Our Challenge

Forests provide a habitat for 80 per cent of the world’s land biodiversity and 1.6 billion people rely on forest resources for their livelihoods. Forests also make a positive contribution to the environment by improving air quality, absorbing carbon dioxide, conserving water and preserving soil. Yet human activity, illegal logging, poor land management and agricultural supply chains have massively depleted the world’s forests, putting the environment and climate at risk.

Wood and wood-derived fibres, such as man-made cellulose, which makes up approximately 6% of our textile fibres, are essential commodities for Target and we have a responsibility to source these materials responsibly.

Our Approach

Target is committed to eliminating illegal logging and deforestation from our supply chain; working to ensure that wood, paper and forest fibres sourced for our own brand products avoid ancient and endangered forests and come from low-risk sources. We also promote the use of fibres sourced from certified responsibly managed forests and will preference the use of recycled or alternative fibre sources, where viable to further reduce environmental and social impact and transition to a circular economy.

Target complies with the Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Act and we conduct due diligence on all regulated timber products to reduce the risk that illegally logged timber is imported or processed. In addition, some of our wooden products carry Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certification. FSC is a not for profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of responsible forest management worldwide. When you see the FSC® label, you can be assured that the materials have been harvested to benefit communities, wildlife and the environment. Learn More

Target has partnered with environmental not for profit organisation,Canopy, to eliminate our risk of sourcing cellulose fibres from ancient and endangered forests and support collaborative efforts to scale next generation fibres which reduce reliance on wood pulp by transitioning to recycled and alternative fibre sources such as agricultural residues like leftover wheat straw.

You can read more about our commitment to protecting forests in our Forest Protection Policy

Our Progress

As a first step in our partnership with Canopy, we have mapped our supply chain to get a better understanding of where our cellulose fibres are coming from. Based on the information submitted by our suppliers, approximately 65% of Target own brand apparel product containing cellulose fibres in the past year comes from fibre producers that have received a Green Shirt rating in the 2021 Canopy Hot button Report. ‘A ‘Green Shirt’ rating indicates that a producer has been audited and assessed as being at low risk or has taken substantive action to eliminate known risk of sourcing cellulose fibres from ancient and endangered forests.

The Hot Button Ranking assesses fibre producers in terms of:

• Producers’ level of risk of sourcing from key areas of ancient and endangered forests and other controversial sources;
• Producers’ leadership on advancing and advocating for, and helping to secure conservation legacies; and
• Producers’ work to realise the commercial-scale production of fibres using innovative and alternative feedstocks, such as leftover straw, microbial cellulose, or post-consumer recycled clothing.

The Hot Button Report includes individual results for all of Target’s published ‘Green Shirt’ cellulose producers(see our factory list): Aditya Birla, Jilin Chemical Fibre Co. Ltd, Lenzing, Tangshan Sanyou, Yibin Grace Group Co. Ltd, Century Rayon, and Xinxiang Chemical Fiber Co Ltd. Some of these fibre producers have multiple facilities, while Jilin and Century Rayon have one facility. The detailed CanopyStyle audit report for each of these producers and their facilities can be downloaded here" (please note: the scope of each report list specific facilities).

We will continue to work with our suppliers to improve traceability and ensure that by 1st January 2023, 100% of cellulose fibres sourced for Target own brand clothing, bedding and towels, are sourced from low-risk ‘Green Shirt’ sources.

Further to this, we have transitioned approximately 36% of our womenswear own brand cellulose programs to fibres sourced from forests certified to an independent forestry standard and converted into fibres using less energy and water compared to conventional methods.

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