H&M is the market leader in organic cotton

Swedish fashion retailer H&M has been named the biggest user

of organic cotton worldwide for the second consecutive year, according to Textile Exchange’s latest Global Sustainable Textiles Market report.

As well as being the biggest buyer of organic cotton, H&M have also continued to increase its use of certified organic cotton, which is part of the brand’s strategic and ambitious goal to only use sustainable cotton by 2020.

Commenting on the report, LaRhea Pepper, Managing Director of Textile Exchange, said: “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.”

Henrik Lampa, Sustainability Manager Product at H&M, added: “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.”

In addition to further increasing the use of certified organic cotton, H&M is also boosting the use of so called ‘Better Cotton’, as part of the Better Cotton Initiative which is helping cotton farmers to grow more cotton with less water and less chemicals.