The head of the C&A Foundation says it is time “to step up our effort and…for the entire industry to use its collective power to make fashion a force for good,” as the philanthropic initiative reviews its progress over the last five years.
Created to transform fashion into a fair and sustainable industry, the corporate foundation affiliated with global retailer C&A has revealed that in 2018 it invested EUR48.3m (US$61.3m), with over 34 new partnerships and 24 renewed partnerships, to increase the production and uptake of organic cotton, improve working conditions, end child and forced labour, foster new circular business models, and build resilient communities.
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And it says that by supporting and fostering 13 multi-stakeholder initiatives – together representing over 30 companies with EUR850bn in revenue and more than 62 civil society organisations – the foundation is also harnessing a collective power to create change.
Highlighted in the latest edition of its Annual Report are the “breakthrough moments” of 2018.
- A new stage for the organic cotton sector: The Cotton Trailblazers event in May 2018 showed that a more holistic approach to mainstreaming sustainable cotton in Madhya Pradesh is starting to work.
- Worker-powered transparency drives improved conditions: Data gathered from 5,300 workers through Wage Indicator’s web and app-based platform has led to tangible improvements in worker rights for over 30,000 workers at 15 factories.
- From disruptive movement to constructive brand accountability: Fashion Revolution’s Transparency Index was adapted to Brazil with a 122% improvement in average scores from the first questionnaire to the final submission.
- Scaling innovation: In 2018, Fashion for Good increased its total corporate partners to 15, uniting leading brands in giving a collective signal to the market that there is strong demand for ground-breaking solutions.
- From a one-way relationship to a partnership of equals: C&A Foundation’s first ever All Partner Designer Forum helped spark new ideas, share lessons, and explore how partners can better support each other.
The foundation also shares details of what it has learned in the five years since its inception.
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- Strengthen the organisation, increase the impact: “If a contribution is going to be greater than the sum of its parts, we need to invest in an organisation’s core capabilities like leadership, strategy, planning and communications.”
- Good results demand collective learning: “A collaborative approach to systemic change is complicated. That’s why it is crucial to build trust and have a continuous and open dialogue, co-creating the roadmap with all stakeholders.”
- Changing policy with one voice: “To change policy, we need to form alliances that break the comfortable patterns. Unique partnerships can spark solutions that haven’t been thought of and increase pressure on decision-makers.”
- Learning without application is not learning: “In our urgent quest for systems change, we sometimes forget the basics. And that’s a crucial mistake. It may seem simple, but we need to be constantly vigilant about applying what we learn.”
“In these five years, we have learned a lot about what works – and what doesn’t – when using patient, philanthropic capital to try and effect large shifts in a system,” says Leslie Johnston, C&A Foundation executive director. “All of these lessons will inform our work as we look towards the next five years…using our core values – resolute, risk-takers, collaborative, transparent, people-focused – as a guide, we can see the path ahead. It is time for C&A Foundation to step up our effort, and it is time for the entire industry to use its collective power to make fashion a force for good.”
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By GlobalDataAs the foundation moulds its next five-year strategy, Johnston says it is important to use “precious resources” in the smartest way possible.
“We need to bring organisations together, to spur new innovations and create new business models that meet people’s needs and regenerate the environment. We need to build and strengthen the field and enable better policies. And we need to nudge the shift in cultural norms and values that will underpin and uplift every singular initiative.”
C&A Global Sustainability Report
The launch of C&A Foundation’s 2018 Annual Report coincides with the release of the 2018 C&A Global Sustainability Report.
C&A’s supply chain encompasses more than 1m people, employed through 722 global suppliers, who run more than 1,600 production units, across four entirely different sourcing regions and many different cultures.
In 2018, 49% of the clothing offered in C&A stores was more sustainable and was certified or verified to credible third-party standards.
And by 2020 C&A says 100% of its cotton will be more sustainable, while 67% of all its raw materials, such as cotton, viscose and polyester, will be from more sustainable sources.
“Half of the raw materials used in our collections are sourced more sustainably, where we can clearly see that our actions are helping the environment, improving smallholder farmer livelihoods and making it easy for our customers to make more sustainable choices,” says Jeffrey Hogue, C&A chief sustainability officer.
Read the full C&A Foundation report here and click here to access just-style’s recent interview with Douwe Jan Joustra, head of circular transformation at C&A Foundation.
