How George is helping to make sure clothes are sustainably and responsibly sourced

It’s well known that fashion is currently the second biggest contributor to the world's pollution and as the second largest clothing retailer in the UK, we at George know we have a duty to help reverse this.

We understand our customers want to know that we are doing our bit and also that the clothes they buy from us are sustainably sourced.

We have made big strides and are really proud that all of our school uniforms have been sourced with responsible fibres and that 75% of our total cotton footprint is responsibly sourced.

We know however that there is more to do and we are really excited for the upcoming changes that we believe will make a huge difference. The backbone of our plan is our five sustainability pillars which give us a real clear directive and goals.

• Responsibly sourced fibres: By 2025 all George products will be sourced with a · ‘sustainability first’ strategy with our main focus being Cotton, Viscose, Polyester, Timber and Palm Oil as these are some of the most impactful on our environment.

• Packaging: By 2025, we will achieve 100% recyclable packaging in all George products and aim to remove all unnecessary plastic packaging.​

• George Cares: We will support our customers to reduce their impact on the environment by enhancing our recycling facilities, implementing circular fashion partnerships and promoting longevity of garments through customer care.

• People: George is 100% transparent and committed to responsible · sourcing through caring for the workers within our supply chain.​

• Zero tolerance to hazardous waste: By 2025 we aim to achieve zero discharge of hazardous chemicals and waste.

They are bold targets but we are off to a really strong start by signing up to the Changing Markets roadmap to responsible viscose manufacturing within our supply chain.

Viscose is made from natural sources such as wood pulp and agricultural products that are regenerated as cellulose fibre. It is important that the natural resources we use to produce viscose are replaced to ensure our forests remain protected.

Signing up to the Changing Markets roadmap is a real commitment as it means we have made a public pledge to use better viscose manufacturing by 2023-25 and have committed to transparently publish our viscose suppliers. It also makes sure our viscose and other regenerated cellulosic fibres are manufactured in an environmentally friendly way, using closed-loop processing of water and chemicals as well as giving supply chain transparency.

It’s a great step to take and I’m really excited about how this and other projects will help us make a real difference across the World.