It also committed to phasing out coal from the supply chain by 2030 as reflected by its membership of the UN Fashion Charter. However, Guess did not disclose any information about its supplier engagement and does not appear to have begun prioritising energy efficiency or renewables in its supply chain. Furthermore, it did not report taking any steps to decrease its transportation footprint. Guess received an F grade in both the Renewable & Energy Efficient Manufacturing and Greener Shipping sections. To keep up with its competitors, Guess should make more meaningful efforts to set an ambition target for its supply chain decarbonisation, advocate for a renewable energy transition in key manufacturing countries, break away from fossil fuel derived materials, and chart a short-term green shipping plan. Most importantly, it should actively engage with its suppliers and provide assistance, incentives, and financial support for them to curb the rapid growth of GHG emissions related to purchased goods and services.
Total Score
Emissions
About the Scorecards
The fashion industry is responsible for 2- 8% of global emissions but are fashion brands doing enough to tackle their growing climate impact? The updated 2023 Fossil Free Fashion Scorecard analyses 43 fashion companies on their climate action.
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GHG emissions:
Guess has set an emissions reduction target for its own operations of 50% by 2030 from a 2019 base year, which is not in line with keeping warming below 1.5°C.
The company has set an emissions reduction target for its supply chain of 30% by 2030. This target is not in line with the 55% reduction required.
Renewable energy:
As a signatory of the renewed UN Fashion Charter, Guess has committed to sourcing 100% of electricity from renewable sources in its own operations by 2030, but it is not clear the energy will be additional to the grid.
Guess has yet to set a target of 100% renewable energy for its supply chain by 2030, which is an essential step for decarbonising its manufacturing.
Coal phase out:
As a signatory of the renewed UN Fashion Charter, Guess has committed to phasing out coal-fired boilers from its supply chain by 2030 to reduce air pollution and cut emissions.
GHG emissions:
Guess publicly reports GHG emissions in its own operations, and in its supply chain. The company does provide a full breakdown of its Scope 3 emissions.
Energy use:
Guess does publicly report its energy use for its own operations, including a breakdown of its renewable energy use and how that energy is sourced.
For its supply chain, Guess does not publicly report its energy use, a breakdown of its suppliers’ renewable energy use, or how that energy is sourced.
Suppliers:
Guess provides a partial supplier list to Tier 1 or 2.
Guess does not report providing its suppliers with training and resources or financial incentives to help them make energy efficiency improvements. The company does not require them to make energy savings as a condition of contract.
Guess does not require suppliers to reduce thermal coal demand in their manufacturing processes.
Guess does not report providing its suppliers with training and resources or financial support to help them transition to renewable energy. The company does not require suppliers to use renewable energy as a condition of contract.
Guess does require its suppliers to disclose GHG emissions data but does not require them to set GHG emissions reduction targets, and it does not require suppliers to provide facility level data via the Higg Index.
Guess has not made any commitments to phase out fossil fuel based materials.
Guess has not made a public policy to ban the sourcing of leather from the Amazon Biome or taken measurable steps to ensure that Amazon leather is not contributing to deforestation, and the company does not have processes in place to avoid leather sourced from deforested regions. Guess does have a general policy against contributing to deforestation through other materials including cellulose-based fabrics, but the company was found to be at high risk of sourcing leather from deforestation in the Amazon Biome according to the Nowhere to Hide report.
Low-carbon materials:
Guess has not committed to increasing closed-loop apparel-to-apparel recycling for synthetics, but does report working with CanopyStyle to support innovation to increase closed-loop recycling of cellulosic fibres by 2025. Guess has not committed to reduce the impact of its raw materials sourcing by switching to 100% organic cotton or cotton sourced from regenerative agriculture by 2030.
Increasing circularity:
Guess is acting slowly to increase circularity by running a take-back program called Resourced that has collected over 75,000 kg of apparel and footwear since May 2018, but this represents a very small share of its total production, and the company does not report the amount resold or recycled into new garments.
Guess does publicly report its material mix, but it does not report the volume of materials. It does not report its volume of deadstock or how it manages or disposes of its deadstock to reduce waste.
Guess does report its shipping emissions annually, but the number was unchanged from 2019 to 2021. It does not have a target to reduce GHG emissions from transportation and does not provide a breakdown of its transportation methods.
Guess does not have a policy to avoid aviation and commit to slower shipping methods such as maritime, rail and land. The company does not report having a near-term plan to ship its cargo via cleaner methods.
Guess has not committed to transitioning to zero emissions vessels (ZEV) by 2030. The company has not used its voice publicly to advocate for Zero Emission Shipping.
Guess has yet to commit to transitioning its last mile delivery to zero emission vehicles.
Guess signed on to a We Mean Business coalition letter to the G20 to keep the 1.5°C ambition in place, but did not engage in any discernible advocacy to promote renewable energy during the 2023 Scorecard period.