19th Apr 11
M&S unveil first carbon neutral bra
by Natasha Redman
Supporting the environment: M&S make carbon neutral bra
Supporting the environment: M&S make carbon neutral bra
Eco labels have become progressively popular as shoppers make extra effort to purchase environmentally friendly products.
Marks & Spencer has now made ‘going green’ that little bit easier as it brought out the high street’s first carbon neutral bra. The bra is part of M&S’s new Autograph Leaves collection and the retail chain has worked out the footprint of the whole range, which includes three styles of knickers, a set of suspenders and four styles of bra.
The figure, which The Carbon Trust Footprinting Certification Company calculated, takes each item’s entire life cycle into account – beginning at component manufacture, on to transportation and even including the energy which customers use when they wash and dry the underwear.
The M&S eco-model factory in the Sri Lankan town of Thurulie manufactured the collection. The creative renewable energy features as well as the reduced waste initiatives which were put into place at this factory have helped lower the carbon intensity of energy used by roughly 33 per cent, in comparison with a typical factory production.
M&S’s Head of Lingerie Technology Paschal Little said that the inspiration behind Autograph Leaves is nature so it’s appropriate that the environment is benefited by the by this range too. He went on to say that as the leader of the lingerie market in the UK, they feel it’s correct that they should lead the way when it comes to exploring new, increasingly sustainable manufacturing options.
The initiative is also benefitting the local community of the factory. M&S has bought offsets through a carbon credit programme which a Conservation Carbon Company runs. Working in tandem with nine farmers from the local community, M&S is planting more than 6,000 trees in the barren land between the Polgahakanda and Kanneliya forest reserves.
The forests in Sri Lanka are the natural habitat of an estimated 90 per cent of the endemic species in the country. However, they are currently disappearing at an incredible rate of 1.6 per cent each year. To counter this, three-quarters of the trees which are planted are native species, which create more natural habitats and ensure wildlife can move more freely between the forests.
In addition, the project will help combat the region’s rural poverty by making the livelihoods of the farmers who are involved better. The remaining 25 per cent of the trees are set to be income generating varieties like lime and mango trees which provide additional nutrition as well as financial security for the farmers.
Under M&S’s extended Plan A commitments, the retail chain has vowed that by 2020 every one of its 2.7 billion products will have an attribute of Plan A, with a 50 per cent target by 2015. M&S’s Head of Sustainable Business Mike Barry said that a bra’s supply chain’s complexity makes it the perfect product to learn more about carbon footprinting practicalities because it contains 21 different component parts from 12 suppliers.
The Autograph Leaves collection is now available online and will be in outlets from this weekend.
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