Honouring Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
We recognize the tragic history of residential
schools. We honour the survivors and lost
children, their families and communities.
To commemorate this day, we partnered with
Iqaluit-born artist Saimaiyu Akesuk to design a
limited-edition Orange T-shirt. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Orange Shirt Society
and other Indigenous community partners.
International Women’s Day 2024
In celebration of IWD, we invited Minerva BC, our long-time community partner, to The Power of Confidence — an event we hosted to help young women step into their own. We also created a limited-edition WomenWomen 2024 Collection rooted in our favourite equation. 100% of proceeds from this collection are being donated to Aritzia Community™ partner organizations that support women and girls, including Minerva BC.
The Art of Hair with Nikki Nelms
For Black History Month 2024, hair artist Nikki Nelms created three sculptural looks and spoke to us about Black hair as a medium. Also, this year we’re deepening our support to The Brotherhood Sister Sol and the Canadian Journalism Foundation x CBC-Radio Black Women’s Journalism Fellowship.
The Gift of Warmth 2023
We’ve got warmth to give. Our favourite holiday tradition continues this year as we donate our warmest puffers, parkas and wool coats to support over 4,000 women and children across Canada and the USA. It’s our way of helping keep our community warm at the coldest time of the year while working toward A Better Everyday. Together.™
Giving Tuesday 2023
The tradition returns. For Giving Tuesday 2023, Aritzia is donating $10 from every purchase online and in store to Aritzia Community™ partner organizations making positive impacts in the areas of Opportunity, Wellbeing and Belonging. Our partners share our vision of A Better Everyday. Together.™ With your help, we’re hoping to reach our donation goal of $250,000.
The 10th Anniversary of Orange Shirt Day
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Orange Shirt Day.
To honour this milestone, we had a conversation with Aritzia Community™ partners, Phyllis Webstad, Sunshine Tenasco and Cheryl Robinson.
Honouring Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
We recognize the tragic history of residential schools. We honour the survivors and lost children, their families and communities.
To commemorate this day, we partnered with artist Alanah Morningstar Jewell to create a specially designed Orange T-shirt with 100% of proceeds donated to Orange Shirt Society.
Aritzia Community™ ESG Report FY2023
As our business continues to grow so does our commitment to partner with Community initiatives that reflect our values. To accelerate our positive impact, we’ve published our second annual Aritzia Community™ Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, highlighting all we’ve accomplished in Fiscal Year 2023 — and the goals that guide us forward.
Celebrating International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
We’re committed to supporting Indigenous peoples through informed allyship, internship opportunities, community partnerships and activist spotlights.
In 2023, we’re featuring Indigenous activists Willow Allen and Kara Smith.
Aritzia Recognized for Making Big Moves to Lower Impact
In the 2022 Material Change Index (MCI), Aritzia was included in the Textile Exchange Leader’s Circle and recognized as a “big mover,” making us one of 10 companies who achieved the greatest improvement within the MCI from 2021 to 2022.
Aritzia received this recognition as a result of our continued adoption of lower-impact materials. Across our 2022 collections:
- 61% of styles contained a lower-impact material (up from 44% in 2021)
- 9% of our synthetic materials came from recycled or regenerated sources (up from 5% in 2021)
- 26% of our animal-derived materials came from recycled or more responsible sources (up from 14% in 2021)
To further our commitment to more responsible sourcing, we’ve developed a set of product sustainability targets to achieve by FY27. So, this really is just the beginning.
Proud Today, Pride Forever
For Pride 2023, we celebrated across major cities in North America with local LGBTQIA2S+ creators, who gave us a snapshot into their life and craft.
We also entered into another year in partnership with Stonewall Community Foundation and our second year funding the Aritzia x Stonewall Community Foundation scholarship.
Earth Day
For Earth Day 2023, we took time to examine our (re)lationship with the planet, highlighting some important wins, while also spotlighting Daughters for Earth and women-led climate action.
Fabric Care Guide
In order for clothes to last, they need a little care. So we created a Fabric Care Guide, designed to help you keep your everyday luxuries looking their best from day one to forever.
International Women’s Day
In celebration of IWD 2023, we profiled four pairs of women whose relationships exemplify WomenWomen — or Women to the Power of Women. They told us how they motivate each other, what they’ve learned from each other and why being a woman is pretty amazing.
The WomenWomen 2023 Collection
For International Women’s Day, we collaborated with three lettering artists to create a limited-edition collection featuring artistic interpretations of Women to the Power of Women. 100% of proceeds from this collection were donated to Aritzia Community™ partners who support women and girls.
A Set of Dreams
To honour Black History Month 2023, photographer Delali Ayivi and the Sista Skate collective came together to celebrate Black Joy as a form of Resistance.
The Gift of Warmth
2022 marked the third year of our outerwear donation— our favourite holiday tradition. To date, we’ve gifted over $2.4 million worth of warm winter coats to our Aritzia Community™ partners across North America.
World Mental Health Day
Aritzia is proud to support Jack.org, an organization that partners with young leaders in every province and territory to improve youth mental health in their communities.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
For NDTR 2022, we partnered with Atheana Picha, an interdisciplinary Salish artist from the Kwantlen First Nation, to create limited-edition t-shirts for Orange Shirt Day. 100% of the proceeds were donated to Orange Shirt Society — an organization that fosters reconciliation in response to the intergenerational impacts of residential schools.
International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
We’re committed to supporting the empowerment of Indigenous peoples through informed allyship, internship opportunities, artist spotlights and a partnership with The Circle on Philanthropy.
In 2022, we featured Indigenous creatives who share their traditions through a contemporary lens.
Proud Today, Pride Forever
To celebrate Pride 2022, we paid homage to revolutionaries who forged the path for future generations. We celebrated their heart, their passion, their fearlessness, and all they did for Queer liberation.
Responsible Cashmere
Aritzia is proud to have joined @The Good Cashmere Standard® (GCS) by the Aid by Trade Foundation. The GCS is an independent standard for responsible cashmere that works to improve the welfare of cashmere goats, the working conditions of farmers and the environments in which they live. Across our Fall and Winter 2022 cashmere styles, 52% are certified to GCS — a number we’re continually growing.
Feel good (and extra soft) knowing that your sweater contains sustainably produced cashmere — an initiative that supports Aritzia’s ongoing commitment to the Planet and its People.
ESG Report FY2022
Over the past year, we have propelled our efforts to care for the People and Planet we touch across our value chain. In our very first Aritzia Community™ | ESG Report FY2022, we express our continued commitment to the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and our progress against our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives. Our hope is for this report to exist as a fundamental piece of our ESG journey that will evolve for years to come.
Earth Day 2022
For Earth Day 22, we examined our commitment to the planet — our (re)lationship — through the 5 love languages. We also created a new, permanent online home for our most sustainable styles to live — a (re)lationship milestone.
Zero Waste Philosophy
We're adopting a Zero Waste Philosophy across our operations. At Aritzia, Zero Waste is both a philosophy and a goal. We want to reduce and divert waste from landfills by eliminating waste at the source through better sorting and recycling. Our company goal is to divert at least 90% of all our waste from landfills and eventually reach zero waste to landfill across all our operations, including boutiques, offices and distribution centres.
Our Committment to more Sustainable Packaging
We’ve been converting our paper-based packaging to materials with certified sustainable standards, including recycled content and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification. In 2021, we met our Canopy Pack4Good Commitment ahead of schedule — we’re excited to announce that 100% of our retail and eCommerce packaging contains either recycled or FSC content.
Hives for Humanity
Hives for Humanity is a local non-profit that creates opportunities for community connection through bees, mentorship and skill sharing. Throughout 2021, we worked with Hives for Humanity to build a beautiful apiary on the rooftop of our Vancouver Support Office. This experience allowed us to build a relationship with an organization that fosters inclusion and belonging, while providing an opportunity for our People to deepen their connection with nature. Our work with Hives for Humanity supports our efforts to do right by people and the planet, and our commitment to embed responsible practices into everything we do.
Shopping more Sustainably
Shopping for more sustainable styles can be tricky and we’d like to change that. In 2021, 40% of styles in our collections contained a more sustainable attribute — progress we’re proud of and want to share — so we worked with our eCommerce Team to ensure these styles are easier to find, shop and learn about than ever. Our clients can now filter for styles that contain certified organic materials, certified recycled materials, Responsible Down and Responsible Wool products, and wood-based fabrics from sustainably managed forests.
Earth Day Donation
To honour 2021’s Earth Day theme ― Restore Our Earth™ ―we donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), the nation’s largest land conservation organization. This donation will support the NCC’s ecosystem restoration project at Kootenay River Ranch in B.C., helping to restore 65 hectares of forests and grasslands for the benefit of regional wildlife and people. A cause close to home — we’re proud to be part of renewing this vibrant ecosystem located near our founding headquarters.
The United Nations Global Compact
In March 2021, Aritzia joined the United Nations (UN) Global Compact ― an initiative that works to implement universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. As a leading global corporate sustainability resource, the UN Global Compact actively engages with businesses in cooperation with civil society and representatives of organized labour. Aritzia’s membership signals our commitment to these values and provides a platform to enhance our transparency on actions taken to support their advancement.
Binners' Project
Binners’ Project is a group of informal recycling collectors dedicated to social inclusion, economic development and waste diversion. Since August 2020, we’ve proudly partnered with Binners’ Project with the goal of diverting waste from our Vancouver Support Office and keeping items out of landfills. We’re committed to embedding responsible practices in everything we do — our work with Binners’ Project supports our Zero Waste efforts, invites our People to participate in our sustainability journey and supports positive change in the communities where we work.
The Super (Re)Puff™
The Super (Re)Puff™ is crafted with ECONYL® recycled nylon — a 100% regenerated fibre made from pre- and post-consumer recycled materials such as fishing nets, fabric scraps and carpets otherwise destined for the landfill. This puffer aligns with Aritzia's ongoing sustainability goals, increasing circular production processes across our product range. Replacing virgin fibres with recycled nylon isn't its only sustainable attribute — beyond the shell and lining, The Super (Re)Puff™ is trimmed with recycled materials and filled with PrimaLoft® Gold Insulation Luxe™ Bio, made from 100% recycled materials.
Carbon Neutral Operations
Since 2019, Aritzia-managed Support Offices, boutiques and Distribution Centres are carbon neutral. This means that all carbon emitted through our operations is offset with 100% renewable energy and Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) certified carbon offsets.
In order to achieve carbon neutrality, we’ve taken a dual approach:
- To compensate for the carbon emitted through our use of electricity, we’re purchasing Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) that go towards wind energy projects in Oklahoma and Manitoba.
- To offset the carbon emitted through our use of natural gas, we’re partnering with EcoAct to invest in VCS certified Carbon Offsets.
Responsible Down
The Textile Exchange is a global non-profit that works closely with its members to drive transformation through sustainable fibres, integrity standards and responsible supply chains. Aritzia participated in the Textile Exchange Corporate Fiber & Material Benchmark survey, providing information on our policies, strategies and performance regarding the use of sustainable raw materials. Our survey results landed us on Textile Exchange Leadership Board, ranked amongst the top brands in the industry, for our use of 100% Responsible Down Standard (RDS) certified down.
Protecting Worker's Rights
COVID-19 has had a massive impact on millions of production workers living in countries dependent on the textile and apparel industry, which caused the ILO to issue a global call-to-action to protect workers’ income, health and employment. Already aligned with the principles and actions outlined in the Statement — which includes paying for finished goods, not cancelling any orders already in production, promoting health and safety standards and emphasizing social protection for workers — we formally endorsed it. Together, we’ll continue to progress toward a more sustainable clothing industry.
Denim Made Better
Denim production contributes to significant environmental impacts as it requires heavy water and chemical use. That's why we set out to make better denim by launching our exclusive brand, Denim Forum, in 2018. Since day one, it's been made with organic cotton, environmentally conscious TENCEL™ and a bio-based softener that's GreenScreen® certified. We work exclusively with an experienced Italian mill committed to sustainability and prioritize more sustainable processes like e-Flow and laser technologies to reduce our water waste and chemical use.
