Data gathered from 5,300 workers has led to tangible improvements in worker rights in 2018. © C&A Foundation

C&A Foundation launches the fifth-anniversary edition of its Annual Report, reviewing highlights and breakthrough moments of 2018 and sharing the lessons learned from its first years of grant-making to make fashion a force for good.

“In these five years, we have learned a lot about what works – and what doesn’t – when using patient, philanthropic capital to try and effect large shifts in a system,” said Leslie Johnston, C&A Foundation Executive Director, in her opening letter. “All of these lessons will inform our work as we look towards the next five years… using our core values – resolute, risk-takers, collaborative, transparent, people-focused – as a guide, we can see the path ahead. It is time for C&A Foundation to step up our effort, and it is time for the entire industry to use its collective power to make fashion a force for good.”

In 2018, C&A Foundation invested EUR 48.3 million, with over 34 new partnerships and 24 renewed partnerships, to increase the production and uptake of organic cotton, improve working conditions, end child and forced labour, foster new circular business models, and build resilient communities. By supporting and fostering 13 multi-stakeholder initiatives, that together represent over 30 companies with 850 billion in revenue and more than 62 civil society organisations, the foundation has also harnessed a collective power to create change.

2018’s breakthrough moments

• The Cotton Trailblazers event in May 2018 showed that a more holistic approach to mainstreaming sustainable cotton in Madhya Pradesh is starting to work.
• Data gathered from 5,300 workers through Wage Indicator’s web and app-based platform has led to tangible improvements in worker rights for over 30,000 workers at 15 factories.
• Fashion Revolution’s Transparency Index was adapted to Brazil with impressive results: a 122% improvement in average scores from the first questionnaire to the final submission.
• In 2018, Fashion for Good increased its total corporate partners to 15, uniting leading brands in giving a collective signal to the market that there is strong demand for ground-breaking solutions.
• Finally, C&A Foundation’s first ever All Partner Designer Forum helped spark new ideas, share lessons, and explore how partners can better support each other.

2018 Global Sustainability Report

The launch of C&A Foundation’s 2018 Annual Report coincides with the release of the 2018 C&A Global Sustainability Report. C&A Foundation and its corporate partner, the global retailer C&A, work to boost each other’s work to transform the apparel industry. C&A reports strong performance towards its 2020 sustainability goals and announces its achievements and commitments with a focus on its products, supply chain and employees.

“Half of the raw materials used in our collections are sourced more sustainably, where we can clearly see that our actions are helping the environment, improving smallholder farmer livelihoods and making it easy for our customers to make more sustainable choices,” said Jeffrey Hogue, C&A Chief Sustainability Officer.

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