Over the last year, ONLY facilitated the sourcing of almost 3,400 tonnes of African organic cotton from farmers in Africa. The cotton was sourced using a direct-to-farm model and verified organic by Cotton made in Africa (CmiA), an initiative of the Aid by Trade Foundation and one of the world’s leading standards for cotton farmed in Africa.

This milestone represents the first time that such a quantity of organic cotton sourced from Africa is being used for the company’s bestselling products.

Specifically, ONLY converted the popular Blush and Power denim jeans programmes to be made using CmiA Organic verified cotton. These two programmes are part of ONLY’s NOOS (Never Out Of Stock) collections, which feature timeless pieces in high demand and are a cornerstone of ONLY’s business.

Supply Chain Collaboration

Cotton accounts for more than 40 percent of all the material used in BESTSELLER products. As conventional cotton farming practices can have a significant environmental and social impact, BESTSELLER is committed to increasing the volume of organic cotton sourced.

However, only 3.2 percent of the global cotton grown is organic. Direct-to-farm sourcing is BESTSELLER’s preferred method for supporting farmers in transitioning from conventionally farmed cotton to the development of transparent and fair organic production.

BESTSELLER works with CmiA to connect both ends of the supply chain, facilitating the flow of organic cotton from African farmers to the ginners and spinners, and to the fabric mills via cotton traders, and finally to the manufacturers who produce ONLY jeans.

"BESTSELLER‘s increasing demand for CmiA Organic cotton represents a strong commitment to nature protection, supply chain responsibility, and social justice for the farmers in Africa who cultivate CmiA Organic verified cotton. CmiA Organic exceeds the standards of conventional organic certification, providing vital social and economic support to African farmers and their communities. The cotton produced can be traced all the way to the end product,” says Nina Schöttle, Project Manager Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning at the Aid by Trade Foundation.

One of Many Steps

BESTSELLER has set a target of sourcing 30 percent of its entire cotton supply from organic or in-conversion cotton by 2025. In-conversion cotton is cotton from farmers that are transitioning to organic practices, which can take up to three years. BESTSELLER facilitates farmers receive the same price as they would receive for organic cotton during this transition.

In 2023-24, across BESTSELLER, the company doubled the amount of organic cotton used in products. The increased commitment by ONLY follows the previously communicated commitments made by JACK & JONES. The combined effort across all brands means BESTSELLER is on track to meet its 2025 target.

Supporting Cotton Communities

This year, BESTSELLER collaborated with the Aid by Trade Foundation for its CmiA Community Cooperation Programme to support cotton farming communities in Benin.

The company contributed financial support to improve educational and water infrastructure. This included constructing a new school block with three classrooms and two latrines. Additionally, table-benches were provided to ensure proper seating for students. To address water needs, two boreholes were drilled, providing reliable access to clean water.

Through this collaboration, more than 4,000 community members in three cotton farming villages have benefited from improved access to education, clean water, and better hygiene practices.
  • Cotton is the largest material by volume used by BESTSELLER, accounting for over 40 percent of all the fibre used.
  • The sourcing of raw materials such as cotton represents 18 percent of BESTSELLER’s total climate impact. In addition, the use of synthetic pesticides in conventional cotton farming can result in the loss of biodiversity and impact the health of farmers and their communities.
  • Organic cotton is grown using methods and materials with a reduced environmental impact compared to conventional methods. Organic production systems replenish and maintain soil fertility, expand biologically diverse agriculture, and prohibit the use of synthetic toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers, as well as genetically engineered seeds.
  • Third-party certification verifies that organic producers meet strict federal regulations addressing methods and materials allowed in organic production and monitor human rights risks.
  • To encourage more farmers to convert to organic cotton farming, BESTSELLER has enrolled cotton in the process of becoming organic – called in-conversion cotton – in its portfolio of branded and certified cotton.
  • In 2023-24, BESTSELLER supported more than 18,000 cotton farmers, an increase from the 12,000 farmers supported in 2022-23. This includes more than 5,500 in-conversion cotton farmers.
  • In 2023-24, BESTSELLER sourced 100 percent of its cotton from preferred sources. The pre-season commitments made during the last two cotton harvest seasons helped ensure the increase in the company’s share of organic cotton used in products from 11 to 21 percent. This result includes in-conversion cotton, which accounts for 4 percent.
  • BESTSELLER is a partner of Cotton made in Africa, Cotton made in Africa Organic, the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) and a member of Better Cotton.
  • The top three brands sourcing the most organic cotton as a percentage of total BESTSELLER organic cotton are JACK & JONES, ONLY, and NAME IT.
With the first-ever harvest of certified in-conversion cotton coming from Pakistan, BESTSELLER and its brand JACK & JONES are making history together with their long-standing supplier and partner Artistic Milliners.
We've joined the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) to secure a transparent organic cotton stream and invest in the industry’s growth.
Long-standing BESTSELLER supplier Artistic Milliners has – in collaboration with BESTSELLER and JACK & JONES – secured farm-to-fashion traceability for its indigenous Organic Cotton in a direct-to-farm approach to benefit the entire community.
Less than one percent of the world’s cotton is grown using organic practices. To encourage more farmers to convert to organic cotton farming, BESTSELLER will now enrol cotton in the process of becoming organic – called in-conversion cotton – in its portfolio of certified and cotton.
BESTSELLER brands NAME IT and SELECTED are the first ever to include CmiA (Cotton made in Africa)-Organic in their collections – complete with a fully transparent supply chain from fields to final products.
For calendar year 2023, BESTSELLER’s biggest menswear brand JACK & JONES ups direct-to-farm cotton in their extensive replenishment programme. Pre-season commitment is key to secure traceable organic cotton.
As the first of its kind within BESTSELLER, the company is incentivising employees for sustainability goals, effective from 2025. The new initiative aims to motivate and accelerate the commitment to collectively transform the industry and bring fashion forward.
In 2023-24, BESTSELLER’s overall results were impacted by challenging conditions in the global fashion market. Despite this, the Danish fashion company managed to secure an improved EBIT and will continue to invest in transforming its business to adapt to new demands.