Apparel Online India Magazine August 1st Issue 2018 | Page 14

SUSTAINABILITY
CottonUP guide
A COLLECTIVE INDUSTRY
INITIATIVE TOWARDS
COTTON’S GROWING
CHALLENGES
Across the textile and apparel supply chain, efforts for being sustainable are
on the rise. According to the 2018 Pulse of the Fashion Industry Report, 75
per cent of fashion companies have improved their environmental and social
performance over the past year. But at the level of cotton production and
monitoring, the efforts needed to be put in are much less and require more
thrust as uptake of sustainable cotton from the industry is only around 3 per
cent of total global cotton supply, or 21 per cent of sustainably produced
cotton. Recently during the BCI 2018 Global Cotton Conference, Brussels,
the global coalition called upon the apparel industry to increase sustainable
cotton sourcing and CottonUP guide, a new guide was launched by Cotton
2040 (a cross-industry initiative, convened by the Forum for the Future with
support from the C&A Foundation) to help brands and retailers fast track
sourcing across multiple standards. Soon, Cotton 2040 partners will reach
out to individual organisations and the wider industry to encourage greater
use of more sustainable cotton and provide support through webinars and
other knowledge-sharing opportunities.
T
hrust on cotton is the need of the
hour as cotton is not only the most
abundantly produced natural fibre,
but its production also supports the
livelihood of over 350 million people
across the globe. Cotton production
can present significant environmental
and social challenges which have
the potential to undermine the
sustainability of the apparel sector as
a whole. Sourcing more sustainable
cotton can lift millions of farmers out
of poverty and reduce the commodity’s
environmental impacts, apart from
positioning a brand responsibly with
increased transparency, the long-term
security of supply and minimising
its reputational risk. Looking at all
these aspects, the CottonUP guide
for sourcing sustainable cotton seeks
to address one of the main barriers
that companies face while wanting
to start sourcing and aims to help
those which wish to increase the
amount of sustainable cotton they
source. This guide saves significantly
the time and resources required to
research and implement the most
appropriate sourcing approach for
“Today, any company,
no matter how large
or small, has the
opportunity to convert
all its products over to
a sustainable footing
and mainstream for
more sustainable
cotton. The supply
and marketing
opportunities are
both there, and the
CottonUP guide
will make it a lot
easier and quicker
for brands and
retailers to radically
increase the amount
of sustainable cotton
they source than
it was for M&S ten
years ago.”
– Phil Townsend,
Sustainable Raw Materials
Specialist, M&S
any organisation’s sustainability
priorities. Its benefits are further
extended towards providing primary
sourcing options for sustainable
cotton, assisting in creating a sourcing
strategy and working with suppliers,
and sharing case studies of companies
that have already navigated the
complex challenges of sourcing more
sustainable cotton.
The coalition behind this guide’s
formation include names like Target,
M&S, and Aditya Birla Fashion
Retail Ltd., BCI and Cotton Made in
Africa (CMiA), organic standards
(represented by Textile Exchange),
the Fairtrade Foundation, industry
initiatives CottonConnect, IDH – the
sustainable trade initiative, Cotton
Australia, Value Added in Africa and
Organic Cotton Accelerator as well as
MADE-BY and Centre for Sustainable
Fashion at London College of
Fashion. With funding support being
given by the C&A Foundation, the
Sustainability non-profit Forum for the
Future led to this key development.
“The apparel sector is under huge
pressure to reduce its social and
14 Apparel Online India | AUGUST 1-15, 2018 | www.apparelresources.com
environmental impacts and increasing
demand for more sustainable fibres
is key to securing future supply. The
CottonUP guide addresses a long-
standing need in the industry for
clarity around cotton sourcing options
by providing brands and retailers with
the resources to help them go further
and faster. It can be a key enabler
for systemic change in the industry
and could be a blueprint for other
commodities in the future,” said Sally
Uren, CEO, Forum for the Future.
Industry experts feel that through
Cotton 2040 and the CottonUP guide,
key industry players are making
a united effort to pull brands and
retailers towards more sustainable