C&A makes progress towards sustainable clothing

Thanks to the use of sustainable resources and production methods, C&A has managed to further reduce its ecological footprint. The retailer aims to increase its organic and recycled cotton use and to produce Cradle to Cradle-certified clothing.

Sustainable choices

Sustainable cotton and cellulose have allowed C&A to reduce its global carbon footprint by 12 % or 116,000 metric tons – roughly the annual carbon emission of over 70,000 passenger cars. The fashion chain has also saved on a billion cubic meters of water – equivalent to 400,000 Olympic swimming pools. The company released this information in its annual Global Sustainability Report.

C&A is the world’s biggest buyer of organic cotton: 71 % of the brand’s cotton is organic. In Europe, the retailer sold 95,000 pieces of recycled cotton and over 300,000 items with recycled polyester. C&A also released nearly 4 million items of revolutionary Cradle to Cradle-certified clothing in Europe, Brazil and Mexico, including the most sustainable jeans in the world.

“Half of the raw materials used in our collections are sourced more sustainably where we can clearly see that our actions are helping the environment, improving smallholder farmer livelihoods and making it easy for our customers to make more sustainable choices,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Jeffrey Hogue. In order to stimulate the adoption of a circular economic model in the clothing industry, C&A is closely collaborating with other players in the fashion industry such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Fashion for Good.