Today in Clothing & Home we’re excited to launch our most sustainable range of denim yet – a new and stylish collection with a difference, where every pair of jeans has been sourced with care. Sustainability is incredibly important to our customers and colleagues and the range should give them complete confidence in our responsible sourcing – as well as the quality, value and style they expect from us – helping us become more relevant, more often for them.
We’re proud to be the destination for denim – we know 1 in 10 UK denim purchases come from M&S – and that’s inspired us to go even further with this launch, setting new sustainable denim standards with 100% responsibly sourced cotton, 86% less water and kinder chemicals. That means that every step of production of a pair of M&S jeans – the fabric, the wash, the dye - has been reviewed through a sustainability lens:
- 100% of the cotton used for all M&S clothing continues to be sustainably sourced, with the majority through the Better Cotton Initiative – helping to increase profits for farmers (read farmers’ stories here) and reduce water usage.
- In our 5 year-long partnership with Jeanologia – leader in sustainable finishing technologies – we now use an average of 9.65 litres for each pair of jeans compared to the industry standard of 70 litres. This means it’s an 86% reduction in water usage during the finishing process.
- We’re also eliminating harmful chemicals that are used to make our denim and replacing them with chemicals that are kinder to people and the planet. As well as ensuring our suppliers meet our chemical standards, we’re working to replace standard indigo fabric dyes with cleaner, more efficient versions that require less water to produce.
Our new standards are bring rolled out with customers from today alongside the spring/summer campaign – showing our jeans off with energy, confidence & style – so keep your eye out for them on M&S.com! Underpinning our new denim standards are our wider Plan A ethical commitments. As Richard shared earlier this year, Clothing & Home is accelerating our commitment to sustainability, embedded in our transformation journey.
