Organic cotton boom hits the high street

Organic cotton has become the new battleground for Britain's top retailers responding to shoppers demanding more than just cheap chic. New Look and H&M are the latest high street chains to boost their green credentials by ramping up their ranges made from the fabric.

New estimates suggest the value of the organic cotton market in the UK will surge by 50 per cent this year to just shy of £60m. New Look has thrown down the gauntlet to its arch rival Topshop with its third organic clothing collection this year, which hits its 560 stores this weekend. Fronted by the TV presenter Fearne Cotton (pictured left), the collection includes 33 pieces ranging from festival-friendly maxi dresses and denim cut-offs to wide-legged black jeans and checked shirts.

More than one in four women now describe themselves as ethical shoppers when it comes to clothes, according to analysts Mintel. Guy Lister, New Look's marketing director, said that one-third of the retailer's cotton jersey ranges would be made from organic cotton by next spring, up from 5 per cent now. "Organic fashion gives us a point of difference. It's been flying out of our stores," he said.

Although organic food has more or less broken into the mainstream, organic clothing has lagged behind. Topshop has yet to launch its own organic cotton line although it does give space in its largest stores to People Tree, one of the UK's leading organic fashion brands. Even Marks & Spencer sells barely a handful of lines made from organic cotton, although it recently added a range of men's organic linen products and plans to introduce organic wool knitwear this autumn.

With its predilection for using unethical materials from reptile skin to fur, the world of high couture has so far been slow to embrace the virtues of organic clothing. Giorgio Armani, who has been making jeans from organic cotton for years, is a rare exception.

Damien Sanfilippo of Pesticide Action Network blames the delay on the fact that consumers find it harder to get their heads around the benefits of buying organic clothing rather than food. "Organic cotton benefits the health and livelihood of the producer while organic food benefits their own health."

Until now retailers have opted to market ethical clothing lines under the Fairtrade banner. All that is changing. Retailers are catching up with the clutch of niche ethical brands, including Edun, the brainchild of Bono's wife Ali Hewson, which is popular with Cate Blanchett. H&M's 50-item organic range, launched in March, sold out and a second collection will follow next week. Retailers are keen to increase the size of their ranges but are running into difficulties with sourcing organic cotton. "Demand for organic cotton is much bigger than supply and will stay that way for at least the next two years," warned Mr Sanfilippo. Just 0.3 per cent of cotton is grown organically now, although the World Agricultural Commission predicts that in the next 25 years that will rise to 30 per cent.

But not all campaigners think organic cotton is the solution to the ethical problems in the textile industry. Martin Hearson of Labour Behind the Label, which monitors supply chains, warns: "Selling organic cotton is a step in the right direction, but the retailers' commitment shouldn't end there. Consumers shouldn't stop interrogating the brands they buy from about the conditions in which they are manufactured."

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