COTTON SOURCING POLICY
BACKGROUND
This Policy sets out the standards and responsibilities that Suppliers must follow and implement throughout their supply chain and the minimum standards that their products supplied to Pringle of Scotland must meet.
Cotton is often used in the production of textiles (estimated at 40% of global textile production), but its production and processing can be highly polluting.
Pringle of Scotland aim to ensure that the rights of workers in our supply chain are respected and protected. Prohibition of all forms of modern slavery, including child labour, forced labour, bonded labour and the protection of human rights are fundamental to what we stand for.
This forms a key part of Pringle of Scotland’s Code of Conduct for our suppliers, Over the past decade, there has been substantial evidence of the widespread use of forced and child labour to harvest the cotton fields in Uzbekistan. Pringle of Scotland recognises that in 2022 the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Cotton Campaign both announced that systematic forced labour has been eliminated in Uzbekistan. However, the Cotton Campaign reported findings that cases of coercion and interference by local authorities, as well as individual cases of forced labour, continue. Until further communication and/or updates to this Policy, sourcing cotton from this region remains prohibited.
We acknowledge that Better Cotton are exploring implementation programmes in Uzbekistan, however, until we have greater visibility of practices in the field, we will continue to ban cotton from Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan has also been identified as having issues indicative of modern slavery.
In addition, Pringle of Scotland are concerned by reports of human rights abuses being perpetrated against Uyghurs and other Turkic and Muslim majority peoples in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and other parts of China.
Pringle of Scotland therefore prohibits the use of cotton sourced from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in products supplied to Pringle of Scotland.
Suppliers must communicate this to their supply chain and procure that any entity in their supply chain does not knowingly source cotton from these regions.
For more information on Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan cotton industry please click here.
For more information on the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, please click here.
THE PRINGLE OF SCOTLAND COMMITMENT
This Policy has been developed, as part of our sustainable sourcing strategy to procure more sustainable cotton.
When designing products, Pringle of Scotland will always select cottons which are either certified as Organic cotton, Fairtrade Cotton or are part of the Better Cotton Initiative.
Suppliers must identify the source of raw cotton and must disclose the sustainable cotton type and raw cotton fibre country of origin used in the manufacturing of products supplied to Pringle of Scotland. Suppliers must also provide required documentation as may be requested by Pringle of Scotland, to verify the types of cotton being used in the products.
OUR SUPPLIERS’ COMMITMENT
In order to comply with this Policy, Suppliers must follow these steps:
- No sourcing from prohibited regions including Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (as set out in the Background);
- Be able to show that they have identified the country of origin of raw cotton intended for use in Pringle of Scotland products or used in the manufacturing of products supplied to Pringle of Scotland, by providing Pringle of Scotland with the applicable documentation as may be requested by Pringle of Scotland from time to time.
