Cotton Ranking 2020 states, though sustainable cotton accounts for 21 per cent of global production, only 95 per cent of it is sold as conventional cotton because of low demand from major brands. The fourth survey on the issue published by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Solidaridad and the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) UK – analysed the largest cotton users among retailers and apparel brands. They were measure on sustainable cotton objectives and policies as well as the share of sustainable cotton they use and the transparency in their supply chains.

Ikea scored 79 out of 100 points, up from 76.7 in 2017, and is the second best performing company overall, after Adidas, in leading the way toward cotton sustainability. In 2018, Ikea increased its sourcing of sustainable cotton to 95 per cent from 87.3 per cent in 2017. The remaining 5 per cent is sourced as “Towards Better Cotton” considered by Ikea to be sustainable.

The global retailer also leads in disclosing information about the traceability of its cotton, according to the study. In 2018, Ikea sourced 155,000 metric tonne of cotton. It also publishes country of origin for 95% of its cotton use.