to our COMMUNITY
A MESSAGE from OUR CEO
At Chico’s FAS, we believe that caring for our people, our planet and our communities is at the core of our values and that being a positive force across our entire enterprise contributes to the betterment of all our stakeholders and the creation of long-term value for the Company.
I am proud of the progress we have made in our ESG program during fiscal year 2022. We advanced our seven mid-term ESG goals and continued to approach our ESG commitment through the lens of our four strategic pillars, to be: Customer Led, Product Obsessed, Digital First and Operationally Excellent.
In 2022, we enhanced our Associate attraction efforts and initiated proactive steps to improve our internal reporting on recruitment and retention. We continued to champion diversity, equity and inclusion through our training and awareness programs. We developed products with our customers’ confidence in mind and continued to design for our customers’ real needs by listening to our customers’ insights gained by our stylists and direct feedback from customer panels, wear tests and customer reviews.
In our journey to be a responsible steward of the planet’s resources, we engaged in several efforts designed to reduce our environmental impact. We made it a priority to introduce 36 new Mindful Fabrics, fabrics containing more mindfully produced and sustainably sourced raw materials, into our product designs in 2022. We also asked our suppliers to switch to using recyclable low-density polyethylene poly bags to package our products starting with our Fall 2023 deliveries. These new poly bags release less toxins when they degrade, helping to keep our planet healthier. We also elevated our supplier engagement on sustainability matters, doubling the number of Tier 1 factories that report their data using Higg sustainability index reporting.
In 2022, we introduced new 3D digital garment technology for our designers and continued to increase the use of digital printing and laser finishing in our brands, to increase efficiencies while reducing our environmental impact.
This past year, we have furthered our goal of increased transparency with respect to our ESG journey by enhancing our data collection and reporting processes. We have also continued to leverage ESG frameworks and industry trends and data from ESG ratings to guide progress on our ESG programs and goals.
We remain dedicated to continuous improvement and accountability, and we are excited for the future of our ESG program. I am pleased to share highlights of our ESG journey in fiscal year 2022 with you.
