Global fashion retailer the Cotton On Group has just concluded its largest ever annual supplier engagement conference in Shanghai – Connect 2016.
The Cotton On Group is committed to improving the sustainability and traceability of its supply chain, announcing plans to disclose all factory details from July 2016 and all sub-contractors by the end of 2018.
The Group also revealed it is bolstering resources dedicated to traceability and partner with its supplier base to focus on raw materials.
Ethical sourcing manager David Nesbitt also announced the Group has joined the Better Cotton Initiative, as one of the first Australian retailers to be admitted to the programme.
More than 300 supplier partners from China, India and Bangladesh attended Connect 2016 alongside 70 Cotton On Group team members from across the globe.
Speakers at the conference included Cotton On founder Nigel Austin, Cotton On Group CFO Michael Hardwick, Cotton On Group ethical sourcing manager David Nesbitt and Baptist World Aid advocacy manager Gershon Nimbalker.
The Group believes its continued growth and success comes from the strength of the relationships it holds with its supplier partners, some of which were fostered 20 years ago when they met founder Nigel Austin in China when he had only a handful of stores in Australia.
“Currently, 65 per cent of our products come from the top 20 per cent of supplier partners – providing greater confidence in adherence to our Ethical Sourcing Program,” Hardwick said.
The Group is also working towards helping to break the cycle of poverty for farmers in Kenya by becoming one of the first retailers to launch a sustainable cotton initiative, Kenya Cotton.
In partnership with Business for Development, the Group is working closely with Kenyan farmers in Kwale County to provide services and support programs to help farmers transition from subsistence farming to improving their livelihoods through sustainable cotton systems.
In addition to funding the training and set up of each farm, the Group purchases 100 per cent of the sustainable lint off the farmers and since the project began in 2014; the Kenyan farmers involved with the initiative have already doubled their income.
The first batch of sustainable cotton was piloted in Supré stores in January and following a successful phase one of the program; the Group will integrate the sustainable cotton into other brands in the coming year.
Baptist World Aid's Gershon Nimbalker believes that the fashion and garment industry has the ability to make significant change to those living in poverty.
“By encouraging suppliers to introduce wage improvements, reduce working hours and better understand their sub-contractors, as the Cotton On Group is doing, real change can be achieved,” he said.