Cotton’s challenges

This year’s research into the cotton sector finds that brands and NGOs are working hard to create a genuinely sustainable cotton supply chain. Many sector companies are engaging with growers and developing better training programmes. Brands are committing to using organic cotton. And there is a move towards fully traceable cotton and away from the mass balance supply chain approach.

The report finds the cotton sector’s greatest challenge is the on-going forced labour in Chinese supply chains, most notably in the province of Xinjiang. Given China produces 30% of the world’s cotton and Xinjiang 85% of the nation’s crop, the report concludes that any brand with Chinese cotton in its supply chain is affected by this scandal.

Viscose’s potential

The viscose sector is another with significant challenges and opportunities, as this year’s research finds. Derived from wood pulp, there is a direct link between viscose and deforestation risks, and the sector has been linked with sourcing from threatened areas such as the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Amazon basin and the boreal forests of Canada. A further challenge is that viscose production can be chemically intensive and potentially polluting, with chemicals used at all stages of fibre production. A number of environmental activist groups have put pressure on the sector to work harder to address these sourcing and manufacturing risks.

The 2021 report highlights that there remains a knowledge gap in the viscose industry on what sustainable management of viscose entails, particularly regarding avoiding deforestation. Certification has a useful role to play in developing sustainably sourced wood pulp, and there are a number of initiatives that are working hard on controlled and responsible use of chemicals in the sector. The report concludes that the approach of apparel brands and retailers to forest fibres is evolving, and there is a need for more industry wide discussion to drive greater engagement on this.

Social compliance questions

The apparel sector has been characterised by a lack of social compliance over the past two decades, the 2021 report finds, during which there have been a number of instances of child labour, low wages, labour rights abuses and discrimination. And these are ongoing despite the emergence of many social performance standards and a large auditing and certification industry. Governments are frustrated at the lack of progress and there is a growing trend towards mandatory due diligence standards governing supply chains.