Sep 26, 2019   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Skechers Announces an 85% Reduction of Plastic in Its 170 Million Pairs of Footwear Shipped Annually

Global footwear brand Skechers USA, Inc. (NYSE:SKX) announced that since 2016, the Company has reduced its use of plastic in its footwear packaging by 85 percent to 10 percent of its foot forms, all of which is recyclable. The achievement is part of an aggressive strategy to increase the Company’s use of sustainable packaging worldwide: 99 percent of Skechers-branded shoeboxes meet FSC® standards for responsible sources, and 94 percent are recyclable*, along with all of the Company’s tissue paper packaging. All of Skechers’ packaging materials are also printed with soy- or water-based ink.

Included in Skechers’ global sustainability philosophy are its shipping methods. All of the Company’s master cartons from its factories are printed with soy- or water-based ink and are 100 percent recyclable, and at the distribution centers managing more than 90 percent of its business, its outbound shipping cartons are made with 96-100 percent recyclable materials and are 100 percent recyclable.

“As the third largest worldwide athletic lifestyle footwear brand with more than 170 million pairs expected to ship this year, we want to be as forward-thinking with our packaging and shipping of our product – and these sustainable improvements can have a tremendous impact on the world,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “I’m proud of the ongoing efforts we are making to reduce our footprint as we’ve increased our global presence – and look forward to progressing these initiatives as we continue to find ways to lower our impact on the environment.”

In recent years, Skechers has made environmental responsibility a priority as it expands globally. From the Company’s Moreno Valley distribution center for North America to its upcoming Manhattan and Hermosa Beach offices expected to open in 2020, numerous Skechers facilities have or are slated to achieve LEED Gold certification for their sustainable features, which include natural lighting, drought-tolerant landscaping, renewable energy and reduced waste.

*Recycling guidelines, practices and capabilities vary in communities around the world; packaging may not be recyclable in all areas.

About SKECHERS USA, Inc.

Based in Manhattan Beach, California, Skechers designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle footwear for men, women and children, as well as performance footwear for men and women. Skechers footwear is available in the United States and over 170 countries and territories worldwide via department and specialty stores, more than 3,170 Skechers Company-owned and third-party-owned retail stores, and the Company’s e-commerce websites. The Company manages its international business through a network of global distributors, joint venture partners in Asia, Israel and Mexico, and wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada, Japan, India, and throughout Europe and Latin America. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Reference in this press release to “Sales” refers to Skechers’ net sales reported under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. This announcement also contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, Skechers’ future domestic and international growth, financial results and operations including expected net sales and earnings, its development of new products, future demand for its products, its planned domestic and international expansion, opening of new stores and additional expenditures, and advertising and marketing initiatives. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking language such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will result,” “could,” “may,” “might,” or any variations of such words with similar meanings. Any such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include international economic, political and market conditions including the challenging consumer retail markets in the United States; sustaining, managing and forecasting costs and proper inventory levels; losing any significant customers; decreased demand by industry retailers and cancellation of order commitments due to the lack of popularity of particular designs and/or categories of products; maintaining brand image and intense competition among sellers of footwear for consumers, especially in the highly competitive performance footwear market; anticipating, identifying, interpreting or forecasting changes in fashion trends, consumer demand for the products and the various market factors described above; sales levels during the spring, back-to-school and holiday selling seasons; and other factors referenced or incorporated by reference in Skechers’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2019. The risks included here are not exhaustive. Skechers operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and the companies cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can the companies assess the impact of all such risk factors on their respective businesses or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Moreover, reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance.