Responsibility
HER, AT THE HEART OF US
Together with our associates, customers and partners, we aim to raise and contribute $250 million by 2025 in support of women and girls globally to help them be their best selves through opportunities to lead, strengthen communities, and live well.
ascena’s core purpose is to provide all women and girls with fashion and inspiration for living confidently every day. As one of the largest U.S.-based specialty apparel retailers focused exclusively on women and girls, ascena and our brands seek to drive positive change for the women and girls we serve.
OUR APPROACH – RESPONSIBILITY AT ASCENA
Our Ambitions
We bring this commitment to life by:
- Launching D&I as a strategic business imperative and introducing mentorship programs for women and diverse associates to drive engagement and retention
- Training the next generation of women leaders through HERlead Fellowship
- Reporting 61% of VP-and-above executives are women, 98% of our stores are led by women and our Board of Directors has gender parity
- Impacting over 135,000 women and girls directly and indirectly with financial and in-kind product donations through HERlead, as well as support for Girls on the Run and Dress for Success
We bring this commitment to life by:
- Supporting our associates and communities through ascenaCARES, the collective charitable initiatives and endeavors of ascena, it’s brands, ascena Foundation and Dimes From the Heart
- Showing pride through our partnership with GLSEN
- Making product donations to women in need through Delivering Good
- Cycling for cancer research through Pelotonia
- Providing access to clean water through Planet Water
Photo Credit: St. Jude Patient Cohen
We bring this commitment to life by:
- Supporting children’s health through Nationwide Children’s Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- Supporting cancer research through the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, with a commitment to support 1.2 million research hours by 2022
- Committing to source 100% of Lou & Grey private label apparel from factories that have implemented BSR’s HERproject
Our Ambitions
We bring this commitment to life by:
- Launching D&I as a strategic business imperative and introducing mentorship programs for women and diverse associates to drive engagement and retention
- Training the next generation of women leaders through HERlead Fellowship
- Reporting 61% of VP-and-above executives are women, 98% of our stores are led by women and our Board of Directors has gender parity
- Impacting over 135,000 women and girls directly and indirectly with financial and in-kind product donations through HERlead, as well as support for Girls on the Run and Dress for Success
We bring this commitment to life by:
- Supporting our associates and communities through ascenaCARES, the collective charitable initiatives and endeavors of ascena, it’s brands, ascena Foundation and Dimes From the Heart
- Showing pride through our partnership with GLSEN
- Making product donations to women in need through Delivering Good
- Cycling for cancer research through Pelotonia
- Providing access to clean water through Planet Water
Photo Credit: St. Jude Patient Cohen
We bring this commitment to life by:
- Supporting children’s health through Nationwide Children’s Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- Supporting cancer research through the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, with a commitment to support 1.2 million research hours by 2022
- Committing to source 100% of Lou & Grey private label apparel from factories that have implemented BSR’s HERproject
Highlights
Photo Credit: © Better Cotton Initiative
Sustainable Materials
Committed to increasing sustainable material sourcing, the volume of cotton sourced through the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) in Premium Segment brands increased from 15% to 18%, equating to 1,400 metric tons of Better Cotton.
Charitable giving
Raised and contributed over $150 million, putting us 62% of the way toward the 2025 goal of $250 million. An additional $6.3 million of in-kind donations went to 20 organizations geared to empowering women and girls.
Diversity & Inclusion
Named to Forbes’ America’s Best Employers for Diversity and America’s Best Employers for women, launched mandated Unconscious Bias Training, and new Associate Resource Groups (ARGsS) including ascenaPRIDE, Working Parents and Patchwork.
For more information visit Our Culture page
Photo Credit: Planet Water Foundation
Water
Ascena associates and vendor volunteers installed three AquaTowers and five AquaHomes, providing approximately 3,000 people with access to clean drinking water in Vietnam and India.
Carbon Foot printing and Pledge
Completed enterprise-wide carbon footprint analysis of ascena operations, including stores, corporate campuses and distribution centers and set a baseline to inform carbon reduction target – to be announced in 2020.
Supply chain
As members of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition since 2013, we have engaged with all Tier 1 suppliers as well as strategic mills on their environmental performance through completion of the Higg Facilities Environmental Module (Higg FEM), a sustainability assessment tool that standardizes how facilities measure and evaluate their environmental performance. One of our many commitments to set environmental reduction targets for our supply chain.
Our 2019 Responsibility Progress Report
Some of our memberships and stakeholders:
Since 2016
Since 2014
Since 2013
Since 2014
Since 2018
First women’s specialty retailer to sign, since 2012
Since 2019
2018
Code of Conduct for Merchandise Suppliers (pdf)
Conflict Minerals Policy (pdf)
California Transparency (pdf)