Marks & Spencer launches 'world's most sustainable suit'

The retailer said that all of the suit’s materials from the buttons to the lining had been sustainably sourced. For instance, the lining has been made from recycled plastic bottles and the suit’s labels created from recycled polyester plastic bottles.

The retailer has made 500 suits, priced at £349, which will be available online and in stores in September as part of the M&S ‘Saville Row’ suit range.

M&S has also added a QR code to the suit label, which can be scanned using a mobile phone, so that customers can download information on the suit and the materials it is made from.

The suit forms part of M&S’s Plan A sustainability initiative to be the world’s most sustainable retailer and has committed to make sure all of its products have a Plan A attribute by 2020, for example using sustainable fabrics.

The suit is the first in a new range of sustainable clothing that M&S will launch this year.

“This a huge step forwards for the industry,” said M&S Plan A sustainable raw material expert Mark Sumner.  

“It is the first time such an intricate garment has been made of sustainable materials, and as well as being one of the greenest garments available on the high street, it is incredibly stylish and something we hope our customers will be proud to wear,” he said.

The different elements of the suit include:

• Wool – the suit is made from organic wool which is fully traceable back to the farms from where it is produced. In addition, all of the chemicals used in the production of the wool fibre are Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) approved, to reflect the fact that as the fibre has been organically produced;
• Lining – made from recycled plastic bottles; 
• Canvas (used inside the main body of the suit) – made from recycled polyester;
• Buttons – reclaimed;
• Pockets and waistband – made from reclaimed fabric;
• Labels – all of the labels inside the suit, even the ‘Care Instructions’, have been made from recycled polyester.