Better Health for All

66% of 38 Five Below products screened contained chemicals of concern, including hazardous flame retardants (TDCIPP, TCPP), plasticizers (Ortho Phthalate), and lead (e.g., 65.6% lead in solder in Disney Princess Kidsafe Wireless Headphones).

While the company aims to avoid or reduce such chemicals and requires private-label products to undergo third-party testing for regulatory compliance (CPSC, ASTM, FDA, FTC, UL, EPA, 50-state compliant), the presence of these chemicals in a significant portion of tested products indicates notable safety incidents. Five Below states a commitment to providing high-quality, extreme value products. The company published a Chemical Management Policy and Restricted Substances List in 2024 and aims to transparently provide details about its policies. It reported no material data breaches or legal proceedings due to labor law violations or employee discrimination-based lawsuits in 2024. The Five Below Foundation, launched in 2023, donated over $1 million in 2024 to charities for kids and families, with a pillar for "Empowered Inclusion." The company offers comprehensive benefits to employees, including medical, dental, vision, telehealth, mental health, wellness, and fitness partners. It also sells organic products within snacks and personal care items. The company is working to collect and calculate scope 1 and 2 emissions, reduced cardboard use by ~240 tons in 2024, and sold over 8 million reusable bags in 2024.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

In 2024, the CEO to median employee pay ratio was 1126:1, with the median employee earning $5,615.

Employee compensation and benefits received a rating of 2.7 out of 5 stars from Sales Associates, which is 16% lower than the average for Sales Associates at other companies. The company's employee turnover rate is 42% higher than the average found in a Unispace survey of 44 of the 100 largest US companies with return-to-office policies. In February 2024, Five Below Inc. incurred a $15,970 penalty from OSHA for safety-related offenses in Conroe, Texas.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

No specific, quantitative data was found in the provided articles regarding fair trade certification, audit frequency, forced or child labor incidents, supply chain traceability coverage, remediation speed for violations, ethical clause coverage in supplier contracts, share of spend on high-risk materials, or procurement budget directed to diverse suppliers.

The articles explicitly state a lack of quantitative data for these metrics. Information about 'critical products' or C-TPAT participation does not directly map to the defined KPIs for this value.

Honest & Fair Business

Five Below has a formal whistleblower policy with hotlines (833-607-2560, 866-449-4993) and websites (http://fivebelow.ethicspoint.com, http://www.openboard.info/FIVE/) for confidential and anonymous reporting of suspected violations, including accounting, legal, and securities matters.

The policy prohibits retaliation against whistleblowers, and complaints are reviewed by the Audit Committee. The company also has an anti-corruption policy that explicitly prohibits bribes, kickbacks, unauthorized rebates, and improper payments to government officials, referencing the FCPA. Furthermore, Five Below is certified to participate in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), which requires third-party qualification audits for import vendors and social compliance and cargo security self-assessments.

Kind to Animals

Five Below does not certify any of its products to third-party cruelty-free standards.

The company sells products containing animal-derived materials such as leather, hide, and fur, with no evidence of substitution with ethical alternatives. The company requires all factories for import vendors to complete and pass a third-party qualification audit, along with social compliance and cargo security self-assessments, but these audits are not specified to include animal welfare compliance.

No War, No Weapons

The provided articles, including ESG reports and financial summaries, explicitly state that they do not contain any data relevant to Five Below's involvement in arms sales, defense contracts, dual-use technology, sales to embargoed regimes, peacebuilding initiatives, or any other metrics related to the 'No War, No Weapons' ethical value.

Therefore, no KPIs can be scored based on the evidence provided.

Planet-Friendly Business

Five Below reports that 100% of its operational energy consumption is sourced from grid electricity, with no renewable energy consumption reported.

The company is working to collect and calculate Scope 1 and 2 emissions data but has not yet publicly released the results. In 2024, Five Below reduced cardboard usage by approximately 240 tons, equivalent to 4,000 trees, and shifted 100 fewer containers. In 2022, cardboard reduction was 785 tons, saving 13,300 trees. The company uses energy/building management systems and LED lighting in all locations for energy efficiency and has recycling programs in place at its ShipCenters and WowTown.

Safe & Smart Tech

Five Below experienced no material data breaches in 2024.

The last reported data breach incidents occurred in 2018 and 2019, leading to a $112,000 class action settlement for failing to protect customer data from unauthorized access. The company requires all employees and temporary staff to complete annual training on information security, cybersecurity, and global data privacy. Annual data privacy management training is conducted for all crew members, and regular phishing tests and education campaigns are conducted internally and with key contractors. Five Below maintains incident response plans and playbooks that are tested annually, and its cybersecurity strategy is aligned with ISO 27001/02 and NIST frameworks. The company performs an annual threat and risk assessment and periodically engages qualified third parties for external assessments and audits. Five Below also implemented a third-party service provider risk assessment program, reviewing high and medium risk providers annually. The company is working to collect and calculate scope 1 and 2 emissions ahead of expected ESG regulations, and maintains a clawback policy in compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Five Below achieved a 17% reduction in single-use plastic packaging in 2023.

The company has implemented several waste reduction initiatives, including reducing cardboard usage by approximately 240 tons in 2024 and 420 tons in 2023. They also shipped 192 fewer containers in 2024 and 90 fewer in 2023 due to packaging reduction and logistics optimization. Since 2020, Five Below has sold over 35 million reusable bags, with over 8 million sold in 2024. In 2022, cardboard reduction was 785 tons. In 2024, Five Below published a Chemical Management Policy and Restricted Substances List, following analysis of chemicals of concern in private label products in 2022 and 2023, identifying approximately 4% of SKUs as critical. The company has not reported any waste disposal violations in the past three years. Five Below has a target to reduce single-use plastic packaging by 30% by 2026 and aims for 100% of wood-based packaging to be from certified sustainable sources by 2025. In 2023, 65% of wood-based packaging was sourced from certified sustainable sources. The company requires all tier-1 suppliers to comply with applicable laws, including labor practices and minimum wage.