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Someone wearing wide leg jeans with the words American Eagle overlaid in white text above a highlighted sad emoji face.
15 Nov
Someone wearing wide leg jeans with the words American Eagle overlaid in white text above a highlighted sad emoji face.

How Ethical Is American Eagle?

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American Eagle’s latest campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney has been 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. 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.  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.

See the rating.

Luckily there are more ethical and sustainable brands out there with higher quality clothes for you to rock.

Good swaps

“Good” and “Great” alternatives to American Eagle

Neem

Rated: Good

Hailing from the UK, Neem makes men's clothing with a focus on ensuring a transparent supply chain and safeguarding our environment.

Find most items in sizes S-2XL.

See the rating.

Shop Neem.

REER3

Rated: Good
two images of people in clothing by REER3

Founded by a Brazilian-born fashion designer and artist based in Germany, REER3 stands for slow fashion streetwear in a reduced design, produced more sustainably. It uses lower-impact dyes and materials such as organically grown, GOTS certified cotton and recycled polyester, and it's 100% vegan.

Find the range in XS-2XL.

See the rating.

Shop REER3.

Not Basics (Pantee)

Rated: Good

Not Basics is a women's wardrobe essentials brand based in the UK with a focus on comfort. The brand, which began with a line of underwear made from deadstock t-shirts, incorporates a high proportion of lower-impact materials including recycled materials, and its limited production run minimises textile waste.

Available in sizes XS-3XL.

See the rating.

Shop Not Basics.

Kings of Indigo

Rated: Good

Kings of Indigo makes quality denim, tops, and accessories inspired by American classics with a Japanese eye for detail. The brand uses GOTS organic cotton as well as recycled cotton and wool, and avoids all chemicals from the REACH chemical list.

Offered in sizes XS-L.

See the rating.

Shop Kings of Indigo.

Dawn Denim

Rated: Great
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Dawn Denim is a German denim brand striving to change the way clothes are made, sold and worn. Making your butt look good in jeans is a welcome side effect.

Find the jeans in XS-3XL.

See the rating.

Shop Dawn Denim.

Shop Dawn Denim @ Shop Like You Give a Damn.

Afends

Rated: Good
Someone on roof wearing clothes by Afends.

Born in Byron Bay, Australia, Afends is a more responsible brand leading the way in hemp fashion. Drawing inspiration from the environment, streetwear, and surf culture, Afends’ mission is to create more sustainable clothing through innovation, action, and positive change. As true hemp advocates, it purchased 100 acres of farmland called Sleepy Hollow to grow its own hemp crops and ignite the hemp revolution.

Find most of the range in sizes XS-XL.

See the rating.

Shop Afends.

Ace & Jig

Rated: Good
People wearing colourful clothes from Ace & Jig

Ace & Jig's colourful clothing is made by Fairtrade certified partners in India using custom-made fabrics that have been designed by its team and yarn-dyed. The brand strives to reduce waste, and has take-back and philanthropic programmes.

Sizes range from 2XS-4XL.

See the rating.

Shop Ace & Jig.

Shop Ace & Jig Pre-Owned @ Vestiaire Collective.

Outland Denim

Rated: Great

Outland Denim makes premium denim jeans and clothes, and offers employment opportunities for women rescued from human trafficking in Cambodia. This Australian brand was founded as an avenue for the training and employment of women who have experienced sex trafficking.

Find most of the brand's range in US sizes 22-34.

See the rating.

Shop Outland Denim.

E.L.V. Denim

Rated: Great
Someone in upcycled denim jacket and jeans by ELV Denim.

E.L.V. Denim transforms old discarded denim into modern, sophisticated, and even made-to-measure jean jackets, pants, and accessories.

Find most jeans in UK sizes 24-32.

See the rating.

Shop E.L.V. Denim @ Rêve en Vert.

Shop E.L.V. Denim.

OMNES

Rated: Good
People in chic styles by responsible womenswear brand OMNES.

OMNES is a more responsible and more affordable UK-based brand creating high quality womenswear. "We created OMNES to help change the way you shop, wear and think about clothing. And to encourage the rest of the industry to do it, too," says the brand.

Find most items in sizes 6-20.

See the rating.

Shop OMNES.

Kotn

Rated: Good
two models in Kotn clothing

Offers

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Certified B Corp Kotn is based in Canada and works with local NGOs on the ground at the Nile Delta to provide every child in their farming communities with quality education, and to help close the gap of low literacy rates amongst communities. With every purchase, not only will you get a beautifully made garment, but you'll also help fund school infrastructure, materials, and salaries for teachers.

Find Kotn in sizes XS-2XL.

See the rating.

Shop Kotn.

Seek Collective

Rated: Good

Seek Collective is a US brand of thoughtfully made items with a dedication to transparency, authenticity, craft, and sustainability. Seek is focused on establishing connections between art, product, consumers, process, and makers. Its items are made in India through partnerships with like-minded communities and people.

Find most products in XS-L, with an extended sizing range up to 4XL.

See the rating.

Shop Seek Collective.

Ecoalf

Rated: Good
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Thanks to recycled materials like rescued ocean plastic, Ecoalf creates more sustainable fashion with the same quality, design, and technical properties as the best non-recycled ones.

Find the range in sizes XS-2XL.

See the rating.

Shop Ecoalf.

Shop Ecoalf @ Shop Like You Give a Damn.

Editor's note

Feature image via Canva, all other images via the brands mentioned. Good On You publishes the world's most comprehensive ratings of fashion brands’ impact on people, the planet, and animals. Use the directory to search thousands of rated brands.

We updated this article on 30 July 2025. Our editors frequently make updates to articles to ensure they're up to date. We refreshed our references, recommended brands, and ratings information.

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