B Corp™ – Environment

Our score: 14.1/40
Industry Average: 11/40

As an environmentally-conscious organization, we recognize the significance of improving our Environment score in the B Corp assessment. By doing so, we can demonstrate our commitment to reducing our environmental impact and promoting sustainability in all areas of our operations.

Improving our Environment score is important not only for our organization, but also for you, our customers, and the planet as a whole. It can help us minimize our carbon footprint, reduce waste and pollution, and promote the use of eco-friendly materials and practices. Additionally, by prioritizing responsibility, we can perhaps inspire others to follow our lead to do business in ways that help the planet.

What’s Next:

• Higg Modules for supply chain footprint management
• Carbon neutrality, chemical and water management benchmarking, monitoring and improvement
• Treet resale program, our first step towards a circular economy
• Increased used of environmentally-preferred materials
• Carbon neutrality through direct offset purchases for each order through our website

We’re working harder than ever to create sustainable apparel with trusted partners and using new tools.

By becoming a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and using the Higg Index tools to measure our performance, our parent company, Mondetta, is reaffirming its commitment to creating sustainable apparel.

Developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) in partnership with its more than 250 member companies, the Higg Index was created to serve as a suite of tools for the standardized measurement of value chain sustainability. The suite of tools makes it possible to measure the environmental and social impacts of how, where, and under what conditions products are made and the companies making them.

The Higg BRM (Brand and Retail Module)

In 2022, Mondetta/MPG began working with the Branded Retail Module (BRM), which measures social and environmental performance at the corporate level. Essentially, it’s the module we’re using to evaluate everything going on at our HQ in Winnipeg.

The criteria for the BRM are as follows:

Environmental Impacts:

• Animal Welfare
• Biodiversity/Land Use/Habitat Loss
• Deforestation
• Energy/Fuel Use
• Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
• Air Emissions/Air Pollution (non-GHG)
• Solid Waste
• Hazardous Waste
• Chemical Hazards
• Water Use/Water Scarcity
• Wastewater/Water Pollution/Eutrophication

Social Impacts:

• Forced Labor or Human Trafficking
• Child Labor
• Wages and Benefits
• Working Hours
• Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
• Access to Water and Sanitation
• Decent Work
• Discrimination, Harassment, and Abuse
• Sexual Harassment and Gender-Based Violence
• Bribery and Corruption
• Right to Health
• Right to Privacy
• Right to Security of the Person
• Minorities’ and Communities’ Rights
• Land Rights

Higg BRM Benefits:

• A comprehensive sustainability assessment for brands and retailers.
• Understand and organize our sustainability priorities.
• Align our organization’s sustainability strategy.
• Ideal for businesses of any size at any point in their sustainability journey.
• Save time and money.
• Benchmark performance against other similar brands and retailers.
• Bring consumers on your sustainability journey.
• Use the Higg BRM to inform our reporting on industry initiatives like Science Based Targets, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the G7 Fashion Pact.

In 2023, we’ll be working within the Facility Environmental Module (FEM), which measures environmental performance efforts at individual factories.

The criteria for the FEM are as follows:

• Environmental Management Systems
• Energy Use
• 7 Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Water Use
• Wastewater
• Emissions to Air (If Applicable)
• Waste Management
• Chemical Management

Higg FEM Benefits:

• A comprehensive environmental sustainability assessment for facilities.
• Ideal for facilities of any size and tier at any point in their sustainability journey.
• Benchmark performance against other global facilities.
• Save time and money.
• Identity practices to optimize resources and reduce waste and costs.
• Onsite Higg Index verification is continuously expanding globally.
• Bring business partners on our sustainability journey.

The Higg Material Sustainability Index (MSI)

After implementing the FEM our next step is to begin using the Higg Material Sustainability Index.

The Higg Material Sustainability Index (MSI) is a tool designed to measure the environmental sustainability of materials used in the production of apparel and footwear.

It evaluates materials across a range of impact categories, including greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and chemical usage.

We will be using the MSI to better understand the environmental impact of the materials we use in our products and identify opportunities for improvement. By using this tool, we can compare the sustainability of different materials and make more informed decisions about which materials to use in our products.

In addition to improving our environmental performance, using the MSI can help us comply with regulatory requirements and improve our brand reputation with customers who are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of the products they purchase.

Overall, the MSI is an important tool for measuring and improving the sustainability of our products and supply chain, and aligns with our commitment to creating a more sustainable future.

We will soon work with Transparency One’s responsible sourcing software to improve our supply chain sustainability and social responsibility.

Transparency One provides visibility and traceability into the origins of raw materials, enabling us to identify potential risks related to environmental impact, labor practices, and ethical sourcing.

By partnering with Transparency One, we can track and analyze our supply chain data to ensure compliance with our sustainability and social responsibility policies. This can help us build trust with our customers, improve brand reputation, and reduce the risk of negative environmental or social impacts in our supply chain.

Additionally, by identifying opportunities for improvement, we can work towards more sustainable and responsible sourcing practices, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable future.

Mondetta Impact Fund

We’re working on an exciting new initiative, the Mondetta Impact Fund.

When it launches, this will be a development fund for facilities to support in improvements related to Environmental, Social & Governance. Our manufacturing and production partners will be able to apply for funding to help implement project-based improvements to make incremental change and create significant impact on their environmental and social footprints.

This is a fund for suppliers to access capital to make environmental upgrades to their facilities and factories or related to water treatment, chemical management, gender equality or any other impact areas.

• Non-interest loans paid back over 5 or 10 years.
• MIF will be a revolving program with Mondetta allocating funds yearly to support vendors in improvements throughout the supply chain.
• Financing will be supported with the help of the CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce).

Starting in 2023 we’ll be working with Greenly, the carbon accounting platform, to track and reduce our carbon footprint.

By using Greenly’s software, we can accurately measure the greenhouse gas emissions generated by our operations, supply chain, and products. This information can help us identify areas where we can improve efficiency, reduce waste, and make more sustainable choices.

Additionally, by publicly disclosing our carbon footprint and sustainability efforts, we can increase transparency and accountability, build trust with our customers, and demonstrate our commitment to reducing our environmental impact.

Greenly’s accounting program will help us Identify emissions based on 3 different scopes, and allows to start moving to Carbon Net Neutrality in the coming years.

The three scopes of emissions are a categorization framework for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:

Scope 1 emissions: These are direct emissions that occur from sources that are owned or controlled by an organization, such as emissions from fuel combustion in buildings or vehicles.

Scope 2 emissions: These are indirect emissions that result from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, or other forms of energy that an organization consumes.

Scope 3 emissions: These are indirect emissions that occur along an organization's entire value chain, including both upstream and downstream activities, such as emissions from the production of purchased goods, transportation of products, and disposal of waste.

Scope 1 and 2 emissions are considered to be part of an organization ’s operational control, while Scope 3 emissions are outside of an organization ’s direct control. However, Scope 3 emissions are often the largest contributor to an organization ’s overall carbon footprint, making them an important consideration in a comprehensive sustainability strategy.

Using Greenly and our other partners, we’re aiming to begin reducing our Scope 1 and 2 emissions as soon as this year, while identifying our scope 3 emissions and building a long term roadmap to help reduce our entire carbon footprint over the next 10 years.