Marks and Spencer has given an eco boost to its flagship lingerie collection with what is being hailed as the high street’s first carbon-neutral bra.
The retailer today launched the carbon-neutral bra as part of its Autograph Leaves lingerie collection, unveiling four styles of bra, three knickers and a set of suspenders, all of which have been independently footprinted by the Carbon Trust.
To achieve carbon-neutral status for the bra, M&S manufactured the items at its eco-model factory in Sri Lanka, which uses renewable energy and waste initiatives to cut carbon by 33 per cent compared to typical clothing factory. The remaining 77 per cent of carbon was offset through a project run by the Conservation Carbon Company.
Under its extended Plan A commitments, M&S last year pledged that each of its 2.7bn individual products will have a Plan A “story” by 2020, like achieving carbon neutral status, gaining Fairtrade certification, or using organic materials.
Mike Barry, head of M&S sustainable business, said bras are an ideal product to test carbon neutrality, given their complex supply chain and popularity with customers.
The bra contains 21 component parts from 12 different suppliers, including lace, which is one of the most carbon-intensive materials to manufacture.
An M&S spokeswoman told BusinessGreen it plans to start integrating more sustainable materials across all of its lingerie ranges by the end of the year, based on lessons learnt in developing the Leaves line.
However, men may have to wait a while longer before donning their first pair of carbon-neutral boxer shorts. The spokeswoman said M&S has no immediate plans to develop carbon-neutral underwear for men.
The carbon-neutral bra is available online from today and will be in stores from this weekend priced at £22 – a similar cost to M&S’s other bras.
M&S is not the first retailer to experiment with sustainable materials for bras: American manufacturer Biflex recently achieved an “above target” sustainability rating in Wal-Mart’s supplier assessment report, hailing its bra as one of the greenest available.
