H&M Was The Biggest User of Organic Cotton Worldwide in The Second Consecutive Year

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — November 8, 2012 — H&M was the biggest user of organic cotton worldwide in the second consecutive year in 2011, according to Textile Exchange's latest Global Sustainable Textiles Market Report. H&M continued to increase its already world leading use of organic cotton further which is part of H&M's strategic goal to only use more sustainable cotton by 2020.

"We congratulate H&M for again leading the list of the biggest users of certified organic cotton in the world. H&M's ambitious program continues to drive demand for organic cotton and other more sustainable fibres. This supports farmers, encourages innovation and with its fashion forward Conscious Collections, H&M lifts more sustainable fashion to scale. This strategic work serves as a model for adopting and expanding the use of greener materials in the fashion industry," states LaRhea Pepper, Managing Director of Textile Exchange.

The continued increase of organic cotton use is part of H&M's performance against the ambitious goal to only use more sustainable cotton by 2020. H&M has been using certified organic cotton since 2004. All organic cotton used for H&M is independently certified and clothes are clearly labeled with a dedicated hangtag allowing consumers an informed choice.

"We plan to further increase our use of organic cotton in the future, beside making strong investments in Better Cotton and gradually increasing our use of recycled cotton. Cotton is the raw material we use the most and our good progress against our goal means major improvements for people and the environment in cotton producing communities," says Henrik Lampa, Sustainability Manager Product at H&M.

Besides further increasing the use of certified organic cotton, H&M is also boosting the use of so called Better Cotton. As an active member of the Better Cotton Initiative (www.bettercotton.org), H&M has invested more than EUR 2 million in total until 2013 in helping hundreds of thousands of cotton farmers to grow more cotton with less water and less chemicals through trainings conducted by Better Cotton Initiatives partner organisations such as WWF and Solidaridad.

Posted on November 12, 2012