It is a proud moment to note that Adidas has taken the top position in the Cotton Ranking 2020 published by the three Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOS: UK-based Pesticide Action Network (PAN), The Netherlands- Based Solidaridad Network and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It is leading the world in sourcing sustainable cotton from the 6th place which it held in the last ranking.
The cotton is sourced by Adidas from sustainable sources. IKEA is second followed by the H&M Group in the third place. The ranking is based on research conducted and compiled by independent consultancy Aidenvironment.
According to the Solidaridad press release, the latest ranking shows a major development by big brands towards more sustainable cotton and the growing division between companies that take their tasks very responsibly whereas there are many laggard companies that do not.
While 21 per cent of global cotton production is now more sustainable, only 5 per cent of global production is actively bought as sustainable by retailers and brands. Isabelle Roger, Global Cotton Programme Manager of Solidaridad Network commented: “Shockingly, three quarters of sustainable cotton is still sold as conventional cotton. Farmer groups end up selling the majority of their more sustainable produce as conventional cotton due to lack of demand. If the failing brands took their responsibilities seriously, this wouldn’t be an issue.”
Bestseller (Jack&Jones, Vera Moda, Only) and Decathlon, which in 2017 were ranked as starting the journey’ but are now ‘leading the way’ as a result of the sharp increase in their uptake of sustainable cotton.
Around one-third of companies like Amazon, Footlocker, Giorgio, Armani and Forever 21 scored zero in ranking, despite increasing global concerns about worsening, water scarcity, pollution, land degradation and loss of biodiversity.
To conclude, the three NGOs have shared concern that overall companies are not achieving as much as they should.
