C&A was recognized as the world’s largest user of organic cotton in the 2016 Textile Exchange Organic Cotton Market Report. C&A has thus been awarded first place every year since 2012 in the category “Top 10 Users of organic cotton by Volume”. But it’s not only about cotton – C&A was also ranked number five in purchases of certified down and number ten in Lyocell (a fiber made from wood pulp) in the 2016 Textile Exchange Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report. Next to cotton, these materials are key focus areas of C&A’s sustainable materials strategy. This year, Textile Exchange ranks a record-breaking 89 participating companies, compared to 56 companies reporting last year.
“Maintaining our top position in organic cotton and achieving the great performance in down and Lyocell; have been the result of hard work from our global designers, buyers and sourcing colleagues. These results are encouraging as they show that we are making a significant difference in sourcing more sustainable raw materials and improving our environmental and social impacts,” comments Jeffrey Hogue, C&A’s Global Chief Sustainability Officer. “We remain focused on our 2020 goals; where we will source 100 percent of our cotton; and 67 percent of all our raw materials from verified more sustainable sources.”
C&A’s progress toward the 2020 goals
More than a decade ago C&A started its journey to increase the use of organic fibers and other sustainable materials by introducing organic cotton into their collections. Because cotton is
60 percent of C&A’s global collection is organic, this is why its focus on organic is key: it allows C&A to reduce the impacts of cotton production by eliminating hazardous pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, reducing water consumption by up to 90 percent and reducing climate impact by 46 percent. Last year, C&A eliminated over 115,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions through the purchase of organic cotton.
2015, C&A has sold more than 138 million items made from of certified organic cotton globally, more than any other fashion retailer. Consequently, C&A managed to increase the global volume of more sustainable cotton including organic and cotton grown under the Better Cotton Initiative to a total of 40 percent of all cotton used in its collections.
C&A and organic cotton
In 2016, C&A will build upon its rich experience; using even more sustainable cotton and other materials in its current collections. Also from fall 2016; 100 percent of C&A’s down and feathers will be certified to the Responsible Down Standard. While much progress has been made; C&A will continue to use its size and position to collaborate with other brands, retailers, C&A Foundation and NGOs; to help promote the increased and more widespread production of more sustainable materials.
For more information on C&A’s work in the area of sustainable materials; please visit 2015 Global Sustainability Report via www.c-a.com/sustainability-report-2015
About C&A
C&A is a leading fashion-retail business; with more than 60,000 employees and around 2,000 stores in 23 countries worldwide; as well as a growing online presence. Welcoming more than 2.5 million visitors each day; C&A offers affordable fashion for the entire family. Dedicated to consistently delivering quality to customers; C&A has been at the forefront of consumer-oriented innovation since 1841.