Cotton, the most common fibre used in products ranging from T-shirts to banknotes, marks a red flag in its sustainable textile manufacturing, according to a survey done by Rank a Brand, a Netherlands-based community of volunteers, with the aim of cranking up consumer awareness related to sustainability of products.
Out of the 37 companies that were assessed, only 8 came out of the red zone. This indicates that many are still not in the starting blocks of sourcing sustainable cotton as of now. The companies were assessed on the basis of the company policies, their uptake and traceability of sustainable cotton in the organisation. The standout retailers were IKEA, H&M, Adidas, Nike and M&S, which were either leading the way or starting to promote sustainable cotton.
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“Sourcing more sustainable cotton has never been easier so there is no excuse for companies not to offer more responsible products to customers,” states Richard Holland, Director of Market Transformation – World Wide Fund for Nature. In a stark contrast to the statement by Holland, the survey states that IKEA, the largest furniture retailer in the world, has scored the highest i.e. 12, on the scale set from 0 to 19.5, the higher the score, the better the company is at promoting cotton sustainability.
