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HOW DO YOU DEFINE 'MORE SUSTAINABLE' COTTON?

At ASOS we define more sustainable cotton as that which has a minimal impact on the environment, while benefitting the people that farm it in terms of higher yields, increased profits and verification at farm level.

The sustainable cotton we use is Better Cotton Initiative, Cotton made in Africa, organic or recycled cotton.

HOW DO YOU MEASURE/VERIFY YOUR SUSTAINABLE ACHIEVEMENTS/VERIFICATIONS?

We work closely with our suppliers to track and verify the sustainable fibres we source through certifications, and tracking the fibres through credit systems. Suppliers providing us with any product that includes sustainable fibres will be asked for certifications. We then check this against the information our suppliers have provided us with.

WHAT ELSE ARE YOU DOING WITH RAW MATERIALS?

Viscose: It's been our policy since 2017 to make sure our cellulosic fibres aren't sourced from ancient or endangered forest. We're also working with viscose fibre producers to help them monitor and reduce their use of chemicals, carbon, water and air emissions.

Recycled: We're committed to sourcing recycled materials across all product ranges where possible, including nylon, polyester, cotton, wool, metal and glass. We're developing a Recycled Fibre Strategy for departments that use large volumes of synthetic fibres, plus recycled cotton for product areas like denim or recycled wool for knitwear and outerwear.

Tanned leather: We're committed to only sourcing leather from tanneries that have a third party environmental audit, currently we only accept the Leather Working Group standard.

Animal derived materials: Please review our Animal Welfare Policy for further information about our supplier requirements for animal derived materials, including leather.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR RAW MATERIALS ARE COMING FROM?

Clothing and apparel supply chains are complex, which makes traceability down to raw-material level challenging. Nevertheless, we are committed to building full transparency of our entire product supply chain. We have a number of initiatives in place to help us achieve this:

• We're collaborating with expert organisations to help us better understand our supply chain. Working with sustainable cotton organisations last year we were able to trace the country of origin of 71% of our cotton. We've partnered with CanopyStyle to identify country of origin for all of our cellulosic fibres.
• We're exploring how to trace our polyester supply chain, polyester is the second largest fibre we buy at ASOS after cotton.
• We're meeting regularly with our ASOS Brands suppliers to build trust and encourage supply chain transparency.
• We've trialled a supply chain mapping system to record supplier relationship and performance information.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO REDUCE CHEMICALS IN YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN?

Chemicals are found throughout any textile supply chain. Our main area of focus is hazardous chemicals. We've identified the chemicals of greatest concern and communicated these through our Chemical Policy and Restricted Substance List (RSL) to ASOS Brands suppliers and brands. Due diligence surveillance testing is performed on a monthly basis to ensure products comply with global regulations.

HOW DO YOU ENSURE ANIMAL WELFARE IN YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN?

Our comprehensive Animal Welfare Policy requires animal material suppliers to adopt industry best practice rearing, transportation and slaughter standards, based on the internationally recognised Five Freedoms which are the foundation of higher animal welfare standards globally. We regularly review and communicate our policy to suppliers and brands that trade with us. The Policy can be viewed here.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH REGARDS TO TRACEABILITY?

We are committed to building full transparency of our supply chain right down to raw material level.

We have a number of initiatives in place to help us achieve this:

• We're in the process of mapping our Tier 4-Tier 5 supply chain
• We've trialled a supply chain mapping system to record supplier relationship and performance information.
• We meet regularly with ASOS Brands suppliers to build trust and encourage supply chain transparency, with a particular focus on cotton, leather and viscose.
• We collaborate regularly with organisations such as the Better Cotton Initiative and the Leather Working Group to help us better understand the complex nature of supply chains.

You can read more about our partnerships here.WHAT MAKES A PRODUCT ELIGIBLE TO BE PROMOTED THROUGH THE RESPONSIBLE EDIT?

If a product meets either of the criteria below, it is eligible.

• Recycled: Made from, or partially made from, recycled materials to help lower environmental impact.
• Sustainable materials: This includes organic and responsibly sourced fabrics, fibres and other materials - from BCI cotton to water-based PU.

We require these products to contain a minimum percentage of recycled or sustainable fibres and for suppliers to provide us with relevant validations or certifications to confirm compliance with our responsible edit criteria.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO REDUCE MICROFIBRE POLLUTION?

Unfortunately, there are still many unknowns when it comes to microfibres. Understanding microfibre pollution and its sources, fates, and effects are an ongoing challenge for the textile and garment industries. We've become a member of the Microfibre Consortium to:

• Identify why microfibre shedding occurs and how production and use factors influence this
• Develop a methodology for testing microfibres that aligns with the rest of the industry
• Develop aligned industry tools and resources to create solutions
• Understand how our recycled fibre strategy influences microfibre shedding

WHAT'S YOUR STANCE ON UZBEKISTAN AND TURKMENISTAN COTTON?

ASOS's Ethical Trade programme aims to ensure the rights of workers in our supply chain are respected and protected. We're a member of the Better Cotton Initiative which does not allow Uzbek and Turkmenistan cotton to be sold by international traders or merchants as part of its Better Cotton standard, because forced labour is prevalent in these countries' cotton fields. As we work towards increasing sustainable cotton in our ranges, we are becoming more confident our cotton is being sourced more ethically in alignment with our Cotton Sourcing Policy.

For further information please consult our Cotton Sourcing Policy.

CAN I REDUCE MY CLOTHING CARBON FOOTPRINT BY CHANGING MY BEHAVIOUR? / HOW CAN I REDUCE MY CARBON FOOTPRINT AT HOME?

The most sustainable clothes are the ones you already own so the best thing you can do is to take care of your clothes and keep them in use and in your possession.

Tired of your clothes? Exchange and swap with friends, or get creative and try to upcycle or give them a bit of an update. If you really need to do a closet cleanout, never throw clothing or textiles in the bin. Always donate them to charity or take to a recycling drop-off location- use a textile recycling app, or take to a retail outlet that offers a recycling service.

When washing clothes, always wash at 30 degrees and air dry whenever possible. If you need to dry clean, search for eco-friendly cleaners. Often, it's okay to handwash certain dry clean only fabrics, so do some research to familiarise yourself with your options.

HOW IS VISCOSE MADE?

The following steps describe how viscose is made from wood pulp and what ASOS is doing to limit the environmental impact of viscose production:

• Wood is harvested or logged. ASOS partners with the NGO CanopyStyle to ensure that the wood we source doesn't come from ancient or endangered forests.
• Wood is broken down into wood chips which contain water, lignin and cellulose.
• The lignin and water are separated from the cellulose (the main component of viscose) using steam and chemicals . The cellulose or pulp is then bleached. We are working with producers to explore the use of chlorine-free bleaching methods.
• Chemicals such as carbon disulphide and sodium hydroxide are added to the pulp to cause it to dissolve into an orange-brown solution known as viscose. A by-product of this process is hydrogen sulphide.
• The orange brown solution is forced through spinnerets (similar to a shower head), into an acid bath that solidifies the filaments and creates a continuous viscose filament fibre or yarn.
• The fibre can also be cut into staple fibres (shorter fibres). Again, these fibres require chlorine bleaching so we're working with fibre producers to explore alternatives. We're also supporting cellulosic producers to ensure chemicals are treated first before they are discharged so that they don't pollute the environment.

We've signed up to the Changing Markets Roadmap to collaborate with other brands and viscose producers to minimise the environmental impact of viscose.

WHAT IS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY?

A circular economy is an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life (WRAP, 2018). ASOS had made a public commitment to circularity through our 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment.