1. Summary: Production
The Planet T-shirts sold by the Brown University Bookstore undergo a production
process that spans facilities in the United States, Honduras and Nicaragua. The printer is
Jones & Mitchell, but the t-shirt production company is Anvil Kintwear. The following
is a detailed summary of the production cycle of the t-shirt.
The cotton plants are organically grown on farms in Western Texas. The plants are
harvested in November or December depending on the growth cycle. After being
harvested the cotton is shaped into modules. The modules are loaded onto a truck and
sent to James and Phyllis Shephard at the West Camp cotton gin located in Muleshoe,
Texas. At the cotton gin the cotton is made into bales, packaged and shipped to a
spinning facility. Some of the cotton bales are sent to Parkdale Mills, a North Carolina
spinning facility, where raw cotton is spun into the cotton yarn that’s used to make the
shirts. Next the cotton yarn is shipped to textile mills around the world including the
AKH textile mill located in Honduras. At the textile mill the cotton is spun into yarn,
dyed, finished, packed and then shipped. The next stop for the finished fabric is at the
Annic cut & sew plant in Nicaragua. At the cut & sew plant, the plants technicians stitch
together the fabric pieces into shirts. The t-shirts leave the cut and sew plant in boxes.
Those boxes are loaded onto a truck. The truck drives them to a boat, which sails from
Central America to the U.S. and docks in either the Miami or Port Everglades seaports in
Florida. The boxes come off of the boat, and are loaded onto another truck that takes
them to Dillon, South Carolina. In all the journey can take anywhere from 4-7 days. In
Dillon, the shirts are attached with a tag from Anvil Knitwear that can be used to
reference their production process. From Dillon, our shirts were sent to the Jones &
Mitchell distribution center in Kansas City, Missouri. At this location the shirts received
the “think Brown, think green” print. Upon completing the print the shirts are boxed and
shipped to Providence, Rhode Island where they are on sale at the Brown University
Bookstore.
Anvil Knitwear and the Environment
Anvil’s Mission Statement (From Anvil’s CSR Report) – “To provide the world with a
canvas of choice to celebrate self expression. To design, manufacture and sell high-
quality, affordably priced active-wear and accessories on which ideas and dreams,
personalities and pride, or any unique thought or message can be expressed. And to
operate our business with a deep and continued commitment to respecting the planet and
all who live on it.
As you can see, at the core of our company’s mission, is our commitment to being a good
environmental steward.
Anvil keeps a close eye on the amount of carbon it emits into the atmosphere due to the
everyday manufacturing process of products. To calculate the overall carbon emissions,
Anvil has enlisted Camco International to conduct an assessment. In this assessment,
Anvil gains an understanding of where energy is used most during the material

2. production phase.
Significant amounts of water are constantly being used because Anvil operates a textile
mill as well. This is where Anvil knits and dyes its own fabrics, which necessitates the
consummation of large amounts of water. An analysis on the electricity used in order to
treat and transport the water is completed because it is responsible for adding to the
carbon footprint. As of the fiscal year 2007-2008, annual emissions reached 43,016
metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
It is because of the thorough energy accounting completed that Anvil has been able to
reach its goal of reducing overall emissions by 10% by the end of 2010. Anvil continues
to challenge itself to find more ways to reduce energy usage, and to get employees more
involved in the entire process. Currently, Anvil is even exploring some solar powered
solutions, heat recovery systems, which recycles heat, and biomass boilers, which
combust biodegradable material into energy.
Also, water used for growing cotton can pose several significant hardships on the outside
environment. The impact of fertilizers and herbicides being released into the
environment and ultimately into the water table from conventional cotton farming have
lead to Anvil’s commitment to organic farming practices.
Anvil partners with many suppliers, and it is critical that these organizations abide by the
strict environmental regulations that Anvil has posed upon itself. In order to ensure that
this happens, Anvil has instituted the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program –
which allows Anvil to favor suppliers who provide environmentally friendly options. Yet
still, Anvil faces countless situations where it is difficult to find commercially viable
partners that are willing to follow the overall values of the company. Anvil has even
created a Vendor Handbook to help better inform some of these potential partners on
what it will take to successfully partner with Anvil.
As for waste and recycling at Anvil, there are currently three major programs to facilitate
contribution to this area at each of Anvil’s manufacturing plants. Currently, all of the
company’s textile plants recycle 80% of its solid waste; from yarn cones to cardboard
boxes. Even at the sewing facilities, Anvil employees are trained to recycle sewing
needles, cutting knives, plastic thread cones, bags, cartons etc.
Although, Anvil knows that it can still continue to do more in this regard, and it has
currently set goals to reduce the total amount of waste generated from its manufacturing
plants by another 5% by the end of the year 2010.
Interestingly – For all of the time and effort that Anvil puts into ensuring that its products
are environmentally friendly, 60% of the overall emissions of a Planet T-shirt are
associated with how it’s worn, washed and dried over the course of a lifetime. In the end,
it is still up to the consumer to make environmentally conscious decisions.
Labor

3. Anvil has facilities in four countries, employing over 4,000 people. Every worker is
considered a main component of the company, and each plays a significant role in
helping Anvil accomplish its mission.
“To operate our business with a deep and continued commitment to respecting the planet
and all who live on it (Anvil CSR report).”
It is critical that each employee remains close to the overarching ideologies and practices
of the company even though facilities are spread around the world far from company
headquarters. In order to meet such challenges, Anvil ensures that all employees remain
tied to the overall organizational success as it continues to invest in each individual and
beyond.
The key to maintaining company sustainability well into the future involves providing
employees with proper education. Employees must understand the “big picture” benefits
of manufacturing organic, environmentally-friendly products. They must be taught that
what they are doing is not only about creating clothing for people, but also that they are
part of the solution of world-wide problems.
Since 1995, Anvil’s Honduran cut and sew facility has been certified by Worldwide
Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP), which is an independent, non-profit group that
overlooks factories to ensure they are producing goods under ethical conditions.
Also, Anvil volunteered to be a part of the Social Accountability International’s
Corporate Signatory Program, which aims to support human rights for workers through
its SA8000 certification, based on the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
Worker Wages
EC5: Range of ratios of standard entry level wage compared to local minimum wage at
significant locations of operation
In Central America, all of Anvil’s employees are paid above the local minimum wage
and it is estimated that 70% to 80% of our total Central American workforce is paid in a
range of 30% to 38% above the applicable minimum wage.
In the United States, Anvil’s employees are paid above the local minimum wage and it is
estimated to be approximately 30% to 60% above the minimum wage.
“Anvil Knitwear’s CSR Report”. Economic Market Presence. 5 Dec 2010.
<http://www.anvilcsrexperience.com/2010/06/market-presence-ec5-ec7/>
What does ethical conduct add to your costs of doing
business?
Anvil recognizes that compliance with its Responsible Production Principles can be
affected by its own business practices. We are working to educate our sourcing,
production planning, private label and manufacturing teams on improving
communications, understanding the process flow, and making commitments both

4. internally with Anvil-owned factories, as well as our supply chain.
“Anvil Knitwear’s CSR Report”. Business Integration. 5 Dec 2010.
<http://www.anvilcsrexperience.com/2010/05/business-integration-af6/>
What makes it worth doing to you?
The world is becoming increasingly demanding and supportive of the implementation of
environmentally-friendly clothing services.
Anvil Knitwear asks: Why is being respectful of the environment so important to us?
Easy…
It's the right thing to do.
It's good business, so it impacts the bottom line in a great way.
It gives us a competitive edge.
It allows us to positively impact the world we live in.
Our customers expect it. Actually, they demand it!
“Anvil Knitwear CSR Report.” Company Profile. 5 Dec 2010.
<http://www.anvilcsrexperience.com/category/profile/>
How do you decide how much of the extra cost to pass on to consumers, and how much
to
shareholders/employees?
Determining such factors is not a problem for Anvil Knitwear because it has aligned its
business strategies with maintaining eco-friendly apparel.
In the last two years, we have worked hard to reduce our organizational carbon footprint,
and to continually monitor our ecologic footprint. It started in 2007, when we formally
adopted a set of environmental principles that today guides the decisions we make, and
shapes how we behave as a company, as employees, as partners to our stakeholders and
as global citizens. These principles guide how we create all of our products.
At about the same time, we began introducing environmentally friendly fibers into our
product line, from organic and recycled cotton to polyester made from recycled plastic
bottles. The success of the eco-products made from these fibers has been tremendous, and
our innovation and expertise in this area, coupled with our staunch commitment to a
fiber’s authenticity, has allowed us to meaningfully distinguish our brand. We are
committed to continuing to add eco-fibers, and have made a commitment to introducing
at least one new-eco product every year. We began working closely with American
organic cotton farmers and then financially supporting conventional farmers looking to
transition to organic methods. We did this in part to ensure that the supply of US grown
organic cotton continues to increase, but also because the organic methods support a

5. balanced eco-system and biodiversity.
“Anvil Knitwear CSR Report.” Management Approach. 9 Dec. 2010
<http://www.anvilcsrexperience.com/2010/08/environmental-management-approach/>
Sustainability trends in the apparel and retail sectors have focused on energy and climate
issues, material efficiency, manufacturing practices, natural resource conservation,
human resources and community development. Currently, brands, retailers and industry
associations are focused on developing product sustainability indices, through which
vendor performance can be compared and on which buying decisions will be made. Until
now, this has proven favorable for Anvil, since our manufacturing, product and
marketing strategy centers on sustainability and distinguishes us from our competitive
set. It has helped drive growth in both our private label and distributor business, while the
associated initiatives have also offset the increased cost of goods.
“Anvil Knitwear CSR Report.” Apparel Sector. 9 Dec. 2010
<http://www.anvilcsrexperience.com/2010/08/strategy-and-analysis/>