Better Health for All

Abercrombie & Fitch's core apparel products have no significant positive or negative health impact, and the company generates no revenue from products with direct health impacts. Its products do not have direct safety implications for physical or mental health for users. The company demonstrates excellent risk transparency through its comprehensive Restricted Substance Policy, which details numerous restricted substances, specific limits, and testing methods

, achieving <0.998% product failures due to chemical non-compliance in fiscal year 2024 . Regarding health externalities, the company has very limited health-harming externalities with exemplary remediation efforts, reducing water intensity in denim production by 33% , increasing recycled water use by 32% , reducing global home office waste by 40% , and reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40% (all compared to 2019 baselines, as of fiscal year 2023/2024). For vulnerable reach, the company has trained 30,039 supply chain workers in well-being programs, including health-related issues, as of fiscal year 2024 , out of a target of 50,000 by 2027 , reaching 60.078% of its target vulnerable population.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is a global specialty retailer of apparel, not a financial institution. The ethical value 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' primarily assesses financial institutions on their lending, insurance, money movement, and storage activities. As such, most Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) within this rubric are not applicable to the company's core business model. The company does not offer consumer lending or deposit services, nor does it generate revenue from high-cost financial products, manage customer finance data, or operate financial service access points. Therefore, KPIs such as underserved_client_share, pricing_fairness, exploitative_fee_exposure, inclusion_initiatives, data_accessibility, fair_lending_compliance, wealth_building_outcome, profit_reinvestment, debt_burden_ratio, geographic_inclusion, and product_simplicity are not applicable. While Abercrombie & Fitch Co. partners with programs like RISE and P.A.C.E. to provide financial literacy training to women workers in its apparel supply chain

, including courses on saving and financial planning , the available evidence does not provide a specific percentage of the total workforce reached by these initiatives. Without this quantitative data point for 'reach', this KPI cannot be scored according to the rubric's thresholds and is therefore omitted.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. reported a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 6,731:1

, with a median worker pay of $2,531 . The company has accumulated four substantiated labor-law violations in the past three years (2021-2023) , including wage and hour violations in 2022 and 2023 , and a workplace safety violation in 2023 . Employee ratings on Glassdoor indicate an average engagement score of 3.7 out of 5 stars , reflecting a healthy workplace culture.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

Abercrombie & Fitch requires all business partners to contractually adhere to its Vendor Code of Conduct

, which covers ethical terms including anti-bribery, child labor, and forced labor , representing 100% ethical clause coverage . For audit frequency, factories with A ratings (43% in fiscal year 2024) are reevaluated every other year , while B-D rated factories (55% in fiscal year 2024) are audited annually , resulting in an average audit frequency of approximately 17.16 months. Regarding forced and child labor, the company has not detected child labor issues in its factories since 2018 . However, in fiscal year 2024, one factory was identified with issues where workers paid supervisors for jobs, violating the company’s zero recruitment fee policy, which constitutes a forced labor finding . For traceability, a digital survey program for key suppliers covers over 70% of finished product production , and 99% of Manmade Cellulosic Fiber (MMCF) suppliers were traced in fiscal year 2024 .

Honest & Fair Business

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. maintains a robust whistleblower policy, established in 2015, which includes 24/7 confidential reporting resources (online, phone, email) allowing for anonymous submissions in any language.

Complaints are investigated within 24 hours of receipt, and investigation proceedings are documented and retained for at least seven years. The Audit Committee has full access to all documentation and reviews complaints quarterly. The company explicitly prohibits retaliation against employees for good faith reporting. Regarding anti-corruption, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a comprehensive policy, including a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and an Anti-Corruption Policy, which covers the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 (UKBA). This policy applies to vendors, who are required to report and cooperate with investigations into suspected violations. Associates must annually affirm compliance with the Code. , and a Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer (CECO) provides guidance and advises the Board. Outside independent auditors are mandated to report any discovered violations of the Code. The policy also sets a specific gift value threshold of $75.

Kind to Animals

Abercrombie & Fitch has not signed PETA’s statement of assurance for cruelty-free certifications

and is not currently listed by PETA or Leaping Bunny , indicating that less than 1% of its products are certified cruelty-free by recognized third parties. While the company sources 100% of its down from Responsible Down Standard (RDS) certified sources since fiscal year 2020 and 72% of its virgin wool through the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) in fiscal year 2024 , and prohibits materials like fur, angora, mohair, mulesed wool, and live-plucked down , there is no specific, quantifiable data on the percentage of animal-derived ingredients replaced with ethical alternatives, the extent of non-animal testing methods, or the percentage of animal-related operations with humane certifications. Information regarding animal testing policy, volume, innovation investment in animal-free technologies, animal agriculture ethics, supplier audit percentages for welfare compliance, cage-free sourcing, wildlife conservation impact, animal-free R&D collaboration, or public policy engagement on animal welfare is not provided in a quantifiable format that aligns with the rubric's requirements.

No War, No Weapons

Abercrombie & Fitch demonstrates strong adherence to humanitarian procurement standards, with 99.78% compliance with its zero recruitment fee policy in 2024, based on 453 social audits.

The single identified violation led to corrective actions and worker reimbursement. The company is a member of the Responsible Minerals Initiative and confirms supplier compliance with its Responsible Minerals Assurance Process. It conducts an annual human-rights due diligence process for conflict minerals sourced from conflict regions, publishing the results on its website. This annual process also serves as a review for partners with conflict-related risks, requiring suppliers to confirm conflict-free status. As an apparel retailer, the company has no exposure to controversial or banned weapons.

Planet-Friendly Business

Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s total Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 were 533,972 tCO2e.

The company submitted its commitment to setting near-term science-based emissions reduction targets with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in January 2024.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Abercrombie & Fitch has a history of cultural insensitivity and discrimination. In 2002, the company faced protests over offensive anti-Asian T-shirts.

The company also faced a class-action lawsuit in 2003 alleging racial discrimination, which was settled for $40-50 million in 2004. Furthermore, Abercrombie & Fitch was involved in Supreme Court cases in 2008 and 2015 for religious discrimination related to refusing to hire a woman wearing a headscarf. These incidents indicate reactive responses to cultural issues, often after public pressure and legal action.

Safe & Smart Tech

The company faces a proposed class action alleging a violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act due to sharing customer personal and credit card information with a third-party payment processor

, . Despite this, the company states it complies with applicable data protection laws in the UK and EEA and provides multiple region-specific privacy notices . Users can request access, update, correct, amend, or erase their data, restrict its use, and object to its use based on their situation .

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has implemented several initiatives to promote zero waste and sustainable products. For packaging, 100% of mailers in APAC, EMEA, and USA, and 100% of polybags in the USA were recyclable by 2023, and shopping bags are fully recyclable.

The company has at least seven waste reduction initiatives, including partnerships for denim and fabric recycling, collection of scraps at its Global Home Office, a food waste composting partnership launched in 2021, garment polybag recycling programs in some US stores, and a hazardous waste recycling program for personal care products rolled out to all US stores since 2019. This hazardous waste program achieved 43% recycling in US stores by 2022. The company aims to reduce waste at its Global Home Office and Distribution Centers by 50% by 2025 from a 2019 baseline, having achieved a 40% reduction by FY2024. No waste disposal violations have been reported in the provided articles. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. also participates in the How2Recycle program to educate customers on proper packaging recycling.