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American Eagle has been a hot topic lately after its latest campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney was criticised for its racist overtones—and it’s not the first time concerns have been raised about its actions. The brand has long been rated “Not Good Enough”, and that hasn’t changed in our latest review. Read on to find out why.
This article is based on the American Eagle rating published in June 2025 and may not reflect claims the brand has made since then. Our ratings analysts are constantly rerating the thousands of brands you can check on our directory.
American Eagle is not soaring on sustainability
Founded in the ‘70s, American Eagle has long been a go-to destination for affordable, trendy jeans and casualwear. Today it has over 1000 stores worldwide and is also parent company to menswear label Todd Snyder and lingerie brand aerie, amongst others.
American Eagle says that: “Doing the right thing, continually innovating and caring about the global community is foundational to AEO’s [American Eagle Outfitters] culture”. But its “Not Good Enough” rating hasn’t changed for several years, which demonstrates that the brand just isn’t making enough effort to improve its impact.
Recently, its 2025 campaign with actress Sydney Sweeney, which features the tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has great genes jeans”, has been called out for its proximity to the language of eugenics. And while some critics have suggested this is the result of a tone-deaf boardroom that lacks diversity at American Eagle, others believe the controversial phrasing—and inclusion of a white, blonde-haired, blue-eyed figure—are more intentional. Either way, it only highlights the brand’s disregard for its impact on the wider cultural landscape—as a powerful brand with visibility around the world, American Eagle has a responsibility to ensure its actions and advertising do not contribute to the harmful narratives or ideals that have long dominated the fashion industry.
So, just how ethical is American Eagle? Scroll on to find out about its actions across our key rating pillars: people, the planet, and animals.
Environmental impact
Much of American Eagle’s sustainability information online focuses on the environment, and it scores “It’s a Start” in this area, showing that the brand is taking some action.
But for a brand with this scale and power, “some action” is simply not enough. American Eagle has the power to effect change, and it could be leading by example.
The brand uses some lower-impact materials including recycled ones, and states that: “All cotton used in products will be 100% more sustainably sourced,” but it doesn’t specify by what date, which is key for target-setting, nor does it explain what “more sustainably sourced” actually means. While it has eliminated some hazardous chemicals, it hasn’t made a blanket commitment to eliminate them all across the supply chain, which is vital for the environment, the workers involved, and the animals who may be affected if such chemicals leach into the environment, too. And where biodiversity is concerned, there’s no evidence that it’s taking action to protect it in the supply chain.
American Eagle has set a science-based target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in both its direct operations and supply chain, but there’s no evidence it’s on track to meet that.
Labour conditions
American Eagle is really lagging behind for people, too, with a score of “Not Good Enough”. There is no evidence that it provides its workers with a crucial living wage.
None of its supply chain is certified by important labour standards, nor does it appear to provide financial security to its suppliers—both factors that help ensure worker safety and wellbeing.
During the height of the pandemic, it didn’t disclose any policies or safeguards to protect workers in its supply chain from the impacts of COVID-19.
American Eagle has at least signed the Bangladesh Building and Fire Safety Accord, is participating in the Business for Social Responsibility network, and has a Code of Conduct covering the ILO Four Fundamental Freedoms principles. But these are all basic things we’d expect of a brand, and American Eagle, with its purchasing power and size, could do a lot better.
Animal welfare
American Eagle is “Not Good Enough” for the animals, either.
It has a general statement about minimising animal suffering but not a formal animal welfare policy. It states that it sources wool from non-mulesed sheep, which is good, but it doesn’t provide any evidence to verify its claims. And while it doesn’t use angora, fur, or exotic animal skin, there’s still work to be done to ensure the wellbeing of animals here.
Overall rating: ‘Not Good Enough’
While its greenhouse gas reduction target and recycling programs are a good first step, ultimately American Eagle appears more interested in talking the talk rather than walking the walk.
Being more transparent about its environmental policies and labour conditions, paying a living wage to its workers, and using more lower-impact materials in its products would be great places to start. At the end of the day, American Eagle follows a fast fashion model, promoting quantity over quality, which is inherently unsustainable, meaning it rates “Not Good Enough” overall.
Note that Good On You ratings consider hundreds of issues and it is not possible to list every relevant issue in a summary of the brand’s performance. For more information see our How We Rate page and our FAQs.
Luckily there are more ethical and sustainable brands out there with higher quality clothes for you to rock.
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