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Cotton Crisis / 2023 Rankings Report

Almost 90% of Top Retailers and Brands Still Unsustainable, Not Transparent on Cotton

Jargon-laden and flowery sustainability reports by a majority of top brands and retailers would come across as a heap of gobbledygook if their actual performance is taken into account. Well, certainly for the cotton sector. As many as 89% are still non-transparent, unsustainable and show little progress towards improving labour conditions, says the 2023 Cotton Ranking just published by Solidaridad Europe and the Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK).

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13 June 2023

 4 minutes
Long Story, Cut Short
  • The discouraging figures come with a context: a wide range of possible actions are already available to corporations that can help them mitigate, address or even reverse the worst environmental & social impacts of the cotton production on which they rely.
  • The Rankings lay it out: “Much of the cotton purchased by major companies does not meet even the requirements of basic certification” — empty words. But then, that’s what rhetoric in effect means.
  • Only 9 of the largest cotton-sourcing companies in the world are found to be sourcing 99% or all of their cotton from certified sources. The ones who do: Decathlon, H&M, Ikea, Adidas, Columbia, Marks & Spencer, C&A, Lojas Renner and Puma.
This is not the first time that Solidaridad and PAN UK have released cotton rankings. Brands and retailers, by virtue of these Rankings, knew where they stood as far as cotton was concerned, and so did the world. They had all the time to make course corrections. What is astounding, therefore, is that in spite of all the resources at their disposal—financial, material and logistical—and all that chest-thumping and deafening rhetoric, brands still cut a sorry figure.
deafening rhetoric This is not the first time that Solidaridad and PAN UK have released cotton rankings. Brands and retailers, by virtue of these Rankings, knew where they stood as far as cotton was concerned, and so did the world. They had all the time to make course corrections. What is astounding, therefore, is that in spite of all the resources at their disposal—financial, material and logistical—and all that chest-thumping and deafening rhetoric, brands still cut a sorry figure. Solidaridad Network

An overwhelming majority of international brands—as much as 89%— are still non-transparent, unsustainable and show little progress towards improving labour conditions.

The flowery sustainability reports and the jargon-laded impact reports of most of the top retailers and brands would come across as a heap of gobbledygook if their actual performance is taken into account. Well, certainly for the cotton sector.

The 89% figure comes from the 2023 Cotton Ranking, just published by Solidaridad Europe and the Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK).

The discouraging figures come with a context: a wide range of possible actions are already available to corporations that can help them mitigate, address or even reverse the worst environmental and social impacts of the cotton production on which they rely.

This particular assertion has been made in the accompanying paper, ‘Cotton and Corporate Responsibility’, that has been published simultaneously with the Ranking.

But let’s go one by one.

First, the rankings. This is not the first time that Solidaridad and PAN UK have released cotton rankings. These were published earlier in 2016, 2017 and 2020, none of which were flattering by any measure. Brands and retailers, by virtue of these Rankings, knew where they stood as far as cotton was concerned, and so did the world. They had all the time to make course corrections.

What is astounding, therefore, is that in spite of all the resources at their disposal—financial, material and logistical—and all that chest-thumping and deafening rhetoric, brands still cut a sorry figure.

As the Rankings lay it out: “Much of the cotton purchased by major companies does not meet even the requirements of basic certification, meaning that its source cannot be verified to be meeting minimal standards.” There you are. Empty words. But then, that’s what rhetoric in effect means.

Incidentally, the 2023 Cotton Ranking and the ‘Cotton and Corporate Responsibility’ paper also mark the first publications of the newly launched Sustainable Cotton Hub.

The Cotton Hub will bring together experts from organisations working in and around the cotton sector, such as Solidaridad and PAN UK. The aim is to expose the sustainability challenges of cotton production, and explore the host of contributing economic, labour and environmental factors. The platform seeks to provide recommendations on how major stakeholders can address these critical issues.

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The Companies

These are consumer-facing companies that use significant amounts of cotton—over 10,000 metric tonnes of cotton lint per year. The ranking covers companies rather than individual brands, as entire companies need to change sourcing practices across all their brands to transform cotton cultivation. The selection of companies was based on sector indices and benchmarks, as well as lists of top companies in the fashion and garment sector and their respective markets.

The Scores

Companies received a score in order to be ranked. However, it is worth noting that while in some cases low scores may reflect a true lack of action on the part of companies, in other cases imprecise or unclear public disclosure on efforts taken by a company may also result in lower scores. For instance, companies that use inaccurate wording or data in their reporting, such as “almost all cotton is from more sustainable sources”, are rightly considered as “unclear”.

A total of 30 companies—repeat, thirty companies—achieved a score of zero in the ranking. Some of the tardy thirty include: Aditya Birla, Fast Retailing, Forever21, Giordano International, Giorgio Armani, Nordstrom, Raymond Group, Shein Group, Under Armour, Victoria's Secret. These are consumer-facing companies that use significant amounts of cotton—over 10,000 metric tonnes of cotton lint per year.
Tardy Thirty A total of 30 companies—repeat, thirty companies—achieved a score of zero in the ranking. Some of the tardy thirty include: Aditya Birla, Fast Retailing, Forever21, Giordano International, Giorgio Armani, Nordstrom, Raymond Group, Shein Group, Under Armour, Victoria's Secret. These are consumer-facing companies that use significant amounts of cotton—over 10,000 metric tonnes of cotton lint per year. The selection of companies was based on sector indices and benchmarks, as well as lists of top companies in the fashion and garment sector and their respective markets. Solidaridad Network

Solidaridad and PAN UK studied as many as 82 of the big players. The shocker lies here: only nine of these largest cotton-sourcing companies in the world are found to be sourcing 99% or all of their cotton from certified sources. It would be a good idea to name the ones who do: Decathlon, H&M, Ikea, Adidas, Columbia, Marks & Spencer, C&A, Lojas Renner and Puma.

All other companies are failing to achieve even this little, with 30 companies—repeat, thirty companies—achieving a score of zero in the ranking.

Some of the tardy thirty include: Aditya Birla, Fast Retailing, Forever21, Giordano International, Giorgio Armani, Nordstrom, Raymond Group, Shein Group, Under Armour, Victoria's Secret.

And they all have their litany of excuses. Many brands cite complex trade realities as a barrier to progress, but the Paper riddles holes in this argument by providing clear recommendations. These recommendations include investing in smallholder climate adaptation, updating purchasing practices to ensure better pay for cotton producers, and becoming transparent on cotton sourcing, but even these are just a start. Why the brands couldn’t figure this out themselves is a mystery.

“In reality, given the resources available to big brands, unsustainable cotton is a choice. A bad one. But it doesn’t have to be one we live with. Brands and retailers can make new decisions. They can choose to be more transparent in their operations, and about their suppliers. They can choose to take on the complex question of fair pay, rather than use it as an excuse. And they can choose to engage with all actors along their supply chain, rather than hiding behind intermediaries,” says Tamar Hoek of Solidaridad Europe.

The Assessment

The assessment covered two areas: actual uptake of certified cotton, and transparency about the use of specific standards. Uptake was assessed by the percentage of purchased cotton that is certified. Underpinning the assessment is the expectation that companies report publicly on the uptake of certified cotton. Transparency through public reporting is vital for demonstrating sustainability leadership and enabling accountability to stakeholders. Therefore, companies were assessed only on the basis of publicly available information. In most cases, the information came from the companies’ sustainability reports.

Subir Ghosh

Subir Ghosh

SUBIR GHOSH is a Kolkata-based independent journalist-writer-researcher who writes about environment, corruption, crony capitalism, conflict, wildlife, and cinema. He is the author of two books, and has co-authored two more with others. He writes, edits, reports and designs. He is also a professionally trained and qualified photographer.

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