Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based supplier HanesBrands has earned two prestigious awards in Central America and the Caribbean for best practices in corporate social responsibility (CSR). The company received a 2019 FUNDAHRSE Seal from the Honduran Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility for the ninth consecutive year, and the Mexican Center for Philanthropy honored Hanes with its seventh CEMEFI award for the company’s focus on promoting “a more equitable, supportive and prosperous society” across Latin America. HanesBrands participates in the promotional products industry as suppliers Hanes/Champion/ComfortWash (PPAI 191138, S10) and Alternative Apparel (PPAI 217134, S5).

The Honduran Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility’s 2019 FUNDAHRSE Seal award recognizes Hanes’ efforts in seven key areas: corporate governance, employee relations, environmental sustainability, responsible marketing, supplier standards, community relations and public policy. The company’s health brigades that offer free care and its Honduran education initiatives that provide adult continuing education and extracurricular tutoring for children in public schools are among the company’s longstanding flagship programs in the country cited by the organization.

Hanes earned the Mexican Center for Philanthropy’s CEMEFI award for its back-to-school program, an initiative that has operated in the Dominican Republic since 2008. The program distributes school kits to children of employees and to those who attend public schools in communities where the company operates. To date, the company has donated 106,000 kits, which include a backpack, notebooks and other needed supplies that help children be successful in school.

“All of the programs that our CSR and human resources teams jointly create and manage are designed to provide our employees, their families and the citizens of the communities in which we operate the necessary tools to help elevate their quality of life,” says Teddy Mendoza, HanesBrands senior manager of corporate social responsibility for the Western Hemisphere. “It is a great honor to be recognized for our efforts by these prestigious international organizations.”

Hanes notes that the FUNDAHRSE and CEMEFI awards highlight initiatives that are part of its comprehensive global CSR program. Last year in the Dominican Republic, Honduras and El Salvador alone, 9,100 people, including employees, contractors and members of the community received free medical care, including life-changing ear, nose and throat surgeries; 225 Hanes employees graduated from high school, 41 completed a college degree and 72 earned a master’s degree as part of the company’s continuing education program; nearly 2,000 children in public schools received extracurricular tutoring from 250 Hanes employee volunteers as part of the Community Youth Development Program in partnership with nonprofit Glasswing International; and more than 1,000 employee volunteers planted 8,000 trees and supported Hanes’ ongoing environmental stewardship program focused on reducing energy and water use, lowering carbon emissions, increasing use of renewable energy and eliminating waste to landfills.