The collection includes two in-depth market reports (the Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report and the Organic Cotton Market Report) both of which focus on the industry’s supply side, analyzing production volumes, availability and emerging fiber trends. The third report (the Preferred Fiber & Materials Benchmark Insights Report) tracks brand-driven demand, measuring usage of preferred fibers and materials among participating brands and retailers, and analyzing strategies implemented by the companies to continue increasing the adoption of more sustainable fibers.

Overall, the reports—released at the organization’s annual conference this week in Milan, where 800 apparel and textile leaders have gathered to discuss the industry’s sustainability challenges and opportunities—found that some of the world’s most renowned apparel brands and retailers are leading users of preferred fibers and materials, managing ever-expanding preferred fiber portfolios while production on the industry’s supply side grows steadily and drives innovation with new alternative fiber sources.

WHO ARE THE LEADERS?

Among the 111 textile and apparel companies that participated in the Benchmark Insights report—a 17% increase in participants over 2017’s report—H&M ranked as the top user of preferred cotton, preferred down, preferred man-made cellulosics and Lyocell.

“The Textile Exchange Preferred Fiber Benchmark is a great example of driving industry-wide, credible increases in the use of preferred fibers, with traceability from raw material to final product,” said Mattias Bodin, Sustainability Business Expert, Materials & Innovation at H&M. “We use the benchmark and market reports for industry insights and as support in driving traceability initiatives.”

Meanwhile, Nike topped the list of recycled polyester users, C&A lead on organic cotton usage, IKEA ranked as the biggest user of recycled cotton,and Deckers Brands, the makers of UGG, is the top user of preferred wool. Others that placed in the top 10 lists—which are called “Leaderboards”— include: Inditex, the company behind Zara (second largest user of Lyocell and fourth largest user of preferred manmade cellulosics); Target (third largest user of recycled polyester and fifth largest user of preferred down); and The North Face (second largest user of preferred down.)

“The 2018 benchmark leaders show a deep commitment to scaling their global value chains of preferred fibers and to benchmarking their progress against the industry,” said Liesl Truscott, Director of Europe and Materials Strategy for Textile Exchange. “These companies have also made significant investments in developing the supply chain needed to achieve the necessary measures of scale in preferred fiber production. And we are particularly excited about the growth of the 100% club, those who have converted completely from conventional fibers.”

NEW TO THE BENCHMARK REPORT

This year’s Benchmark report introduces the Leaders Circle, highlighting examples of companies developing strategies beyond usage volume to identify best practices in ensuring fiber integrity and responsible sourcing of their preferred fibers. It features brands and retailers of different sizes and sectors including Patagonia, the popular sportswear brand, as well as giants like C&A, H&M and Tchibo, and others such as Loomstate and MetaWear. Together, the 15 companies in the Leaders Circle represent great examples of emerging best practices for certain fiber categories. (While this year’s leaders were identified using the Benchmark report’s existing criteria, next year that criteria will undergo review and may expand for future reports.)

“As a brand that is purpose-driven and committed to sustainability, we use the Preferred Fiber and Materials annual surveys to benchmark our fiber use and practices against the industry, and gain insights into our internal operations and processes surrounding preferred materials,” said Katina Boutis, Sustainability Director of Loomstate. “The Benchmark insights are an invaluable resource for understanding the global systems impacting these fibers.”