M&S launches second phase of sustainable cotton project

The project - which is centered around Warangal in Andhra Pradesh, India - was first launched in 2009 as part of the M&S Plan A eco and ethical initiative and looked at how cotton could be grown more efficiently. It led to significant reductions in water and pesticide use as well as increased profitability for over 6,000 farmers in the region.

As part of the second phase of the project, M&S will continue to fund the programme for the next three and a half years to extend the project to 20,000 farmers with cotton from the Warangal project due to be used in a wide range of M&S products across menswear, ladieswear, kidswear and homewear ranges later this year.

M&S cotton specialist Mark Sumner said: “We said last year that we would deliver a Plan A quality to every M&S product by 2020. We’re now on that journey and are already delivering products that are made with more sustainable cotton.

“Customers can shop at M&S with every confidence that we are taking a responsible approach to how cotton is sourced.” 

Last year, the project became one of the first programmes in the world to be approved for growing Better Cotton verified by the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI).

M&S is a founder member of the Better Cotton Initiative, a non-profit organisation designed to promote cotton that is grown in a more sustainable way, reducing the impact on the environment and earning more money for cotton farmers.