M&S to work with Indian suppliers on 'fair trade'

As part of its ethical trading drive, one of Europe's biggest clothing chains Marks & Spencer has said they had launched a 'Fair Trade' initiative, which also includes their suppliers in India.

The initiative is part of the company's Plan A, a five-year, 100-point plan under which the company works with suppliers to combat climate change, reduce waste, safeguard natural resources and trade ethically.

Plan A was launched in January last year and all of Marks & Spencer suppliers have to be compliant with the plan.

"We have earmarked 200 million pounds to execute the plan and a part of this will come to India also," company's regional head, South Asia, Venu Nair today said on the sidelines of the Fabrics and Accessories Trade Show today.

"Under Plan A, we have an initiative called Fair Trade, where we make sure that our suppliers are buying products from farmers at a fair price and also contributing to their community by giving them a Fair Trade premium that would enable them to improve their living conditions," he said.

For example, the company buys cotton products from suppliers in Gujarat who will have to adopt this practice.

At present, Marks & Spencer works with about 22 suppliers in India and the amount the company sources from India has grown by over 100 per cent in the past two years.

"We will see high growth in sourcing from India this year also, but it will not be 100 per cent growth as our base is bigger now," Nair said.

Almost 25 per cent of all of Marks & Spencer's products are sourced from South Asia. From India, the company sources apparel, footwear and accessories.

The company has also said that as part of Plan A they share their best practices, help their suppliers with new innovations and also help them secure the funds needed to develop more sustainable production methods.