In recognition of Earth Day, Nordstrom has announced five new goals to demonstrate its continued commitment to combating climate change and increasing environmental stewardship.

Nordstrom said it is focused on three key impact areas including climate change, the environmental impact of its products and services and circularity. To address these specific areas, the retailer has committed to meeting the following goals by 2025:

  • Set a science-based target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
  • Reduce single-use plastic by 50 percent;
  • Use sustainably sourced raw materials in 50 percent of Nordstrom Made products made of polyester, cotton and cellulosic fibers;
  • Extend the life of 250 tons of clothing;
  • Ensure 15 percent of all product is considered sustainable; and
  • Donate $1 million to support textile recycling innovation.

“Through this COVID-19 crisis, we’ve been given a unique opportunity to reimagine our future and rethink what kind of company we want to be for our customers, employees and shareholders. It’s clear that to deliver value to our stakeholders and communities, environmental sustainability needs to be a priority for our company,” said Pete Nordstrom, president and chief brand officer at Nordstrom, Inc. “We’re proud of the progress we’ve made to date but are also the first to admit we’ve got a long way to go. We’re pushing ourselves to be a better company and are pleased to share these sustainability goals as part of our first step on this new journey.”

Environmental Initiatives
To help meet the goal of reducing single-use plastics by 50 percent, one of the first steps Nordstrom is taking this year is to begin phasing out plastic bags from its more than 245 Nordstrom Rack stores.

Nordstrom has also granted $100,000 to The Nature Conservancy, to support programmatic work in its efforts to take on the planet’s biggest, most important challenges by focusing on priorities that science shows are the most urgent.

Additionally, Nordstrom has joined The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular initiative and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, furthering its commitment to making progress in its key impact areas of circularity and environmental impact of products and services.

Sustainable Beauty Initiative
Nordstrom has added beauty products that meet Sustainable Style criteria to the shopping category, which features sustainable and responsible products on Nordstrom.com and the Nordstrom app. Customers can now easily discover beauty products that are made from sustainably sourced ingredients, use minimal and more responsible packaging, are manufactured in factories that meet higher social or environmental standards or that give back.

Last August, Nordstrom announced its participation in the G7 Fashion Pact, a coalition of global luxury retailers working to identify and promote concrete goals to mitigate the environmental impact of the fashion industry across oceans, climate and biodiversity. The fashion retailer also launched Sustainable Style, the first of its kind shopping category offered by a U.S. based multiline fashion retailer to help make it easy for its customers to engage circular and sustainable fashion choices while feeling confident that their contribution to battling climate change is meaningful and impactful.

Photo courtesy Nordstrom