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IKEA uses 100% sustainable cotton and claims world first

Written by: Supply Chain Online
Published on: 11 Nov 2015
Category:

COTTON

IKEA uses 100% sustainable cotton and claims world first

Leading furniture retailer IKEA has announced that all the cotton used in its products is now 100% sustainably sourced, meeting a target the company first set for itself in 2013. IKEA claims that it is the first major retailer in the world to achieve this goal throughout its supply chain.

The Swedish retail giant uses 0.7% of the cotton produced worldwide in its bedroom and soft furnishing ranges. IKEA's supplies come from a variety of sources, including US sustainable cotton, cotton grown to the Better Cotton Standard, and cotton from farms committed to using less water and fewer chemical fertilisers than is standard cotton-growing practice.

"This year is the beginning of a new era for cotton at IKEA," claimed Pramod Singh, the firm's cotton leader. "Reaching our goal of sourcing 100% of cotton from more sustainable sources is a great achievement, but it also marks the start of our next challenge ‒ to maintain the 100% and to find even more ways to support cotton producers around the world to be more sustainable."

The United States, Brazil, India, China, Turkey and Pakistan are among the countries supplying IKEA with sustainable cotton. For the past few years the company has worked closely with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), supporting its goals of improved working conditions and better environmental standards throughout the industry.

BCI's director of communications and fundraising, Paola Geremicca, said in a statement that the initiative applauded IKEA both for setting such an ambitious target and for acting as a positive example for other brands and retailers.