H&M Group Sustainable Cotton Ranking 2020
WWF, Solidaridad and PAN UK have released their latest Sustainable Cotton Ranking, where H&M Group ranks as the world’s number three.
“H&M Group has been working for a more sustainable source of cotton for years. Among other things, they have set public targets, have traceability in their supply chain and a high uptake on more sustainable cotton. If they reach their ambitions to source 100 percent cotton from more sustainable sources by the end of 2020, they will be an inspiring example to others in the industry.”
David Bloch, Head of Corporate Partnerships at WWF International
The Sustainable Cotton Ranking 2020 gives insight in how 77 companies score on their policy, traceability and actual uptake of sustainable cotton. H&M Group ranked number three. The ranking also highlights opportunities for improvement in order to accelerate transformation of the cotton market towards sustainability.
“It is fantastic to see that the progress we have done in sourcing more sustainable cotton is recognized by WWF, Solidaridad and PAN UK. It has also been a journey where we are not alone, as more and more fashion brands are committing to source more sustainable cotton, which are great news. This joined approach is required to make a positive impact on the cotton industry as a whole,” says Cecilia Brännsten, Environmental Sustainability Manager at H&M Group.
Cotton is the fiber H&M Group sources the most for its products. In line with the company’s ambition that by 2030 all its materials should be either recycled or sourced in a more sustainable way, investing in more sustainable cotton has been a priority to the group. Every year the company has gradually increased its sourcing of organic and recycled cotton, as well as cotton through the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). By 2019, these three types represented 97% of the total cotton sourced by H&M Group, proving that the group is on the right track to achieve 100% by 2020.
H&M Group’s efforts in sourcing more sustainable cotton have also been recognized each year by Textile Exchange. Their Material Change Index (MCI) measures companies’ progress towards more sustainable materials sourcing, as well as alignment with the global Sustainable Development Goals and the transition to a circular economy. In the MCI 2019, the H&M group scored as a leading company along with a few other companies, meaning that the group has a comprehensive approach covering the entire portfolio of materials and targets in place, together with an advanced supplier mapping, use of standards, product labelling and customer engagement.
You can read the full report here.
