M&S and London College of Fashion join new Cotton 2040 coalition

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
May 17, 2017

Leading international brands and industry standards including M&S, Target and London College of Fashion have come together to form Cotton 2040, a cross-industry initiative aimed at boosting uptake of sustainable cotton.

Convened by the Forum for the Future with support from the C&A Foundation, the initiative will drive change by taking action to scale up and overcome barriers to sustainable cotton uptake across multiple standards. The aim is to make sustainable cotton a mainstream commodity.

Industry standards Better Cotton Initiative and Cotton Made in Africa (CMiA), organic standards the Fairtrade Foundation, industry initiatives Cotton Connect, IDH, Cotton Australia, Value Added in Africa and Organic Cotton Accelerator have also joined the coalition.

Over the next two to three years, working groups will develop best practice in work streams across four priority areas: building demand for more sustainable cotton, scaling up cotton recycling, building greater visibility and transparency, and creating a cross-industry forum. 

First steps have been already taken to help increase demand for sustainable cotton with the aim of increasing organic cotton production from 13% to beyond 30% from 2020. Tools such as a sourcing guide, a clear business case which can be used to drive internal engagement of procurement teams, and further insights are currently being tested and piloted by coalition members. They will be launched and shared with the wider industry in October 2017.

Cotton 2040 is also inviting more brands with resources, expertise and drive to take action to get involved.