Water, a key and finite resource, is heavily relied upon in the textile manufacturing process. Carter’s is committed to managing our water consumption and supporting adequate water access for future generations. Based on our water usage metrics, the majority of our water footprint comes from our indirect operations via the manufacturing of our products. To better understand the water impacts in our global supply chain, in 2023, we required all factories and mills that make our products to complete the Higg FEM, a tool used to assess the environmental performance of product manufacturers in the consumer goods industry. In 2022, we set a goal to utilize the Higg Index to further drive reduced water usage in the manufacturing and washing of our products by 2025. We aim to use the data from the Higg Index to better engage with suppliers on their water reduction efforts.

Garment washing is a common step in apparel manufacturing to enhance the softness of a garment and to provide a distressed or “lived in” look to products such as denim. Over the past few years, we have worked with our designers to reduce the number of styles that require garment washing to achieve our design intent. We continue to monitor this extra processing to increase water conservation in our manufacturing process where appropriate.