Setting a High Bar for Amazon-Branded Products
Customers want to be sure that the products they buy align with their values and needs. We are committed to embedding sustainability into Amazon-branded products as a fundamental standard across our supply chain. While there is no industry-wide definition of a sustainable product, one of the ways Amazon sets a high bar for our branded products is through certifications. We partner with reputable external certifiers and use our own internal Compact by Design certification to certify products that qualify as Climate Pledge Friendly. We also engage with leading organizations and industry collaboratives to drive sustainability improvements, and incorporate new insights into our approach as we continue to learn.
Household Goods
When it comes to items like cleaning supplies and personal care products, Amazon customers want options that are safe for their families and for the planet, without compromising on quality or price. As part of our Chemicals Policy, our Restricted Substance List provides an extensive list of chemicals we seek to avoid in Amazon-owned Private Brands baby, household cleaning, personal care, and beauty products, and applies to all suppliers of these product categories in the U.S. and Europe.
Food and Grocery
Amazon offers a range of sustainable food and grocery options and uses many sustainably sourced, third-party certified ingredients across our Amazon-branded selection. This includes our commitments to sustainable palm oil and animal welfare in Amazon Private Brands food products. We also avoid chemicals of concern and prohibit non-recyclable materials in Amazon Kitchen food contact packaging, as outlined in our Food Contact Materials Restricted Substance List. At Whole Foods Market, Quality Standards govern the products we sell in our stores, including meat, seafood, body care, and more.
Fashion and Apparel
We are committed to making it easier for our customers to choose high-quality, sustainable apparel products. We are working to lower the environmental impact of our Amazon-owned Private Brands apparel products, and we partner directly with our suppliers to find solutions that promote the use of sustainably produced fabrics and recycled materials, including cotton, leather, and manmade cellulosic fibers. We collaborate with leading apparel organizations to incorporate industry best practices and support collective action.
We are making Amazon devices more sustainable, from how we build them to how our customers use them. We incorporate recycled materials into many new Amazon devices, giving new life to materials that could otherwise end up in waste streams. We have also developed features like Low Power Mode to reduce the energy devices consume during periods of inactivity over their lifetime. In 2020, we added Low Power Mode to the latest models of Echo and Fire TV devices and are rolling out free over-the-air updates to bring Low Power Mode to older models of devices already in customers’ homes.
Our Commitments
Animal Welfare
Cellulosic Fibers
Chemicals and Restricted Substances
Cotton
Leather
Palm Oil
Product Labels
Recycled Fabrics
Recycled Materials
As retailers of animal-derived products, we recognize our responsibility to uphold animal welfare within our supply chain. We expect our suppliers to uphold the Five Freedoms framework for animal welfare, which mandates freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury, or disease; freedom to express normal behavior; and freedom from fear and distress. We expect our suppliers to comply with all applicable laws and to take a zero-tolerance approach to animal cruelty, abuse, and neglect. We encourage suppliers to continuously improve their animal welfare standards and practices, and to work toward recognized animal welfare certifications or industry guidelines that include welfare provisions.
By 2022, we will ensure that none of the manmade cellulosic fibers (including rayon, viscose, lyocell, and modal) sourced for Amazon-owned Private Brands apparel products are derived from ancient or endangered forests, endangered species’ habitats, or other controversial sources, as defined by the nonprofit organization Canopy’s tools and reports. Our approach to cellulosics includes using fabrics that provide assurance on traceability and use best-available processing technology, as well as supporting the use of innovative lower-impact alternative fiber sources, such as recycled fiber from used clothing.
Part of our commitment to quality is avoiding chemicals of concern in our products that can affect human health and/or the environment. We define chemicals of concern as those chemicals that: (1) meet the criteria for classification as a carcinogen, mutagen, or reproductive or other systemic toxicant; or (2) are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic. We use leading science and customer feedback to prioritize which chemicals of concern to focus on based on product type, customer concerns, and the availability of safer alternatives.
We are working to ensure that all Amazon-owned Private Brands apparel products are made using cotton from more sustainable sources by the end of 2022. This includes using cotton sourced from recycled materials, from farms certified as producing organic cotton, or through the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a global nonprofit that aims to transform the cotton supply chain by developing Better Cotton as a sustainable mainstream commodity. After joining BCI in 2019, we sourced 48% of the cotton used for our Amazon-owned Private Brands apparel products as Better Cotton in 2020. While Better Cotton is not physically traceable to end products, BCI farmers benefit from the demand for Better Cotton in equivalent volumes to those we source. Amazon is also a member of BCI’s Retailer and Brand Advisory Panel on Traceability.
In 2019, Amazon signed the Responsible Sourcing Network’s public Cotton Pledges, committing to not source cotton from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for Amazon-owned Private Brands products until the pervasive use of government mandated forced labor is stopped. In 2021, we began participating in a Responsible Sourcing Network initiative called YESS: Yarn Ethically & Sustainably Sourced, which works to address forced labor in the cotton value chain.
In 2019, Amazon signed the Responsible Sourcing Network’s public Cotton Pledges, committing to not source cotton from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for Amazon-owned Private Brands products until the pervasive use of government mandated forced labor is stopped. In 2021, we began participating in a Responsible Sourcing Network initiative called YESS: Yarn Ethically & Sustainably Sourced, which works to address forced labor in the cotton value chain.
In 2020, we joined the Leather Working Group, a nonprofit membership organization that works to improve environmental stewardship within the global leather industry. By the end of 2023, we will source all leather used in Amazon-owned Private Brands apparel and shoe products from tanneries that meet the Leather Working Group’s bronze level award or higher.
As of 2021, we use sustainably certified palm oil in all Amazon Private Brands food products in North America and Europe. In a small number of cases, palm oil credits may be used to cover very small volumes and complex derivatives. We revisit these cases annually with applicable suppliers and agree on plans to transition to physically certified sustainable palm oil where possible.
As of 2020, all new woven labels in Amazon-owned Private Brands apparel products are made from recycled fabric, and all new swing tags are made from paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
We will increase the use of recycled fabrics in Amazon-owned Private Brands apparel products, including moving from conventional to recycled polyester, and launching products made from innovative recycled fibers. In 2020, we joined the Textile Exchange, a global nonprofit that works with its members to drive industry transformation in preferred fibers, including recycled materials.
In 2020, we launched Echo and Fire TV devices that include 100% post-consumer recycled fabric, 100% recycled die-cast aluminum, and 30-50% post-consumer recycled plastic, depending on the product. We also incorporated 50% post-consumer recycled plastic into certain power adapters that ship with our devices.
Timeline of Commitments
Amazon Chemicals Policies
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Restricted Substance ListWe seek to avoid having any of these chemicals in our Amazon-cowned Private Brand baby, household cleaning, personal care, and beauty products in the U.S. and EU.
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Food Contact MaterialsFor our Amazon Kitchen brand products, we seek to avoid the intentional addition of this list of chemicals to our food contact packaging.
Amazon is committed to ensuring the people and communities that support our entire value chain are treated with fundamental dignity and respect, and we strive to ensure the products and services we provide are produced in a way that respects internationally recognized human rights. Our efforts are anchored in policies that apply across all aspects of our business—from our own operations, to our supply chain, to the communities in which we operate.
Partnerships
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Better Cotton InitiativeTo support the transition of sourcing more sustainable cotton for Amazon-owned Private Brand apparel products, Amazon joined the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) in 2019, a global nonprofit organization and the largest cotton sustainability program in the world. BCI exists to make global cotton production better for the people who produce it, better for the environment it grows in, and better for the sector’s future. In 2021, we also joined BCI's Retailer and Brand Advisory Panel on Traceability. -
Leather Working GroupAmazon joined the Leather Working Group to support the transition to more sustainable leather in Amazon-owned Private Brand apparel products. The Leather Working Group seeks to improve the leather manufacturing industry by creating alignment on environmental priorities, bringing visibility to best practices, and providing suggested guidelines for continual improvement. -
Sustainable Apparel CoalitionAmazon joined the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), an industry-wide group of more than 250 leading apparel and footwear brands, retailers, manufacturers, non-governmental organizations, academic experts, and government organizations working to reduce the environmental and social impacts of apparel products around the world. We encourage our Amazon-branded suppliers to evaluate their practices using the Coalition’s Higg Index, a tool to help manufacturers measure the social and environmental performance of their facilities. -
Textile ExchangeAmazon joined Textile Exchange to support our commitment to sustainable apparel. Textile Exchange a global nonprofit that works with its members to drive industry transformation in preferred fibers, including recycled materials. Textile Exchange identifies and shares best practices on farming, materials, processing, traceability, and product end-of-life in order to reduce the textile industry’s impact on the world’s water, soil, and air, and the human population.
