The Real Reason You Should Avoid Shopping At American Eagle

As laid out by the sustainable fashion blog Sustainably Chic, American Eagle is failing on several sustainability counts. Though it has a sustainable jeans range, which features jeans made from 100% organic cotton, the brand appears to have taken no other steps toward improving its carbon footprint and overall environmental impact. Another major issue is that American Eagle stated it would become carbon neutral by 2030, but no further insights into this process or any updates have been offered. 

The sustainability and ethics rating website Good On You has awarded American Eagle a score of "not good enough." This rating means the brand has failed to deliver on several counts, including minimizing textile waste and taking steps to reduce harmful chemicals during the manufacturing process. Shockingly, American Eagle has taken no steps to ensure the safety of its workers and has given no information on its supply chain, meaning its workers could be working in unsafe conditions for a non-living wage.

Moreover, American Eagle manufactures in Chinese factories that use sandblasting to create distressed looks, a process that can lead to workers falling ill with a fatal disease called silicosis (via Aljazeera).