ASDA

Jun 20, 2022

ASDA is a British retailer founded in 1949 in Leeds, United Kingdom, by Noel Stockdale and J.W. Hindell. The multinational retail company offers fashion for men, women, and children.

ASDA makes clothing, accessories, shoes, swimwear, and eyewear. ASDA operates other retail brands such as George clothing. The Issa brothers and TDR Capital acquired ASDA in 2021.

ASDA has more than 145,000 employees and 18 million customers
every week. It has many supercentres and superstores and sells George clothing in over 560 stores.

ASDA recognizes the importance of ethical sourcing and protecting the environment. It focuses on quality, style, and value and ensures continuous progress.

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Sustainability Rating: 3/10

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Category: Clothing, accessories, shoes, bags

For: Women, men, children

Type: Basics, denim, knitwear, activewear, underwear, loungewear, swimwear, outerwear, nightwear, maternity, flats, sandals, boots, sneakers

Style: Casual

Quality: Low

Price: $

Sizes: XS-XL, 2-14 (US), 4-16 (UK), 36-42 (EU), 4-16 (AU)

Fabrics: Cotton, linen, jute, lyocell, modal, viscose, acetate, polyester, nylon, spandex, polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylic, neoprene, polyurethane, rubber, leather, wool, silk, down

100% Organic: No

100% Vegan: No

Ethical & Fair: No

Recycling: Yes

Producing countries: Albania, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Italy, Laos, Madagascar, Moldova, Morocco, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vietnam

Certifications: BCI, FSC

Sustainability Practices

ASDA is committed to playing its part in accelerating solutions that protect and regenerate our environment. It drives positive change to tackle climate change, eliminate waste, and protect and restore nature.

ASDA only uses a very small proportion of organic materials such as organic cotton or recycled materials such as recycled cotton, recycled polyester, and regenerated nylon.

Most of the fabrics it uses are either natural without relevant certifications, such as regular cotton or linen, or synthetic petroleum-based fibers such as polyester, nylon, acrylic, and more.

ASDA also uses a little amount of semi-synthetic fibers or regenerated cellulosic fabrics such as Tencel lyocell, modal, acetate, and viscose.

Tencel is an eco-friendly fiber made with wood pulp from certified sustainable forests. But only a very small proportion of the materials used by ASDA are environmentally friendly and sustainable.

ASDA publishes a list of all its manufacturers and many of its processing facilities on its corporate website. It aims to raise standards and build transparency.

The 2021 Fashion Transparency Index gave ASDA a score of only 38% based on how much the group discloses about its social and environmental policies, practices, and impacts.

ASDA manufactures its clothes in Turkey and many other East Asian countries where human rights and labor law violations still happen every day.

The British clothing retailer doesn't show any labor certification standard that would ensure good working conditions, decent living wages, health, safety, and other important rights for workers in its supply chain.

ASDA has a code of conduct that applies to all its suppliers and subcontractors and helps suppliers create a safe, respectful working environment, improve labor conditions and prevent harassment.

ASDA assesses compliance with its code of ethics by implementing a risk-based approach to auditing, focusing more on facilities in higher-risk areas. It uses third-party social, safety, and environmental compliance audits.

ASDA doesn't use any exotic animal skin, hair, fur, or angora. But it uses leather, wool, silk, and down feathers to manufacture many of its clothing pieces.

These animal-derived materials are cruel and unethical. They also harm the environment by producing greenhouse gases and waste. More sustainable alternatives exist.

Sustainability Goals

ASDA has committed to reducing its environmental impact across the entire supply chain. It aims to eliminate carbon emissions and become a net-zero carbon emissions business.

ASDA plans to reduce its direct GHG emissions by 50% by 2025 while developing measurement of non-direct Scope 3 emissions. It will reduce its absolute energy use and embrace renewable sources.

ASDA aims to have its top 20 commodities sustainably sourced by 2025. All cotton will be sustainably sourced by 2025 and all viscose will be sourced from traceable sources with a low environmental impact.

All primary paper-based packaging will come from sustainable sources by 2025. And all polyester will have a minimum of 30% recycled content by 2025.

ASDA plans for zero waste operations by 2025, i.e. 90% diversion for landfill and incineration (including energy recovery) or 90% of operational waste reused, redistributed, or recycled.