B&C Sustainable

OUR APPROACH

At The Cotton Group, sustainability is in our culture and our values. We believe that a long-term approach is a must when it comes to complex SUSTAINABILITY and we are working to ensure that sustainability is integrated into everything we do.

Our entire business must be ECONOMIC, SOCIAL and ECOLOGICAL sustainability.

That is why we have set clear ambitions and goals that we pursue every day, not bound by conventions. Our success lies in developing new ways of doing things.

OUR MODEL

We want to bring in positive changes in our value chain - from the GROWERS and FACTORIES that supply us, to storage and transport and ultimately our CUSTOMERS.

We want to create value with products that are beautiful, ethical and high quality throughout their life cycle.

We aim to take a thorough and responsible approach at every stage of the process, from design and sourcing, to production, quality control, logistics and sales.

OUR COMMITMENT TO PEOPLE

A particular focus is the protection and improvement of human rights in our value chain. The Cotton Group is committed to ensuring that the strictest labour standards are observed and safeguarded in its factories.

MONITORING EVERY STEP AND WORKING CLOSELY WITH PARTNERS IS ESSENTIAL

Our close collaboration with the Fair Wear Foundation is the result of our commitment to continuously improving the working conditions of the people who make our clothes, including by actively encouraging our partner factories in their Corporate Social Responsibility efforts.

We are therefore very proud that the Fair Wear Foundation have recognised us as a Leader, after we achieved a score of 82% in their latest brand performance check.

As part of these audits, our partner companies are audited by certified and recognised independent audit organisations, ensuring the independence and transparency of the reports.

We have also introduced a number of internal processes to ensure decent working conditions in our partner factories on a day-to-day basis. Our strong Code of Conduct, our Corporate Responsibility Policy (RBC), our Supplier Compliance Guidelines and our List of Restricted Substances, as well as our monthly reports and daily factory visits by our production country team , all reflect and underscore our commitment to people.

B&C Collection is proud to be a member of both the Fair Wear Foundation and the Amfori-BSCI.

Read social report 2021

Read our brand performance report 2021

ENSURING GOOD WORKING CONDITIONS

We have our own offices and teams in the manufacturing countries themselves. We make sure that ALL NEW PARTNERSHIPS ARE CERTIFIED. The Cotton Group is also committed to finding partners who share our respect for people and the environment, and who are willing to work with us to improve their practices.

THE WORKERS OF THE LIAISON OFFICE OF THE COTTON GROUP work directly with our business partners to build good relationships, benchmark their performance against our sustainability commitment and help them improve through various programmes and activities. They have close ties not only with our business partners, but also with NGOs, experts, stakeholders and local authorities. This means they understand the challenges and how to drive improvements in a local context.

Once we have entered a partnership, we work with the supplier to improve its sustainability performance through training, but also by rewarding those suppliers who perform well by buying larger quantities of product.

HELLO! I AM SUSTAINABLE

We are changing the rules of sustainable products for you while increasing our positive impact on the planet. Before, you had the choice between very expensive Organic styles or a single T-shirt tucked away in different collections. Today at B&C, you can choose from 28 certified sustainable styles across 3 ranges - T-shirts, polos and sweatshirts. This also includes a short sleeve Organic or Organic In Conversion T-shirt with entry price, allowing any company to combine sustainability with volume.

13 T-shirts, 2 poloshirts en 3 sweatshirts all made of 100% sustainable material, you have a complete range to meet any market demand.

Every time you buy an Organic or Organic In Conversion Cotton T-shirt instead of one made of conventional cotton, you reduce water consumption by 91% (about 397 litres of water). Organic Cotton and Organic In Conversion Cotton is also grown within a rotation system that builds soil fertility, protects biodiversity, and is grown without the use of synthetic fertilisers, toxic pesticides or GMOs.

BETTER COTTON

Cotton is a water-intensive crop (e.g. about 22,500 litres per kg of cotton in India) and is usually grown in dry areas. When cotton is not grown according to sustainable practices, cotton production can also be an intensive user of pesticides and petroleum-based fertilisers. More than 60% of the world's cotton is produced by small cotton farmers, who are among the poorest in the world and often face high levels of debt, partly due to high input costs (such as pesticides and fertilisers).

Like other crops, cotton cultivation can lead to deforestation, soil erosion and contamination, and loss of soil biodiversity.

Knowing that 95% of our products are made of cotton, we had to act. B&C decided to take on the challenges of classic cotton and are proud members of Better Cotton Initiative.

PETA CERTIFIES B&C AS 100% VEGAN

We are proud to announce that we are officially certified by PETA as an approved Vegan brand.
This means no animal products are involved in any part of creating our product.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is the largest animal rights organisation in the world, with more than 6.5 million members and supporters. The companies signing PETA's statement of assurance have verified that neither they, nor their ingredient suppliers, pay commissions or pay for animal testing on their ingredients, product compositions, finished products anywhere in the world and will not apply it in the future either.

Oeko-Tex approves B&C 100%

OEKO-TEX is THE health label for textiles and is all about the safety of the fabrics in our articles.

Since our products are allowed to carry the OEKO-TEX label, you can be sure that every part of all our items have been thoroughly tested for harmful substances and that the item has been declared harmless to human health.

We are super proud of this at B&C!