C&A World Leader in Organic Cotton Use

PR Newswire

DUESSELDORF, Germany, June 8, 2015

- In 2014, C&A sold more than 130 million products made from organic cotton and is working to increase this further.

- C&A; supports the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA), a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on building a prosperous organic cotton market that benefits everyone from farmers to consumers.

C&A is leading the 2014 Textile Exchange's Organic Cotton ranking of "Top 10 Users by Volume". The results were published last week in the latest Organic Cotton Market Report. C&A has used more than 46,000 tons of certified organic cotton in the 2014 fiscal year, more than any other retailer globally. The report also states that C&A came fifth in the "Top 10 Users by Growth" category.

"C&A's commitment to drive meaningful change in organic cotton is unbroken," says Liesl Truscott, European & Farm Engagement Director of Textile Exchange. For many years, C&A has played an important, industry-leading role in promoting the use of certified organic cotton. Most importantly, the company's commitment goes far above and beyond simply selling the final product."

"Being the world's largest buyer of organic cotton is a positive signal that C&A's long-term sustainability efforts are heading in the right direction," states Jeffrey Hogue, Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) at C&A Global. "Since 2004, C&A has been committed to supporting the development of organic cotton production, and we remain on track to reach our goal of sourcing our entire cotton collection from sustainable sources by 2020."

To further develop organic cotton, C&A together with C&A Foundation is working on implementing various social and environmental programs that encourage the production of organic cotton and to improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers. The company together with other brands and stakeholders including Cotton Connect, Textile Exchange and C&A Foundation is a founding member of the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA). Launched in 2014 OCA is a multi-stakeholder initiative which aims to increase the adoption of organic cotton production and its uptake. The idea is to build a prosperous and resilient organic cotton sector that benefits all from farmer to consumer. It will do so by building a Fund that unlocks finance for farmers and processors at the same time improving the traceability and transparency across the sector.

C&A currently receives almost 90% of its organic cotton supply from India. With a global supply crunch in organic cotton forecast in the near term, C&A is exploring new opportunities to source organic cotton from suppliers in China, Pakistan and Africa.

"Progress continues to be made and C&A is steadfast in its commitment to strengthen the use of organic fibers and other sustainable materials and products," Hogue continues. "Exploring new sourcing markets to meet these needs is a priority. We aim to offer durable and high-quality products, made of organic materials and with transparent production processes that protect natural resources, are safe for people and satisfy our customers' needs. In parallel, our commitment to farmers working in this sector is also important."

For more information on organic cotton at C&A and the brochure "Let's take Bio Cotton to everyone every day", please visit Canda.com/BioCotton. Find more details on our sustainability engagement in the C&A Europe's 2014 Corporate Responsibility Report at Canda.com/Sustainability.

With more than 1,575 stores in 21 European countries and more than 35,000 employees, C&Aamp; Europe is one of the leading fashion retail businesses in Europe. C&A Europe welcomes and provides more than two million visitors per day with good quality fashions at affordable prices for their entire family. In addition to our European stores, C&Aamp; also has a presence in Brazil, Mexico and China. >

Textile Exchange (TE), founded in 2002, is a global non-profit organization that works closely with all sectors of the textile supply chain to find the best ways to minimize and even reverse the negative impacts on water, soil, air, and the human population created by this $1.7 trillion industry. TE accomplishes this by providing the knowledge and tools this industry needs to make significant improvements in three core areas: Materials, Integrity and Supply Chain. A truly global organization, TE is headquartered in the United States with presence also in Europe, Latin America, India, China and Africa.