George Weston

Jan 13, 2023

George Weston Ltd. is a Canadian public company founded in 1882 in Toronto by Canadian businessman George Weston. It specializes in food retail, financial services, and real estate investment.

George Weston also makes clothing, accessories, shoes, and swimwear. It owns the largest food and drug retailer in Canada, Loblaw Companies, along with other brands in the fashion and beauty sector, such as Joe Fresh.

George Weston makes self-expression achievable with affordable fashion. It operates 2,400 stores across Canada and is one of Canada's top 100 employers, with 190,000 Canadians employed in full and part-time positions.

George Weston creates positive environmental and social change by reducing the impact of its operations on the environment and improving its approach to waste management, packaging, energy use, and more.

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Sustainability Rating: 3/10

Rating FAQ

Category: Clothing, accessories, shoes

For: Women, men, children

Type: Basics, denim, dresses, knitwear, activewear, underwear, loungewear, swimwear, outerwear, nightwear, sneakers, boots, heels

Style: Casual

Quality: Low

Prices: $

Sizes: 2XS-3XL, 0-24 (US), 2-26 (UK), 32-54 (EU), 2-26 (AU), plus

Fabrics: Cotton, linen, modal, viscose, polyester, nylon, spandex, acrylic, neoprene, polyurethane, rubber, leather, wool, silk

100% Organic: No

100% Vegan: No

Ethical & Fair: No

Recycling: Yes

Producing countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam

Certifications: no certification

Sustainability Practices

George Weston takes wide-ranging measures to protect biodiversity, reduce its consumption of water, energy, and other resources, avoid waste, and combat climate change.

It wants to be better and more efficient by looking at every aspect of its value chain to ensure the healthy functioning of our planet. However, the majority of its business remains detrimental to the environment.

George Weston only uses a tiny proportion of organic materials, such as organic cotton, or recycled materials, such as recycled polyester and regenerated nylon.

Most of the fabrics it uses are either natural without relevant certifications, such as regular cotton or linen, or synthetic petroleum-based fibers, such as polyester, nylon, acrylic, and more.

George Weston also uses a small proportion of semi-synthetic fibers or regenerated cellulosic fabrics such as modal and viscose.

George Weston publishes a list of all its manufacturers on its corporate website. It aims to improve safety and transparency within its international supply chain.

George Weston works with leading international apparel brands, non-governmental agencies, and labor groups to improve working conditions for millions of garment workers globally.

George Weston manufactures its clothes in many East Asian countries, where human rights and labor law violations happen every day.

The Canadian retailer doesn't show any labor certification standard that would ensure good working conditions, decent living wages, health, safety, and other crucial rights for workers in its supply chain.

George Weston has a code of conduct that applies to all its suppliers and subcontractors to provide standards for protecting human rights,
adhering to applicable employment standards and providing safe working conditions for workers.

George Weston assesses compliance with its Code of Conduct by informal visits or third-party audits with or without notice. It works with third-party experts to conduct compliance audits using a best-practice audit framework.

George Weston doesn't use exotic animal skin, hair, fur, or angora. But it uses leather, wool, and silk to manufacture many of its clothing pieces.

These animal-derived materials are cruel and unethical. They also harm the environment by producing greenhouse gases and waste. More sustainable alternatives exist.

Sustainability Goals

George Weston has committed to reducing its environmental impact across the entire supply chain. It has a responsibility to make a positive impact on the communities it serves.

George Weston plans to reduce its enterprise-wide operational carbon footprint by 50% by 2030, against a 2020 baseline. It will achieve net-zero emissions by 2040 for its enterprise Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and Scope 3 by 2050.

George Weston will also reduce plastic waste by making all control-brand and in-store packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.

George Weston plans to send zero food to landfill by 2030 and over the next 24 months, achieve measurable food waste reductions in every one of its stores.

George Weston has committed to converting 100% of its cotton-rich direct programs to sustainable cotton by 2025.

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What We're Up Against

Multinational corporations overproducing cheap products in the poorest countries.
Huge factories with sweatshop-like conditions underpaying workers.
Media conglomerates promoting unethical, unsustainable products.
Bad actors encouraging overconsumption through oblivious behavior.
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