In response to today’s announcement from M&S regarding the next phase of Plan A sustainability journey, David McCullough, Oxfam’s Trading Director, said:
“We’re delighted to be a partner with M&S and we’re impressed by the ambition set out in the next phase of Plan A. We know British shoppers want to recycle and they have donated four million items of M&S clothing to our shops, which would have otherwise gone to landfill. This has raised £2 million, helping us to save lives. M&S have set a bold target to recycle 20 million garments by 2015 and we are right behind them in support of that goal.
“We know workers in the clothing industry in developing countries still earn desperately low wages and don’t know their rights, so Marks and Spencer’s innovative approach to tackling low wages in three factories in Bangladesh shows positive change is possible. It should encourage other brands and retailers to build a living wage into their own price negotiations, bringing forward the day when workers can make a living by supplying clothes to UK shoppers.”