Responsible Purchasing Practices

Like many apparel industry leaders, we are constantly working to positively impact labor & environmental conditions in supplier factories, to sustainably remediate any new issues, and how to incorporate best practices into our core business operations. 

In 2019, Fanatics launched its relationship with The Better Buying Institute, an organization that fosters "the industry-wide transformation of buyer purchasing practices so that business relationships support buyers and suppliers in achieving their financial, environmental, and social sustainability goals." Better Buying allows Fanatics' suppliers to anonymously rate our purchasing practices across key areas, focusing on areas known to cause downward pressure on labor and environmental conditions if not executed properly. Fanatics uses the insights from Better Buying scores to educate internal stakeholders across the business, formalize accountability mechanisms against responsible purchasing practices, and (if necessary) establish brand-level management systems that minimize unnecessary pressures placed upon suppliers.

Sourcing transparently is challenging and requires honest and open dialogue with suppliers. To this effect, we work with direct and upstream suppliers to meet our long-term objectives of improving social and environmental standards in their production processes and shifting sourcing toward materials with a lower impact on the environment and the people who make them. Within Fanatics, Fanatics Brands has two work streams that address interconnected supply chain issues: Upstream Mapping and Product Traceability.

Upstream Mapping enables us to gain visibility into the supply chain for materials that suppliers use when manufacturing fabric for Fanatics Brands products. Our activities include desktop due diligence, sustainability risk-issue identification, facility on-site verification, and labor and environmental program integration. We continually strive to map the supply chain for cotton and polyester, the two fabrics which are used in the majority of our products, up to the Tier 4 raw material supplier level and fiber country of origin.

Product Traceability enables us to understand the journey of the material inputs that comprise our products and validate whether they meet regulatory and business partner requirements related to social and environmental responsibility. Our activities include supplier training and management systems capability-building, chain of custody document collection, strengthening our internal data and process management, and pursuing meaningful partnerships and certification schemes for environmentally preferred raw materials. (Please see the Product section under Environment for more information).

Over the past several years, we have channeled resources into assessing and mitigating the potential labor and human rights risk in our cotton supply chain at Fanatics Brands. Since cotton is the majority commodity in our Fanatics Brands products, our Product Traceability work is focused on mitigating risk in cotton procurement. As part of this, we are a supporter of the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN) Yarn Ethically and Sustainably Sourced (YESS). RSN’s YESS program helps yarn spinners and textile mills build risk identification and mitigation systems for forced labor in the cotton supply chain.