Ralph Lauren reports a 42 percent drop in absolute emissions in its first year against Timeless by Design 2030, alongside new regenerative cotton sourcing and recycled yarn work.
Ralph Lauren reported a 42 percent drop in absolute emissions in the first year of Timeless by Design 2030, along with new regenerative cotton sourcing, expanded cotton waste recycling, and a 14 percent increase in cancer funding.
Donny Lassiter farms cotton near Rich Square, North Carolina, on ground his family has worked for three generations. “Granddad didn’t call it soil health — he called it looking after the land. You leave it better than you found it,” Lassiter, a mentor farmer for the U.S. Regenerative Cotton Fund, told the Soil Health Institute, which runs the fund with founding support from the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation.
Ralph Lauren Corporation reported Tuesday that it has decreased absolute greenhouse gas emissions 42 percent from its fiscal 2020 base year, the headline figure in its first year of progress against Timeless by Design 2030, the phase of its citizenship and sustainability strategy announced in March. Its stated goal is a 30 percent cut in absolute Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by the end of calendar 2030 against that same baseline, putting the reported figure four years ahead of the commitment.
“Ralph Lauren has created timeless products for nearly 60 years, and our ongoing efforts in citizenship and sustainability help ensure we can continue delivering for our customers, employees, partners and shareholders for generations to come,” Katie Ioanilli, Chief Global Impact & Communications Officer, Ralph Lauren Corporation, said in a statement. “From protecting heritage craft and supporting cotton farmers adopting regenerative practices, to maintaining a best-in-class workplace and making progress in the fight against cancer, we are focused on advancing this work with our teams and partners across our value chain.”
Fashion’s emissions rose 6.3 percent between 2023 and 2024, the second consecutive year of growth, according to the Apparel Impact Institute’s Taking Stock of Progress Against the Roadmap to Net Zero, which attributes the increase largely to rising fiber use and petroleum-based polyester. “Renewable energy and electrification are crucial parts of global climate action; the fashion industry’s progress to scale efficiency and electrification technologies, and mobilizing capital more effectively, can offer a roadmap for other industries,” Kurt Kipka, the institute’s chief impact officer, said of the findings.
Volumes shape the comparison. Ralph Lauren’s revenue for fiscal 2026 surpassed $8 billion for the first time, reaching $8.114 billion on 15 percent reported growth, with average unit retail up mid-teens on product elevation and increased full-price selling. It grew through price and mix rather than through more units leaving its factories.
Cotton carries the heaviest of the 2030 goals, which call for 30 percent of global cotton volume for apparel to be regenerative or recycled by the end of fiscal 2031. In fiscal 2026 the company established a sourcing partnership supporting American cotton farmers using regenerative practices, widened its efforts to recycle cotton waste into new textile yarns, and folded its freshwater target, a 15 percent reduction in textile-processing intensity, into how it engages suppliers.
Design with Intent, the program housing the Artist in Residence collaborations between Ralph Lauren’s design teams and traditional artisans, produced three integrated seasonal collections within Polo Ralph Lauren and Ralph Lauren Home over the year, and the roster of Authentic Makers expanded. “A genuine love of heritage has always been part of Ralph Lauren and what has inspired our products,” Sasha Kelly, head of Design with Intent, said in a statement from the company. “Through collaboration, our Artist in Residence program enables us to deliver a greater sense of authenticity – the stories we’re able to tell are richer and we’re able to support and elevate cultural traditions.”
Global financial support for cancer-related organizations rose 14 percent, including the Pink Pony Fund of the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation, against a goal of a 25 percent increase by fiscal 2031.
On the cotton farms, the measurements are taken by hand and by season. “My soils look different than they did 10 years ago. There’s life in them,” Zeb Winslow, another mentor farmer for the fund, told the Soil Health Institute.
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