Is Aerie Ethical? Brand Breakdown and 4 Alternatives

Aerie is an underwear, activewear, swimwear, and apparel brand. The brand focuses on creating body-positive products for women. Aerie is owned by the parent company American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), which also owns the clothing brand American Eagle.

In the following article, we’ll discuss the question Is Aerie ethical? We will evaluate all brand components, including their environmental and social impact.

Let’s jump in.

Ecothes Opinion: Sustainability Score

Is Aerie Fast Fashion?

Yes, we would classify Aerie as a fast-fashion brand. Aerie and parent company AEO designs vast quantities of garments, based on quickly changing trends. These garments are then sold at low prices and often end up in end-of-season clearances.

What Materials Does Aerie Use?

In a deep dive into Aerie products, we found the primary materials used are:

• Nylon

• Elastane

• Cotton

• Polyester

We found very little indication of the brand choosing to use sustainable alternatives to create its products, for example, recycled polyester, organic cotton, or other lower-impact materials.

Parent company AEO previously set goals to source 100% sustainable cotton by 2023 and use 50% sustainable polyester. These deadlines have now passed, and it remains unclear whether these targets were fully met.

Without published progress reports, it’s difficult to verify these commitments, which is concerning for a brand of this size.

Is Aerie Carbon Neutral?

No. Aerie is not a Carbon Neutral Brand. Its parent company AEO has the goal to sustainability to be carbon neutral by 2030 - again, however, there is no information around how they are progressing with this goal.

Does Aerie Use Sweatshops?

Whilst American Eagle Outfitters, partners with manufacturers that operate more than 300 factories in more than 20 countries worldwide, the brand does not disclose a list of these factories. AEO fails to provide factory-specific information around pay, working environments, or other important attributes for workers’ safety and treatment in each factory.

Parent company AEO has historically scored poorly in the Fashion Transparency Index, achieving just 16% in 2021 — well below the industry average for a brand of its size.

Aerie and AEO have codes of conduct that their suppliers must be audited on before they work together and then yearly by internal and external auditors. However, AEO does not disclose the complete audit scores for each factory.

While transparency does not automatically equal ethical or sustainable practices, it promotes and allows people to scrutinize a brand’s policies, therefore holding them accountable for their claims and advocating for positive change.

Where are Aerie’s Underwear and Apparel Made?

Unfortunately, no clear information is disclosed on where Aerie products are manufactured due to a lack of brand transparency.

We also couldn’t find any indication, any of AEOs partner factories have been audited or verified by any labor standard governing bodies e.g. ILO.

Is Aerie Cruelty-Free?

Aerie and parent company AEO opposes the inhumane treatment of animals; they do not permit the use of any of the following:

• Fur, including mink, fox, rabbit, and beaver;

• Skins from endangered exotic animals;

• Muleseed wool;

• Angora (rabbit hair);

• Vicugna pacos (alpaca)

• Animal testing

However, Down and Leather are permitted and used in Aerie and AEO products.

Sustainable Alternatives to Aerie

Below, we showcase some of our favorite ethical and sustainable brands, we think make a great alternative to Aerie. We’ve covered activewear, loungewear, swimwear and undies.

## Wrapping Up: Is Aerie Ethical?

Aerie has a body-positive brand image, but its sustainability credentials fall short. The reliance on unsustainable materials and lack of transparency around labour practices and environmental targets are concerning. See our full Aerie brand profile for our detailed rating.

Looking for similar alternatives? Check out our guides on sustainable activewear and organic underwear brands.