BESTSELLER is an international, family-owned fashion company with a range of more than 20 individual fashion brands. It is also the first one to use Cotton made in Africa Organic. In the following interview, Danique Lodewijks, a senior project specialist at BESTSELLER, explains how the company is moving away from the traditional, linear way of sourcing and what role CmiA Organic plays in this process.
Ms Danique Lodewijks, what are the Bestseller Group’s main sustainability goals?
At BESTSELLER, we want to accelerate fashion’s journey towards a sustainable reality, making sustainability a business mindset for us. Our ultimate ambition is to bring Fashion FWD until we are climate positive, fair for all, and circular by design.
BESTSELLER is the first retailer to use Cotton made in Africa Organic. What makes the CmiA Organic product line special for you in terms of design and sustainability?
CmiA Organic goes beyond the environmental benefits of organic cotton by also taking social and economic improvements for farmers’ livelihoods into account. Furthermore, we can be sure that the cotton from Africa is 100 percent free of genetically modified organisms. The fact that we have full visibility over all supply chain partners also makes CmiA Organic an attractive option for us.
How do you market your CmiA Organic products to customers and inform them about the impact and work of CmiA, and how have they reacted so far?
All CmiA Organic products carry specially designed hangtags that explain the added value of CmiA Organic cotton. The hangtag further includes a QR code that links to more detailed information on our website. Customer feedback has been very positive. With the current challenges around organic cotton, it is great to be able to share an authentic and verified story.
BESTSELLER successfully combines quickly changing fashion trends with sustainable sourcing strategies. What are some of the associated opportunities and challenges?
With a broad portfolio of brands, we have the opportunity to react quickly and offer a wide range of products to our customers. To emphasise our focus on a circular future, we recently launched the Circular Design guideline, a tool that enables us to make the right decisions. Furthermore, we invest in the materials of the future through collaborations with organisations like Infinited Fiber. In order to successfully implement sustainable initiatives, we need to make sure that all value chain partners are aligned and moving forward in a collaborative way. Since we are moving away from the traditional, linear way of sourcing, this is a challenge, but we are undertaking the journey step by step.
Are you planning to expand your CmiA Organic collection to other brands within the Bestseller Group?
Yes, next to NAME IT and SELECTED, both JACK & JONES and VERO MODA will also have CmiA Organic cotton styles in their 2022 collections. We continue to strengthen relationships with our suppliers in order to further increase our uptake next harvest season.