating the consumer to understand the benefits of organic farming
for both farmers and the planet by utilizing the t-shirt as an interactive
tool with TrackMyT.com
“Anvil’s commitment to organic fiber has set the stage
for expansion in the US. Although the demand for US
grown organic has increased, that growth has been very
slow, because no company would guarantee to buy; the
farmer carried all of the risk of an unknown market.
But then, Anvil came forward with a guarantee to
purchase all US supply before purchasing foreign grown
organic cotton. Then in 2010, Anvil instituted a “double
it” campaign, offering to buy double our production.
This partnership with Anvil assures a bright future for
Organic cotton!”
Jimmy Wedel,
President of the board of directors of TOCMC
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© 2012 Textile Exchange
Value Chain Partners
When Anvil decided to launch its
line of organic cotton t-shirts, the
company looked for the right partner
on the ground who could supply the
company with organic cotton yarn.
Contact was established with the Texas
Organic Cotton Marketing Cooperative
(TOCMC) and Anvil began to learn
first hand about the lives and challenges
of farming organically. As an effort to
support the US organic cotton farming
community, Anvil decided to buy its
organic cotton predominantly from
domestic farmers as a way to leverage
their output to market. Only when
the organic cotton supply from the
US is exhausted, Anvil will source fiber
from other countries with ethical and
adequate labor and farm management
practices. In 2010, Anvil was ranked as the
largest buyer of US grown organic and
cotton in transition and has been ranked
as a Top Ten brand using organic cotton
for three consecutive years by the Textile
Exchange.
In 2010, Anvil launched the Double It!
campaign which aims at doubling the
acreage of organic cotton farming in the
US through a commitment with organic
farmers that Anvil will purchase all of
their organic and transitional supply at
an agreed upon premium to the price of
conventionally grown cotton. Anvil’s close
relationship and strong commitment
to buying TOCMC’s organic cotton has
been essential for new growers as they
learned that Anvil would provide a fixed
market to sell their yield, no matter what
quantity was grown. This proved to be
especially valuable when Texas was hit
by a severe drought in 2011 and many
organic farmers that relied on nonirrigated crops lost up to all of their
harvest.
PHOTO(S): (Top) TOCMC farmer in the field
(Bottom) Double It! Campaign
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© 2012 Textile Exchange
Telling the Story
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Evolving in the Business-to-Business
market, Anvil usually does not have direct
contact with final consumers. This fact
has not prevented the company from
making tools available to spread its
message of sustainability. For example,
Anvil has turned the constraint of the
Consumer Product Safety Improvement
Act, requiring youth products to carry
a tracking label with the location
of production, into an educational
opportunity by developing TrackMyT.com.
TrackMyT is an online interactive website
that allows the user to discover the
journey their t-shirt has taken from farm
to store, educating the viewer about the
processes a t-shirt goes through starting
on the cotton field and ending up in their
hands with tips to minimize the carbon
footprint of owning a t-shirt. On each
module, lesson plans are available for
download by educators or parents alike
that correlate to the stage that the t-shirt
is in. All Anvil youth organic products
© 2012 Textile Exchange
have a tracking number sewn into a label
on the bottom hem where consumers
can enter the unique number on www.
TrackMyT.com.
One of Anvil’s most important influences
is to work directly with brands and
retailers to support them in their use of
more sustainable products and offer them
adapted solutions. As Christie Fleischer
from Disney puts it “this is really a
close collaboration which enables both
companies to have an open conversation
on what can be done in the journey
to more sustainable materials.” Anvil
also offers its private label customers
years of experience in this journey,
making the company a resourceful and
knowledgeable partner.
PHOTO(S): Organic Farm (left) and Cotton Gin (right) stills from “TrackMyT” tool online.
Partnership with private
labels: the Disney example
Three years ago, Disney decided to
move towards developing t-shirts made
of organic cotton. They turned to their
suppliers to explore who could help
them in this journey. Having worked
hard in the previous years to expand its
offer of organic and sustainable products,
Anvil was one of the few suppliers who
immediately took up the challenge and
even encouraged Disney to produce all
its t-shirts from organic cotton, advice
that Disney ultimately decided to follow.
Besides Anvil’s strong commitment and
track record in sustainability, Disney
was particularly interested in the
“TrackMyT” tool. TrackMyT.com is an
educational website that allows users
to input a unique tracking number
printed on the bottom hem of their
t-shirt, then explore cotton farms, a gin
and spinners, as well as Anvil’s textile
mill, cut and sew plants, and distribution
facility, where it was shipped from. It also
features surprise pop-up messages and
real photographs, alongside fun facts that
focus on the historical and social aspects
of manufacturing, buying and owning a
t-shirt. At the end of the journey, users
come to what’s called the “You” module,
where they can gather information on
how to minimize the impact of owning a
t-shirt. Disney customers love it. Disney
receives hundreds of visitors per week
on the “TrackMyT” site and gets positive
feedback from appreciative customers.
This tool perfectly serves Disney in its
efforts to build a strong relationship with
its customers.
Disney decided not to pass any additional
costs associated with organic cotton on
to their customers in stores because they
believed that turning to organic cotton
was the right thing to do and they did not
want to force their customers into having
to make a choice. Instead, they forecast
that sales would increase significantly
and they did. Disney is continuing its
commitment to organic cotton with the
opening of the first Disney Baby Store
where 70% of the apparel and footwear
products will be available in organic
cotton.
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“Since the start of our transition to organic cotton
in 2009, we have found Anvil to be a dedicated
and inspiring partner. Anvil invited us to visit the
farmers from whom they buy their cotton, and this
has further inspired us to move Disney Stores to a
100% organic cotton T-Shirt collection. We continue
to expand our use of organic cotton, now in our
baby clothes line”
Christie Fleischer,
Director, Merchandise - Softlines, Disney Stores
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© 2012 Textile Exchange
Advocacy and Leadership
As Anvil’s sustainability programs grew
and its Eco Collection® expanded with
Anvil becoming the US’s largest buyer
of organic cotton, the company saw the
need to educate the future generation
on the importance of organic farming.
Anvil’s organic education campaign
focuses on the social and environmental
benefits organic farming and empowers
consumers to make a difference through
their purchasing decision. In partnership
with Earth Day New York, Anvil donated
over 120 indoor organic gardens to the
Solar1 network of schools in the New
York City Department of Education
system in 2011, as well as two indoor
organic gardens to classrooms in Dillon,
South Carolina (where our distribution
center is) and one in Kansas City
(continuing local efforts to support
message of Farm Aid). Kits included
organic soil, organic seeds, and a guide
to leverage the garden as a teaching tool
and lesson plans from TrackMyT.
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© 2012 Textile Exchange
Where to Next?
In May 2012, Anvil was acquired by Gildan
Activewear Inc., a large Canadian apparel
company that is in the same market
segment as Anvil. Gildan has a proven
track record of sustainable practices
and programs and together, both brands
will evolve in the sustainability realm of
responsible manufacturing, environmental
protection, and product innovation.
Anvil sees the trend of using organic
cotton and other sustainable fibres on
the upswing, with more demand coming
from customers in the future. Anvil’s
corporate social responsibility programs
will continue to grow under their new
parent company, Gildan. Both brands
see sustainability not only as a strong
advantage point in the apparel market,
but more importantly as the right thing
to do.
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By creating a brand based on a strong
foundation of integrity, quality and
affordability, along with joining forces with
a fellow ethical apparel manufacturer,
Anvil will be able to sustain itself into the
future.
© 2012 Textile Exchange
“Over the years, we have
developed mutual trust and
a very close relationship
with Anvil Knitwear who has
become a key partner for
TOCMC. Anvil’s long-term
commitment, flexibility and
ongoing support both in
good and challenging times
have been a key driver for
our continued production of
organic cotton.”
Carl Pepper,
Vice President of the TOCMC
For more information on Anvil Knitwear, please visit:
www.anvilknitwear.com
www.anvilknitwearcsr.com
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