ESG Burnout?: Environmental, social and corporate governance has become a buzzword — but for professionals in the field, the day-to-day grind can be a little less inspiring.
Wednesday, the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals released findings from an exclusive survey on the field of corporate social responsibility. Surveying 149 companies, including those in the apparel industry, ACCP probed the inner workings of CSR and ESG professionals. ACCP members span Accenture, Bain Capital, eBay, Kohl’s, Nordstrom and Procter & Gamble, among others.
Among the chief insights, lack of resources and insufficient headcount is causing real-world challenges for sustainability professionals leading to increased burnout and mental health concerns. In addition, professionals report their work is “highly scrutinized” and teams lack diversity. However, teams are significantly more diverse if the team leader is a person of color, and employee volunteerism as a whole is rising.
ThredUp takes on the GRWM trend with 10 Gen Z influencers.
New Influence: In its largest back-to-school campaign yet, ThredUp partnered with 19 year-old high school musical actress Sofia Wylie to challenge new shopping norms.
Wylie is among 10 Gen Z influencers selected for the campaign, which includes a 28-piece assortment of clothing and accessories handpicked by Wylie. The back-to-school drop is meant for the TikTok generation, nudging styling trends like “get ready with me” (abbreviated on TikTok as “GRWM”), or “Get Ready with Us” per ThredUp’s campaign.
In ThredUp’s second annual Gen Z survey, nearly 60 percent of high school and college students said they plan to buy new clothes for this back-to-school season. (The survey was conducted by GlobalData and sampled 1,992 U.S. Gen Zers in June 2023). Nearly half of those surveyed said they wish they could quit their fast fashion overconsumption habits.
Nearly as much, or 43 percent of college students, said they turn to influencers for trends. A recent U.N. report showed that influencers, for one, are helping stoke exhaustive shopping. This ThredUp collab, as with previous drops, is intent on shifting the shopping narrative to secondhand.
Tanger Outlets Fort Worth
David W.Brown
Retail Moves: Tanger Outlets released its ESG report for 2022. The outlet store chain noted improvements on its store efficiency and safety as well as employee training. Last year, Tanger achieved WELL Health-Safety Rating for all 36 centers and enhanced security and risk management. The outlet chain also invested in DEI initiatives, including employee training and resource groups. Tanger also signed onto the U.N. Global Compact, with intent to increase its renewable energy footprint. Progress already includes electrifying 100 percent of its security fleet and certifying more than half its portfolio’s gross leasable area to meet LEED’s gold standards. Additionally, Tanger pledges to be net-zero in its owned operations by 2050, though its targets are not verified formally.
