Sustainable cotton usage score of European apparel retailers 2020

The ranking of the most sustainable cotton usage European retailer is led by H&M Group, with a score of 77.4. Scores are based on the retailer’s policy, uptake and traceability performance in relation to cotton usage. A score above 50 places retailers in the “leading way” class, a score between 25 and 50 is “well on the way” and a score below 25 is classified as “starting the journey” to sustainable cotton usage.

Sustainable Cotton and Fast Fashion

In the assessment, the Spanish fast-fashion company INDITEX S.A., which is famous for its retailer Zara, received the lowest sustainable cotton score of 15.9. This low score is in stark contrast to its high revenue, which ranked as the leading fast-fashion company in Europe in 2018. In addition, INDITEX has also been ranked as the leading carbon emissions retailer in Europe.

Attitudes Towards Sustainable Consumption

Supportive attitudes towards sustainable fashion seem to be correlated to age of consumers. In other words, the younger the cohort, the more supportive they tend to be of sustainable fashion. 49 percent of consumers in the 18 to 24 age range report being “very supportive” of sustainability in the fashion industry, compared to 25 percent of consumers in the 55 plus age range. However, many consumers are unaware of the sustainability of fashion brands’ supply chains. Only 15 percent of consumers associated H&M with having a sustainable supply chain. This suggests that apparel retailers should perhaps be more transparent with their sustainability practices to improve their brand image in the eyes of consumers.