L.L. Bean and the Environment

Founded by Leon Leonwood Bean in 1912, LL Bean has been producing outdoor apparel and equipment for over 90 years. The organization’s website states a commitment “to minimize the adverse impacts that producing, marketing and distributing these products have on the environment, “ and lists the following active measures:

L.L. Bean conducts business in an environmentally responsible manner, using the best environmental practices within our industry. We encourage wise stewardship of natural resources and respect for the environment among all of our stakeholders.

L.L. Bean has invested considerable time and resources into understanding and addressing environmental issues associated with paper and its production for our catalogs. As a direct marketing company whose use of paper is critical to our business, we accept our responsibility for careful management of its environmental impacts. To this end, L.L. Bean has made a meaningful commitment to support and promote sustainable forestry initiatives. While we openly acknowledge that debate of what constitutes responsible catalog paper usage will be ongoing, we do believe that we are taking the most responsible course of action currently available to us.

The first step toward sound environmental practices is managing the sources of our paper, particularly our virgin fiber. We are mindful that virgin pulp is the major component of our paper, even paper with recycled content. Over 75% of the paper we purchase is produced in our home state of Maine. We are committed to Maine's forests and Maine people whose livelihood depends on the forest products industry. L.L. Bean has taken a leadership position in achieving sustainability through forest certification to promote the long-term health of Maine's forests. We have partnered with the State, other purchasers and the industry to advance the Maine Forest Certification Initiative, the nation's first state-led forest certification effort, with a goal of increasing the amount of certified forestland within the state. A smaller percentage of our fiber supply comes from sustainably managed Canadian forests. One hundred percent of this fiber comes from providers who are either currently certified or are on track to be third-party certified. We monitor the sources of our paper and work with our suppliers to ensure it does not come from endangered forests.

We are committed to working with our suppliers to ensure that our policies related to wood harvest promote sustainable management of this important global resource. By taking an active role in how the forests are managed, we have a positive impact on 100% of the paper we and others use. By giving preference to sustainability produced paper products, we help promote broader environmental benefits within the forest industry while protecting our renewable resources for the future.

Over the past decade, L.L. Bean has actively explored the use of recycled paper as an alternative to virgin fiber in our catalogs. We will continue to work with our suppliers on testing both recycled content paper and different grades of paper. Our Order Form paper is 100% recycled and contains 40% post consumer waste. Additionally, we are working on other ways to more effectively manage our circulation of catalogs. We have invested significantly in catalog selection software that allows us to better target our mailings to customers and in the development and advertisement of our Web site. Our customer file is kept exceptionally "clean" by industry standards, thus reducing duplicate mailings and undeliverable catalogs.

We also look for ways in other aspects of our business to increase the use of recycled paper products and to minimize our environmental impact. For example, all of the cardboard we use for shipping is made from 100% recycled content and our office paper is made from 50% recycled content. As we continue to seek ways to reduce the use of office paper, we also have an aggressive internal recycling program. All employees are expected to sort and recycle their trash, and last year we recycled over 80% of our solid waste stream.

Additionally, we are exploring ways to limit our environmental footprint beyond our paper policies. For example, we are incorporating bio-diesel and propane fuel into our company vehicles as a way to reduce truck emissions. And we are working with others in the industry to reduce global emissions from freight carriers. We also partner with others in the apparel industry to minimize or restrict undesirable substances in the production of our products.

Conservation and natural resource protection is at the heart of our charitable giving program. In the last five years, L.L. Bean has contributed over million in this area. We actively support nonprofit organizations that strive to safeguard the outdoor experience and protect the environment. The company celebrated its 90th anniversary with a donation of million to the Friends of Acadia, to support the propane-powered Island Explorer buses that serve Acadia National Park, realizing a goal of reducing automobile emissions within the park. For an overview of L.L. Bean's charitable giving program.

We believe we are making continuous progress in minimizing our business impact on the environment. We also realize this is an ongoing challenge, and therefore, we are committed to continually seek ways to improve our environmental stewardship.

Source: L.L. Bean website

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