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Eddie Bauer

OVERALL

Owned
USA
Rating
Criticisms

Clothing retail

Acquired in 2021 by SPARC Group, a joint venture between Simon Property Group and Authentic Brands Group.

Company Ownership

Eddie Bauer LLC   USA     website   email   facebook   twitter
  SPARC Group LLC   
   owns 100% of Eddie Bauer LLC  
USA     website   email      

Retail

Joint venture between Simon Property Group, a retail real estate company and Authentic Brands Group, a brand development company. SPARC stands for Simon Property Authentic Retail Concepts.

      Simon Property Group Inc   
       owns 50% of SPARC Group LLC  
USA     website      facebook   twitter

Real estate investment trust

The largest owner of shopping malls in the United States.

      Authentic Brands Group LLC   
       owns 50% of SPARC Group LLC  
USA     website   email      

Brand development and licensing

Purchases brands in the sports, celebrity and fashion categories and licenses the intellectual property to leading retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers worldwide. Acquired Juicy Couture in 2013, Tretorn in 2015 and Nautica and Nine West in 2018. Bought Van Heusen, Arrow and Izod from PVH, and Reebok from Adidas in 2021. Private equity firms BlackRock, CVC and HPS own significant stakes.

         BlackRock Inc   
          owns 30% of Authentic Brands Group LLC  
USA     website         

Asset management

World's largest asset manager, with about $7 trillion in assets under management.

> About the Ratings

Company Assessment

PRAISE CRITICISM INFORMATION
Eddie Bauer LLC
Business Ethics 5/100 in Fashion Transparency Index
The 2022 Fashion Transparency Index reviewed 250 of the world's largest fashion brands and retailers and ranked them according to how much they disclose about their human rights and environmental policies, practices and impacts. Brands owned by this company scored 5%, signifying it has little to no information about their supply chain practices or policies available to the public. The average score was 24% and the highest score was 78%.
Source: Fashion Revolution (2022)
Environment 'Naughty' rating on Direct Mail Industry Scorecard
'Naughty' rating on the 2009 Naughty/Nice List, the Scorecard on the Catalog and Direct Mail Industry by Forest Ethics. [Listed under information due to age of report]
Source: Forest Ethics (2009)
Social Prison labour in USA
Major corporations, including this one, use prison labour in the USA, where prisoners are paid slave wages as low as 23 cents an hour doing work which is often dangerous, toxic and unprotected. While much of the work done by prisoners is for the military, other major corporations are taking advantage of the cheap labour in both federal and state US prisons.
Source: Global Research (2013)
Social Sweatshops in El Salvadore
This 2008 investigative report into a sewing factory in El Salvador reveals how workers are: paid well below living wage, illegally forced to work overtime, fired for attempting to unionise, and cursed at and humiliated. Their customers include North Face (VF Corporation) and Eddie Bauer. (Listed under information due to age of report)
Source: Institute for Global Labour & Human Rights (2008)
Social Uzbek Cotton Pledge signatory
This company signed the Uzbek Cotton Pledge with the Responsible Sourcing Network, signifying a public commitment to not knowingly source Uzbek cotton for the manufacturing of any of their products until the Government of Uzbekistan ends the practice of forced labor in its cotton sector. However the Pledge was lifted in March 2022 after the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, who monitored the annual cotton harvest since 2010, found no state-imposed forced labor in the 2021 harvest.
Source: Cotton Campaign (2022)
Animals Angora ban
This company has taken angora items off the shelves and promised not to use angora again, following a PETA campaign launched in Dec 2013 which revealed the cruelty inflicted on angora rabbits in Chinese factory farms, where 90% of the world's angora is produced.
Source: PETA (2018)
Animals Use of RWS-certified wool
This company has committed to making products with RWS-certified wool. The Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) is a voluntary global standard which ensures that sheep are treated with respect to their five freedoms and also ensures best practices in the management and protection of the land. However PETA claim the RWS is a kind of greenwash. (http://bit.ly/2oH56o6)
Source: Responsible Wool Standard (2018)
Animals Use of RDS-certified down
This company has committed to making products with RDS-certified down. The Responsible Down Standard (RDS) is an independent, voluntary global standard which ensures that down and feathers come from ducks and geese that have been treated well, with no live plucking or force feeding. However the RDS has been criticised by PETA, who claim live plucking still occurs at RDS farms. (https://bit.ly/3TAiNB6)
Source: RDS (2022)
Business Ethics Textile Exchange member
This company is a member of the Textile Exchange, a global non-profit that works closely with its members to drive textile industry transformation in preferred fibres, integrity and standards and responsible supply networks. They identify and share best practices regarding farming, materials, processing, traceability and product end-of-life in order to reduce the textile industry's impact on the world's water, soil and air, and the human population.
Source: Textile Exchange (2019)
Social Modern Slavery statement
California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.
Source: company website (2021)
Social BHRRC company profile
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre digital platform presents news and allegations relating to the human rights impact of over 20,000 companies. Their enhanced Company Dashboards also include financial information, key data points based on corporate policies, and scores from prominent civil society benchmarks. Follow the link and use the search function to view this company's dashboard.
Source: BHRRC (2022)
SPARC Group LLC
Social 100% on Corporate Equality Index
This company is listed as having best practice on a report card on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in corporate America.
Source: Human Rights Campaign (2021)
Social Forced labour in China
The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of international brands. The 2021 Laundering Cotton report investigates how forced-labour-produced cotton and cotton-based goods from the Uyghur Region wend their way into international supply chains of well-known international clothing brands, including brands owned by this company.
Source: Sheffield Hallam University (2021)
Business Ethics Joint Venture between two companies, both of which have criticisms
SPARC Group is a joint venture between Authentic Brands Group and Simon Property Group, both of which have criticisms in the Shop Ethical database.
Source: Shop Ethical (2020)
Business Ethics Corporate responsibility claims
This company has Corporate Responsibility claims on its website.
Source: company website (2021)
Social BHRRC company profile
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre digital platform presents news and allegations relating to the human rights impact of over 20,000 companies. Their enhanced Company Dashboards also include financial information, key data points based on corporate policies, and scores from prominent civil society benchmarks. Follow the link and use the search function to view this company's dashboard.
Source: BHRRC (2022)
Simon Property Group Inc
Environment CDP Climate Change Score of A-
In 2022, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change risk. Responding companies are scored across four key areas: disclosure; awareness; management; and leadership. This company received a CDP Climate Change Score of A-.
Source: CDP (2022)
Business Ethics 72.3/100 in Newsweek rankings
America's Most Responsible Companies 2022 by Newsweek and Statista recognises the Top 500 most responsible companies in the United States. Companies were evaluated in three areas: environmental (waste, energy use, etc.), social (leadership diversity, employees and philanthropy) and governance (transparency and economic performance). This company received a total score of 72.3/100, ranking 16th in the Real Estate & Housing sector, and 263rd overall.
Source: Newsweek (2021)
Business Ethics 34/100 S&P Global ESG Score
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 34/100 in the Real Estate category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 23 Sep 2022). The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global (2022)
Business Ethics Anticompetitive tactics
In 2017 Simon Property Group agreed to stop anticompetitive tactics that blocked competition from new outlet centers in New York City, and pay US$945,000 to settle a lawsuit with the New York Attorney General. Simon's anticompetitive conduct blocked competition and drove up prices for New York consumers.
Source: New York Attorney General (2017)
Business Ethics 40.3/125 at JUST Capital
JUST Capital polls Americans every year to identify the issues that matter most in defining just business behaviour. For their 2023 rankings JUST Capital asked a representative sample of 3,002 Americans to compare 20 different business Issues on a head-to-head basis, producing a reliable hierarchy of Issues ranked in order of priority. Issues are organised under the headings Workers, Customers, Communities, the Environment, or Shareholders & Governance. JUST Capital then define metrics that map to those issues and track and analyse the largest, publicly traded U.S. companies. This analysis powers their rankings, in which this company ranked 761st of 951 companies, and 31st of 44 Real Estate companies.
Source: JUST Capital (2023)
Social 20% on Corporate Equality Index
This company has the low score of 20% on a report card on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in corporate America.
Source: Human Rights Campaign (2021)
Business Ethics CEO Pay Ratio of 166:1
In 2019 the median pay for a worker at this company was US$62,457. The CEO was paid 166 times this amount. Exorbitant CEO pay is a major contributor to rising inequality. CEOs are getting more because of their power to set pay, not because they are increasing productivity or possess specific, high-demand skills. The economy would suffer no harm if CEOs were paid less (or taxed more). In contrast, the CEO-to-typical-worker compensation ratio was 20-to-1 in 1965 and 58-to-1 in 1989.
Source: AFL-CIO (2020)
Environment Climate action commitments
As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: adopt a science-based emissions reduction target.
Source: We Mean Business (2021)
Business Ethics Sustainability claims
This company has sustainability claims on its website in the four key areas of Customers, Communities, Environment and Employees.
Source: company website (2021)
Business Ethics OpenSecrets.org profile
OpenSecrets.org tracks the influence of money on U.S. politics, and how that money affects policy and citizens' lives. Follow link to see this company's record of political donations, lobbying, outside spending and more.
Source: Open Secrets (2020)
Authentic Brands Group LLC
Social Forced labour in China
The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of international brands, including brands owned by this company.
Source: ITUC (2020)
Business Ethics Part owned by BlackRock, which has criticisms
In 2019 US private equity giant BlackRock bought roughly a 30% stake in this company. BlackRock has several criticisms and an overall Shop Ethical rating of 'F'.
Source: Shop Ethical (2019)

> About the Icons

Company Details

Type Wholly-owned subsidiary
Founded 1920

Contact Details

Address Seattle, Washington, USA
Website eddiebauer.com

Products / Brands

Eddie Bauer
Eddie Bauer Outdoor Wear


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