Sustainability has been a business buzzword for a while. On the face of it, most brands seem sincere when talking about it. Given that, it comes as a surprise that big brands have failed so miserably. Is it because brands still see sustainability as just one way of doing business, rather than the only way of doing business?
Richard Holland: The Cotton Ranking Report shows that a relatively small number of companies with consumer-facing brands are serious in word and deed. IKEA, C&A, H&M, Adidas, Nike and M&S are all examples of companies that have been working for many years to source more sustainable cotton for their products and the results are clear in the report. Only the top eight companies have publicly reported on sourcing more sustainable cotton, which means a further 29 are not living up to customers’ expectations.
One cannot become a sustainable brand overnight. Surely it takes time, and a relative assessment would be more fair than an absolute one. How did you look at this aspect when studying the brands?
Richard Holland: It has taken about 10 years for relatively large volumes of more sustainable cotton (Better Cotton, organic cotton, CMIA and Fairtrade) to become available from farmers in key producing countries such as India and Pakistan. Now that about 12 per cent of supply is from these sources—largely Better Cotton—it has never been easier for companies to increase the sustainability of the cotton in their products. Even companies that are new to sustainable sourcing can achieve significant results within a couple of years of starting on the journey. Of course, sourcing more sustainable cotton doesn’t make a brand sustainable in itself, as there are other issues to be addressed as well—think about the challenges in manufacturing, or with other fibres, or the waste of products after use. But procuring sustainable cotton is an important step on the way to becoming a trustworthy brand.
If just eight companies out of 37 do not find themselves in the red zone, it is clear that industry is lagging behind both in terms of standards as well as expectations. How does Rank A Brand along with its three partners plan to push industry towards meeting those benchmarks?
Richard Holland: Pan UK, Solidaridad and WWF who commissioned Rank a Brand to undertake the research intend to publish a second version of the study in 2017 and to include a wider range of large consumer-facing companies. In addition, the three organisations are also working to advise a range of companies on ways to increase their sourcing of more sustainable cotton, and in working in key platforms such as the Better Cotton Initiative which brings together producers, trade and suppliers, and retailers and brands to push this agenda forward.
Do you think "sustainability" has become an escape word? Many companies, not just those who use cotton, talk about it all the time, but ground realities seem to suggest that many of them have not a clue about what sustainability ought to be. What is your take on the issue?
Richard Holland: Sustainability is here to stay. Indeed, when 193 governments of the world came together in September 2015 to adopt 17 Sustainable Development Goals, this signalled a new phase in action to make this the leading paradigm for the coming 15 years for rich and poor countries alike.
The one factor that clearly emerges going by the three parameters that were used in the study is that there's a problem with transparency. How transparent can a company be? Surely companies need to balance it with their business secrets / interests?
Richard Holland: We know from the world of accounting that transparent and credible reporting is vital to protect the interests of owners and clients of companies. In the same way that companies are required to report their annual financial results, it is increasingly common that they report non-financial results as well, especially on sustainability issues that have material impact on the success (or risk to) a business. The Global Reporting Initiative provides guidelines—developed in close collaboration with companies and other stakeholders—that make it straight-forward for companies to identify the key sustainability data they should be disclosing in annual reports to their owners, clients and customers.
Taking off from your 'Mind the Gap' report and now this one, what's your next step?
Richard Holland: We plan to update the market data provided in the 'Mind The Gap' report and to publish in 2017 a second version of the Sustainable Cotton Ranking study and to include a wider range of large consumer-facing companies. Meanwhile we will continue the discussion with companies and other stakeholders in the cotton sector.
