Founded in the mid-1980s by fashion designer, Tommy Hilfiger, the company went public in 1992, designing and selling menswear.
By 1996, Tommy Hilfiger Inc. started selling womenswear and in 1997, opened its first store in Beverly Hills.
Since then, the company has expanded greatly to 2,000 retail stores across the globe in 100 countries.
Known for its combination of counterculture fashion and prep, the brand today sells just about everything for men, women, and kids.
Is Tommy Hilfiger A Good Brand? (10 Reasons It Is)
1. Sustainable Clothing Production
Tommy Hilfiger has transformed their clothing production to work within Planetary Boundaries, which include areas of climate change, land use, and freshwater and chemical pollution, ensuring sustainable longevity.
All areas of their production work within these boundaries, from sourcing to distribution, to limit their carbon footprint, water consumption, and waste creation.
Already, the company has made 43% of their denim lower impact, meaning more than 2 million pairs of jeans have been made using less water and less energy.
They’ve also created a Building Design Rulebook to be used when designing and opening retail locations, offices, and warehouses in Europe.
The Rulebook establishes a framework for which these locations incorporate greenhouse gas emission reduction.
In the US, all new Tommy Hilfiger locations are equipped with 100% LED lighting.
In 2019, Tommy Hilfiger was able to cut airfreight by 40%.
An ongoing sustainable plan has also been rolled out for the future of the company’s practices up until 2030.
By 2025, 50% of their denim will be created using low-impact practices, and 100% of supply chain and operations packaging will be either recyclable, reusable, or compostable.
Customers can expect to find products free of oil-based, single-use plastic packaging.
Also by 2025, wet processors will filter water to have zero hazardous chemicals and harmful microfibers during production, and three collective action projects will be established in the most water-stressed sourcing communities.
Hilfiger aims to have all offices, warehouses, and stores powered by 100% renewable electricity by 2025, as well.
By 2030, the company hopes to reduce its supply chain emissions by 30% and looks to have all offices, distribution centers, and stores creating zero waste or single-use plastics.
2. Equal Opportunity Workplace
Employees are highly valued at Tommy Hilfiger at all levels of the company, including the farmers that produce materials and the factory workers that build the product.
Tommy Hilfiger is committed to breaking down any barriers that may make their workers and employees feel unwelcome and unheard.
Not only do they want all people to feel accepted, but they highly encourage and support their employees to reach their full potential at the company.
They’re also committed to creating a diverse workplace.
Tommy Hilfiger brand states, “The profile of our associates matches the diversity of the countries in which we operate and sell, across ethnicity, gender, and physical ability.”
Hilfiger’s parent company PVH Corp. was recognized by the Women’s Forum of New York for having its board of directors be 30% female.
They’ve also been recognized in 2019 by Diversity Best Practices as the only ranking global clothing brand.
In 2020, PVC was rated 100% in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index.
Their goals between 2020 and 2030 consist of more inclusive hiring practices that reach out to a wider pool of diversity, expanding unconscious bias training, and expanding digital literacy programs across their global offices.
Hilfiger has claimed that by 2025, 100% of their key supplier workers will be heard through representative workplace committees, 100% of their key suppliers in two major countries will proactively support industry-wide collective bargaining to ensure livable wages, and 100% of migrant workers will not pay recruitment fees at PVH’s Level 1 and key Level 2 suppliers.
Also, by 2025, 100% of PVH suppliers will promote and maintain safe and healthy work environments.
By 2030, Hilfiger aims to have equal gender representation in leadership positions, exceed all of PVH suppliers’ social and environmental standards, and give over 200,000 women in the PVH supply chain the opportunity for professional and life skills development programs.
3. Styles For Every Kind Of Body And Person
When Tommy Hilfiger says they make quality clothing for everyone, they mean it.
The brand is completely committed to creating inclusive clothing for everyone, regardless of size, age, gender, race, sexuality, or ability.
Hilfiger knows great fashion shouldn’t only be available to model-sized, able-bodied people, and they actively work to fight the stigma.
To be proactive in this fight, Hilfiger created the Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive collection, for those with disabilities and who need extra care to get dressed.
This line includes additions like Velcro openings, magnetic closures for waistlines, and adjustable hems.
These added benefits aim to make dressing easier for those with disabilities who still want to maintain a great look.
Plus, the brand has developed a new way to shop online for those without the ability to use a traditional keyboard.
It’s called the Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive Skill and uses voice activation to shop.
Powered by Amazon Alexa, this technology allows the shopper to ask what is available in what they’re looking for.
Shoppers can also shop by gender (including non-binary) and specify what their dressing challenge is.
Then shoppers can say what color they want and what size, and checkout.
4. Commitment To Helping Climate Change
Tommy Hilfiger understands that 10% of greenhouse emissions come from the fashion industry, which is why they’ve taken responsibility for their company’s actions.
According to their website, “In 2018, PVH Corp., Tommy Hilfiger’s parent company, launched a program [called Climate Cool] to help realize two bold ambitions: to see a 20% reduction in PVH’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and a 30% reduction in PVH’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.”
Climate Cool compiled 100 representatives from different parts of the business to identify the areas creating the most carbon emissions, including data and energy, building design, airfreight, and communications.
They then set up four task forces to address each of these areas and draw up a plan for achievement by 2030.
Already, Climate Cool has more than halved emissions from airfreight from 20% in Spring 2018 to 9% in Spring 2019.
60% of their retail stores have switched to renewable energy across the world, and 85% of all PVH’s stores in Europe now have LED lighting.
The task forces not only enact solutions to climate change but also bring awareness to areas that were ignored or neglected for so long.
Climate Cool sets an example for everybody else in the company to think and act responsibly.
5. Quality Of Clothing And Products
From its onset, Tommy Hilfiger has designed and produced quality clothing and other products, not only to build customer support and confidence but also to limit the amount of clothing waste throughout the years.
Quality clothing lasts longer and lessens the amount of shopping and shopping trips by consumers.
In general, quality clothing produces less waste, from production to distribution.
Even though environmentally friendly clothing is generally more expensive to produce, the company hasn’t seen a drop in profit, due to its customer loyalty.
Hilfiger customers appreciate the value of well-made and thoughtfully created apparel.
Using strong and durable source materials, like cotton, wool, and polyester, Tommy Hilfiger clothing can maintain its initial integrity years after purchase.
Also, with its classic designs, its products rarely go out of style, making them wearable for years.
6. Partnership To Help Water Scarcity
In 2013 Tommy Hilfiger partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to address water scarcity in affected areas around the world.
41% of people live in areas of severe water distress, with that number expected to increase by 1/3 by 2050.
With their WWF partnership, Hilfiger has co-created a long-term strategy for developing more sustainable water practices, both within their production facilities and outside the company, by fostering collective action with other businesses, governments, NGOs, and communities that share water resources.
The three main areas of concern for this partnership are the Taihu River in China, the Mekong River basin in Vietnam, and the Büyük Menderes river basin in Turkey.
The partnership works to train manufacturers and suppliers on water stewardship, as well as develop new conservation efforts.
So far, 136 suppliers in China have overgone water conservation training.
They’re also developing the framework to measure how different water stewardship projects across countries are supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
7. Circular Clothing Life
As part of their sustainable initiative, Tommy Hilfiger works to develop a fully circular process for their clothing lifespans.
This means all their products will be designed and produced using the circular model, while only materials that are biodegradable or recyclable will be utilized.
They also state, “Our synthetic materials will be from recycled sources and our natural materials will come from regenerative systems, meaning they contribute to systems that renew or replenish themselves.”
Currently, 80% of Tommy Hilfiger designers around the world have been trained on circular models.
Their 2019 and 2020 Spring collections used 100% recycled cotton, and 75% of their Spring 2020 collections, including the TommyXLewis collection, used sustainable sources, including 100% organic cotton and low-impact denim washes.
The TommyXLewis collection also features a vegan sneaker, which garnered a PETA Menswear Awards in 2019.
In 2019, Tommy Hilfiger teamed up with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) Jeans Redesign project, which provides strategies for circular processes in denim.
They are also proud members and affiliates of circulatory-focused organizations such as The Fashion Pact, We Are Still In, the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, and the Centre for Sustainable Fashion.
By 2025, the company hopes to make three of its most commonly purchased products completely circular, including the full traceability of key raw materials.
Also by 2025, each of their regions will enable consumers to buy used Tommy Hilfiger apparel and offer the consumer an opportunity to recycle old Tommy Hilfiger clothing.
The brand will also switch out the use of virgin oil-based polyester for lower environmental impact alternatives, sustainably source 100% of used man-made cellulosics, and obtain 40% of their nylon from recycled sources.
8. Encourage Creativity For Innovative Styles
Tommy Hilfiger instituted the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Frontier Challenge in 2018, a global program that looks to discover and encourage innovative ideas in the world of fashion.
The program provides financial support, as well as mentorship to help mold and form designers’ minds for the future.
They’ve received over 1,100 applications since its inception and have awarded over 350,000 euros in winnings to social entrepreneurs.
Not only does this program encourage creativity and the development of new ideas, but it also embraces local cultures and diversity in communities.
The program seeks to find individuals and start-ups facing social challenges and highly encourages those from underrepresented communities, such as black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), people with disabilities, and women, to apply each year.
Individuals, as well as companies, focused on inclusive fashion, apply by submitting their project proposals.
After intense debate and reflection, the top 50 finalists are narrowed down to 6, who partner with OneUp and Tommy Hilfiger experts and designers to work through their biggest business struggles.
Winners receive a monetary prize as well as a one-year mentorship with Tommy Hilfiger experts, as well as with the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Program (ISEP).
9. Focus On Sustainable Denim
Tommy Hilfiger is dedicated to developing sustainable practices for all their clothing production, but denim is the main focus and has already made great strides.
In the past, a ready-to-wear pair of jeans required 70 liters of water and 1.5 kW of energy, as well as the use of potentially hazardous chemicals.
In Spring 2019, Tommy Jeans launched the first pair of 100% recycled jeans.
To do this manufacturers used cotton scraps from cutting tables and factory floors and thread from recycled plastic bottles.
They also started the Lower Impact Denim program, which uses Jeanologia’s Environmental Impact Measurement (EIM) to measure the chemicals, energy, and water used to finish a pair of jeans.
Now, the PVH Denim Center produces a ready-to-wear pair of jeans using only 10 liters of water.
Plus, lasers and more sustainable chemicals have replaced some of the harmful chemicals previously used in production.
Though Tommy Jeans has seen change and growth in sustainable and holistic denim production, they hope to reach even better results as technology advances in the upcoming years.
10. They Give Back To Their Communities
Besides making major headway in corporate responsibility, Tommy Hilfiger also dedicates itself to giving back to global charities and organizations working to create a better world.
To do so, they started Tommy Cares which supports organizations like, Save the Children, Worldwide Fund for Nature, War Child, Autism Speaks, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Dress for Success, Red Cross, Free Arts NYC, Fresh Air Fund, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Humanitarian Resources International Foundation, and Race to Erase MS.
The variety of organizations Tommy Hilfiger supports goes to show the many causes they find charitable.
They hope to do their part not only in creating a better and more responsible world of fashion but also a better world all around.
In addition to Tommy Cares, Hilfiger has started a program called The People’s Place Program, which works to establish a foundational change in underrepresented communities.
Together with Harlem’s Fashion Row, The People’s Place Program is a design competition looking to represent and elevate black voices in the fashion industry.
In this effort to reach more diverse consumers, Tommy Hilfiger has stated, “We will diversify the talent we collaborate with by choosing organizations and creatives who advance BIPOC representation and equality in the industry.”
To do this, they’re dedicating their resources to providing employment opportunities, informational access, and physical materials to those involved.
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