United Kingdom : CmiA joins Sustainable Clothing Action Plan

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CmiA joins Sustainable Clothing Action Plan

28
Jun '16

Courtesy: CmiA

To actively support the change within the textile supply chain and work together on a more sustainable textile industry in the UK, Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) has joined the UK's Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP).

“As part of the SCAP 2020 Commitment retailers and brands can reduce their carbon, waste and water footprint of clothing by sourcing CmiA certified cotton,” CmiA said.

CmiA now joins more than 50 organisations including retailers such as Asos, Ted Baker, Arcadia Group, New Look, John Lewis and Tesco that have already signed up to SCAP, which is led by WRAP, the UK's resource efficiency experts.

“CmiA offers retailers and brands in the UK the unique chance to adhere to their commitment to SCAP to reduce their carbon and water footprint by 15 per cent by 2020 due to CmiA's proven track record in producing much lower carbon and water impacts. The new cooperation between SCAP and CmiA is a great opportunity for more sustainability in the textile supply chain for UK retailers and brands,” says Abi Rushton, associate director of the Aid by Trade Foundation in the UK.

Since cotton is the most widely used raw material for global textile production, it can have a large environmental impact if it is not produced in a sustainable way. CmiA promotes sustainable production and makes a significant contribution to environmental protection due to its environmentally friendly growing and processing methods.

Smallholder farmers who grow cotton according to the CmiA standard do not use any artificial irrigation and exclusively practice rain fed agriculture. CmiA cotton saves more than 2,100 litres of water per kilogram of cotton fibre compared to the global average. CmiA partner retailers can save up to four bath tubs of water per one single t-shirt by using CmiA cotton instead of conventional cotton.

Additionally, CmiA farmers learn good agricultural practices, increase the use of natural fertilisers by e.g. building compost pits, and not using highly toxic pesticides in accordance with international conventions and harvest by hand. As a result, CmiA cotton emits up to 40 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions per kilo of cotton fibre than conventional cotton. These are the results of a study on the ecological footprint of CmiA, conducted by thinkstep (formerly PE International). (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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