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Gap

Classic, casual clothing and accessories

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Gap
Gap's Sustainability Rating:

Fair

Gap's parent company doesn't provide transparent brand-level reporting. It shares data on its emissions impact and has SBTi-approved emissions reduction targets that are on track. Gap Inc. reports using a majority of lower emissions materials across its brands, but its targets have changed over the years and it's unclear what proportion of these materials are used by the Gap brand. Gap has high product turnover and is often labeled an exploitative fast fashion brand. Banana Republic receives a Fair because while it does overproduce, it helps keep garments out of landfill by offering a resale partnership. We hope to see this program promoted more, and for Gap Inc. to report on its efficacy.

Gap is owned by Gap Inc.


  • Raw Materials

    Gap's parent company, Gap Inc., doesn't report on materials at a brand level, but it claims that the majority of materials used across all brands are lower impact, including organic cotton, recycled wool, BCI cotton, and GRS synthetics. It has published plans to reduce its reliance on high impact materials, including by reaching 100% Better Cotton and 60% recycled polyester, and has shared updates within the last year. However, it appears to have changed these goals significantly since publishing them, by altering targets or deadlines.


  • Energy Use & Production

    Gap's parent company, Gap Inc., reports that a portion of its energy for company-operated facilities comes from renewable sources, but it doesn't disclose information on the energy used in its vast supply chain. It has a goal to source 100% renewable energy for company-operated facilites by 2030 and has shared progress in the last year.


  • Packaging & Distribution

    Gap's parent company, Gap Inc., reports efforts across its brands to eliminate unnecessary or problematic plastic in its packaging by 2025, but this isn't clearly defined. It has initiatives to move to recycled plastics and paper or reusable bags. Gap incentivizes rush shipping for members, which greatly increases the emissions impact of purchases.


  • Repair & Care

    Gap doesn't offer repair services or a warranty.

    It gives detailed care instructions that can help extend garment lifespan.


  • Take Back Programs

    Gap has a take back partnership with ThredUp that accepts its products for resale, but it doesn't promote this partnership on its site. Gap doesn't share details on the efficacy or impact of this program. We require larger brands to share this information.


  • Slow Fashion

    Gap has frequent new releases and high product turnover. It is often labeled as Fast Fashion


  • Marketing

    Commons is still analyzing this brand's marketing strategy.


  • Transparency & Reporting

    Gap has a brief sustainability page with some high-level information, but it makes it hard to find on its site and it's unclear if the page has been updated since 2022. Its site also has links to its parent company's more substantial set of pages, but these links are also hard to find. Larger brands have a greater responsibility to make this information clearly available due to their outsized impact. Gap's parent company, Gap Inc., has a detailed annual report, with a clear, impact driven strategy and progress reporting. Its latest annual report is from 2023.


  • Emissions Tracking

    Gap's parent company, Gap Inc, measures its emissions on an overall organization level and verifies them with a third party. Its last shared update was for 2022, and its estimated total emissions were 5,315,119 MT CO2e


  • Emissions Targets

    Gap Inc., Gap's parent company, has SBTi-approved emissions reduction targets for the short and long term. It has shared progress on these targets in the last year and is mostly on track. Gap Inc. offsets a portion of its emissions specific to corporate jet usage.


  • Supply Chain & Labor

    Gap Inc., Gap's parent company, publishes the names and locations of its final assembly supply chain partners, but doesn't provide any information on the traceability of its supply chain. It has a supplier code of conduct that restricts subcontracting, allows freedom of association, and prohibits forced labor. Its code of conduct doesn't address unauthorized subcontracting, regular partner audits, or paying living wages.

Our ratings are based on a scale from 1 (harmful) to 5 (best). How we rate →

View sources

https://www.gapinc.com/en-us/impact/bridging-the-climate-gap/raw-materials-and-product

https://www.gap.com/customer-service/shipping-handling-information?cid=1192375

https://www.gap.si/en/gapsi/denim-care

https://gap.thredup.com/

https://www.gap.com/page/gap-for-good?cid=1086537

https://www.gapinc.com/en-us/impact/esg-report

https://gapinc-prod.azureedge.net/gapmedia/gapcorporatesite/media/images/values/sustainability/esg-resources/2023-gap-inc-esg-report.pdf

https://gapinc-prod.azureedge.net/gapmedia/gapcorporatesite/media/images/values/sustainability/documents/2023/gap-inc-cdp-climate-change-2023_amended.pdf

https://www.gapinc.com/CMSPages/GetAzureFile.aspx?path=~%5Cgapcorporatesite%5Cmedia%5Cimages%5Cvalues%5Csustainability%5Cdocuments%5Cgap-inc-code-of-vendor-conduct.pdf&hash=ccf11a639f50d9b945e663b5062973f1721cb84e418a98c4b9dccfa5b81c0577

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Category

Clothing


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Women's Clothing/Men's Clothing/Children's Clothing


Sustainability information was last updated in May 2025.

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