ABOUT ALPARGATAS
Sustainability

Social Responsibility
Alpargatas’ commitment to the sustainable development of the regions in which it operates is manifest in the results of eight years of projects that have helped transform the lives of students and teachers, strengthening education and designing a better future for Brazil.

The Instituto Alpargatas (IA) has been the Company’s corporate social responsibility arm since its inception in January 2003. Its mission is to improve education in state and municipal schools, boosting the quality of teaching through school and after-school activities, sports and culture. These actions are aimed at children, teenagers and young adults from 7 to 29 years of age. There are IA projects in nine cities in the State of Paraíba: João Pessoa, Santa Rita, Ingá, Mogeiro, Campina Grande, Serra Redonda, Alagoa Nova, Guarabira and Queimadas, as well as in Carpina, in the State of Pernambuco. The Topper brand is responsible for some of the main programs developed by the Institute.

In 2011 alone, the Topper Education through Sports program has directly benefited 62,600 public school students in 243 schools of nine cities in the State of Paraíba and one in Pernambuco. In addition, another 5,000 children and adolescents participate in the Education through Culture program. This program, carried out at 88 institutions, including 27 centers for the Child Labor Eradication Program (PETI), 11 foundations and 50 schools, offered 12 different types of supervised workshops of extracurricular recreational and social activities.

Environmental Responsibility
The innovation and creativity that impel Alpargatas’ businesses also fuel the Company’s efforts to make its operations more efficient and sustainable, resulting in gains for the environment and for people. In 2011, the Company invested R$ 7.9 million in environmental preservation and in actions to drive environmental awareness and education, a 46% increase over the amount invested in 2010.

At Alpargatas, environmental education is extremely important. Only through education it is possible to develop conscientious consumption and, therefore, prevent waste. The results can already be measured through a decrease in the use of electricity and water in recent years, as well as control in the generation of waste.

The consumption of electrical power per unit produced was 2.7% lower than in 2010, due to various initiatives implemented at the factories. Renovation and adaptation of the electrical system, energy distribution systems and the separation of electrical circuits are ongoing. The lighting system was also replaced, emphasizing natural light, and new more energy efficient electrical motors were used to replace older models, and metal vapor lamps were replaced by other high-efficiency lamps. Installation of air blades to dry the rubber blankets contributed to reducing energy use in sandal factories. Water consumption per unit produced was 22% less than 2010 primarily due to the reuse of rainwater captured in the industrial process, bathrooms and floor cleaning. The best manner of dealing with waste has been through partnerships with suppliers. This has provided more efficient use of leftover rubber, enabling lower consumption of this raw material. Also on the road to the sustainability, water-based glues are now used in the production of footwear, which also have returnable packaging for some types of raw materials.