Impact Report

How Sustainable Is Taylor Stitch?

Founded in 2008 in San Francisco, California, by Mike Maher and his two co-founders, Taylor Stitch is a men’s lifestyle and apparel brand.

Taylor Stitch excels in near-exclusive use of preferred materials and extended producer responsibility, but lacks emissions targets and regular sustainability reporting.

1. Environmental
Sustainability

Taylor Stitch sources over 90% preferred materials, most notably GOTS‑certified organic cotton. It enforces extended producer responsibility through repair and take‑back programs. However, it publishes no emissions data or reduction targets and lacks regular sustainability reports.
IMPACT AREA 01

Materials
& Sourcing

  1. Taylor Stitch uses a significant share (90+%) of preferred materials. GOTS-certified organic cotton is its most-used fiber, with 77% of items in its current collection made with GOTS-certified organic cotton. Linen is its second most-used fiber, followed by LWG-certified leather, RWS-certified merino wool, and hemp.
  2. Our analysis shows that Taylor Stitch is actively phasing out unsustainable materials. Today, only 5.8% of its current collection uses fibers we consider non-preferred (mainly BCI cotton), compared to 38.9% of items marked “Final Sale”.
  3. The raw material composition in all Taylor Stitch products is fully transparent and available online. However, information about certifications is not available on product pages and is instead found on other pages on its website.
IMPACT AREA 02

Climate
& Emissions

  1. Taylor Stitch does not publish regular sustainability reports, and no company-wide emissions data or near and long-term reduction targets could be identified.
IMPACT AREA 03

Water
& Chemicals

  1. No quantifiable water and chemical management targets, ZDHC compliance information, or other water and chemical reporting could be identified.
  2. The majority of Taylor Stitch's products are certified by the third-party safe chemical management standard GOTS.
IMPACT AREA 04

Circularity
& Waste

  1. Taylor Stitch runs a clothing repair program and offers free hems and alterations on its pants at physical stores. These services extend product longevity and durability, key factors in determining an item’s long‑term environmental impact.
  2. It also operates a take-back, renewing, and recycling program called “ReStitch”, offering between $15 and $25 in store credit per item as an incentive.
    Taylor Stitch’s packaging uses 100% post-consumer recycled fibers.
  3. The brand says it donates its leftover fabrics to educational and community organizations, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife, and others.
  4. Taylor Stitch’s permanent collection contains two items made with upcycled and recycled fibers: the “Heavy Bag Tee” and “Heavy Bag Henley”.

2. Social
Sustainability

Taylor Stitch discloses numerous details about facilities in its supply chain and focuses its social sustainability on sourcing preferred materials certified by third-party standards. However, it lacks a public animal welfare policy, supplier code of conduct, and disclosure of social metrics.
IMPACT AREA 05

Animal
Welfare

  1. Taylor Stitch is not a vegan brand and uses animal-based materials in its products, including wool, leather (cowhide and steerhide). The brand also mentions the use of recycled down for insulation, but no items containing down could be found.
  2. Taylor Stitch does not have a publicly available animal welfare policy document, but its general sustainability information page contains sections on how it sources animal-based fibers.
    Leather is used in 9 of Taylor Stitch’s products, with all of it third-party certified by the LWG (Gold).
  3. However, animal welfare falls out of the scope of the LWG, focusing instead on environmental impacts. While the brand states it uses only byproduct leather, the practice still incentivizes animal slaughter.
  4. Wool is used in 7 of Taylor Stitch’s products, with all of it non-mulesed and third-party certified by the RWS. The RWS is the most rigorous animal welfare standard for wool, protecting sheep welfare through strict on‑farm welfare audits.
IMPACT AREA 06

Workplace
Practices

  1. Its owned-and-operated Chinese shirting facility “Hubo” is GOTS-certified, ensuring the protection of basic workers’ rights. The brand also states the facility pays living wages and provides employee perks beyond legal minimums, such as maternity leave.
  2. For this section, we analyzed Taylor Stitch’s Assistant Manager 2025 job posting in San Francisco, California. The role pays $22 per hour plus commission and a $400 quarterly stipend, with 10 PTO days. The base pay aligns with the market median. However, it omits details on health insurance, retirement, and parental leave.
  3. No publicly available information on workforce DEI, gender pay equity, or parental leave policies was found.
IMPACT AREA 07

Supply Chain
Workers’ Rights

  1. Taylor Stitch publishes identifiable information about facilities in its supply chain, including the facility names, cities, countries, number of employees, gender diversity metrics, establishment date, and types of products produced. Taylor Stitch’s manufacturing facilities include Golden Bear Sportswear in the USA, Hubo in China, and Dante in Mexico.
  2. The brand does not publish a supplier code of conduct, third‑party workers' rights audit results, or living wage statistics. It states that all partner factories must meet standards for fair wages, labour oversight, and environmental protection, but does not publish monitoring methods or results.
  3. An unspecified number of Taylor Stitch’s manufacturing facilities are Fair Trade Certified.
•••

Sources

  1. Taylor Stitch Responsibility
  2. Taylor Stitch Philosophy
  3. Taylor Stitch Factories
  4. Why Organic Cotton
  5. Why Merino Wool
  6. Repair or Replace Help Center
  7. Taylor Stitch’s Assistant Manager Job Ad
  8. Alterations & Repairs Help Center