Next plc has joined the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol in their journey to source all cotton from responsible sources by 2025. Next plc is a clothing, footwear and home product retailer with around 500 stores in the UK and Ireland.
The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol provides fashion brands and retailers, like Next plc, with the critical information they need to show the cotton fiber element of their supply chain is responsibly grown. It works by providing member brands with verified data on the sustainability practices used on U.S. cotton farms, with participating growers collecting data in six key areas of sustainability: water use, greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, soil carbon, soil loss, and land use efficiency.
Next plc’s 2025 target to source 100% of its main raw materials through known, responsible or certified routes means that it will only use cotton produced in line with key sustainability performance indicators. The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol underpins and verifies sustainability progress through sophisticated data collection and independent third-party verification. By working with Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture and Control Union Certifications North America, the Trust Protocol enables brands and retailers to better track the cotton entering their supply chain.
