Marks & Spencer Group plc scores 66.1 out of 100 points in this ranking (up from 57.2 in 2017) thus leading the way towards cotton sustainability.
Marks & Spencer has revised (up) their goal of sourcing 70% sustainable cotton by 2020 to sourcing 100% in 2019 - making it the most ambitious of all companies in this ranking. In addition, the company aims to increase the proportion of Fairtrade, organic and recycled cotton to 25% by 2025. To reach these objectives, Marks & Spencer has a sustainable cotton sourcing policy. The company addresses issues of biodiversity, water reduction and elimination of highly hazardous pesticides through its membership of the Better Cotton Initiative, partnership with Fairtrade and sourcing of organic cotton. In its stores, the company has been running a clothing recycling scheme for the last ten years.
Marks & Spencer significantly increased its sustainable cotton uptake to 77% in 2018 (up from 49% in 2017). Although this ranking is based on available data at the time of the research (July-September 2019), Marks and Spencer has since then reported have reached its 100% target in 2019 - this consists of Better Cotton, Fairtrade, recycled and organic cotton.
Marks & Spencer reports using 50,000 metric tonnes of cotton. It publishes an interactive map showing all finished products manufacturers. Other suppliers (fabric and yarn manufacturers) are not included in this list nor are countries of origin of the cotton.