BEHIND THE SEAMS
OUR FAIRTRADE PARTNERSHIP
This August, we celebrated six years of our Fairtrade partnership. And it’s Fairtrade’s 30th anniversary. So we sat down with our sustainability team for a chat on all things Fairtrade.
On why it’s important. What the impact is. And why you’ll definitely want to buy our new printed midi with the shirred waist. (It’s from our Fairtrade Sourced Cotton collection, just to spoil the surprise.)
“We’ve been working with Fairtrade for six years now, which is incredible,” confirms Jo, Responsible Materials Partner at White Stuff. “And we’re currently the UK's biggest fashion retailer of Fairtrade Sourced Cotton. It’s a great relationship we’re keen to grow. And it definitely sets us apart from other brands.”
Fairtrade is a certification that means social, economic and environmental standards have been met. We’re proud of our commitment to source Fairtrade Sourced Cotton for a range of our products, supporting people at the beginning of the supply chain.
“It means workers are paid better wages and there's more traceability on where our cotton is coming from,” Jo explains.
Fairtrade currently works in partnership with more than 2 million farmers and workers on products including cocoa, coffee and cotton – of course.
The Fairtrade Standards mean farmers earn at least the Fairtrade Minimum Price for their crop (to protect against market fluctuations). They also earn the Fairtrade Premium - additional funds that farmers’ cooperatives spend on things like schools for their children, better irrigation systems, better access to doctors and better quality seeds.
And when it comes to our wider sustainability goals for the company, Fairtrade’s a key part of our strategy.
“We’re aiming to get to the point where we have 100% certified materials,” explains Jack, White Stuff Sustainability Manager. “And we can guarantee that the materials are Fairtrade, organic, recycled or another certified material. That's a really big focus for us.”
Alongside the organic cotton and recycled materials we already use, most recently we were certified for FSC-viscose. That means the viscose in our new autumn collection is sourced from well-managed forests, without deforestation.
“We’re always aiming for transparency and traceability with our materials,” says Jo.
The way we work with Fairtrade supports that transparency. “We have annual reviews with the Fairtrade Foundation to review our progress on how much Fairtrade Sourced Cotton we’re using,” Jo explains. “And to set new targets for the following year. We then use a system called ‘Fairtrace’ which allows us to check our progress against our targets.”
“We’ve become the UK’s biggest fashion retailer for Fairtrade Sourced Cotton because we’re buying more of this cotton than anyone else,” Jo says.
Partnering with Fairtrade is so important to us because people matter. More than anything else. We want everyone who works with White Stuff to be treated fairly, from those in our shops to our distribution centre to the people growing the raw materials that make up our garments. And partnering with Fairtrade is one way we try to do this.
Shop all the latest from our Fairtrade Sourced Cotton collection below and find out more about Fairtade.