2020 Hot Button Ranking and Report is here!

Global Viscose Supply Surpasses Critical Half Way Mark Towards Ancient Forest Free Fashion :

52% of viscose supply now ‘green shirt’ in Hot Button Ranking

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Vancouver, October 29, 2020: Today, fifty-two percent of the global viscose supply has been deemed ‘green shirts’ in the 2020 Hot Button Report and Ranking by environmental organization Canopy. This news represents a significant breakthrough for the fashion industry and the viscose supply chain.

A ‘green shirt’ rating indicates that a producer has been audited and assessed as being at low risk, or has taken substantive action to eliminate known risk of sourcing rayon and viscose from Ancient and Endangered Forests. Today’s report shows over half of the global viscose supply has attained that milestone and more than 90% of the entire viscose supply chain now has a publicly available CanopyStyle policy in place.

While eliminating Ancient and Endangered Forests from the man-made cellulosic fibre (MMCF) supply is a crucial first step, it is actually the minimum bar of brands and producers’ CanopyStyle commitments. Canopy’s partners have also committed to investigating, trialling, and scaling up game-changing Next Generation Solutions. These NextGen Solutions include using recycled, post-consumer textiles, agricultural residues and/or microbial cellulose to make the pulp that forms the basis of MMCF fabrics like rayon and viscose. A third, and vital component of the CanopyStyle vision is translation of supply chain shifts into lasting conservation in critical forests around the globe. This year’s Hot Button documents exciting progress by many producers in all three of these key impact/performance areas.

“It’s incredible to see how quickly the majority of viscose production has moved, and now we need the rest of the industry to keep pace,” said Nicole Rycroft, Canopy’s Executive Director. “In addition to many of the leaders reducing risk, we’re buoyed by the substantive advancements of Next Generation Solutions, as well as conservation gains in key landscapes. This year’s Hot Button Ranking is good news for all sustainability conscious brands, as well as for the world’s forests and climate.”

This announcement comes at a pivotal time as a majority of the 320 brands in the CanopyStyle initiative, worth 578 billion USD in revenue, are implementing their commitments to only source from producers ranked with green shirts. This includes companies as diverse as Inditex (parent company of Zara), Stella McCartney, Amazon, H&M, Levi’s, Target, Marks and Spencer, and Gap Inc.

“We rely on Canopy’s Hot Button Report to help us choose supply chain partners who will support us in meeting our ambitious climate and biodiversity goals. We’re very excited that the majority of global viscose supply has now passed this critical threshold of the collaborative CanopyStyle initiative to protecting the world’s Ancient and Endangered Forests, and for securing Next Generations at scale in the coming years,” said Luis Coloma Yepes, Head of Infrastructure and Sustainability Lead at Inditex. Highlights of the 2020 Hot Button Ranking include:

• Fifty-two percent of the global production capacity has obtained green shirts.
• Ten MMCF producers, Eastman, ENKA, Formosa, Jilin, Kelheim, Tangshan Sanyou, Xinxiang Chemical Fiber (Bailu), and Yibin Grace have earned green shirt designations, with Birla Cellulose and Lenzing obtaining the first-ever ranking of dark green shirts.
• Ninety percent of the global production capacity is committed to the CanopyStyle initiative through public sourcing policies.
• Eleven producers have offered support to conservation solutions, including agreement to attend an event in January 2021 to support lasting solutions in the Great Bear Rainforest. Aditya Birla has invested in conservation planning in carbon-rich Boreal landscapes, agreeing to scenarios with Canopy that propose to conserve approximately 70% of key Ancient and Endangered Forests.
• Four of the top five largest producers with deep supply chain integration have invested significantly in the advancement of Next Generation Solutions and are now selling viscose made from recycled textiles.
• MMCF producers declared to be investing a combined sum of 233 million USD in Next Generation research and development, and an intent to procure 274 000 tonnes of Next Generation Fibre Solutions.

This year’s Hot Button features new information on each producer’s performance in chemical management for the first time, with support from Canopy’s strategic partner ZDHC. “Embedding chemical use and emissions criteria in Canopy’s Hot Button report adds value for all  who want to understand concrete solutions in the viscose supply chain, and shows the value of collaborative partnership, with each party bringing and reinforcing each others’ expertise,’’ said Frank Michel, Executive Director ZDHC Roadmap to Zero.

Since its launch, Canopy’s Hot Button Report and Ranking has become the “go to” resource for  fashion brands and retailers looking to ensure they are not sourcing viscose from Ancient and Endangered Forests.

View the full Hot Button Ranking and Summary Analysis here .

View the full Hot Button Ranking and Summary Analysis in Mandarin - to come Media release in Mandarin.  

For more information please contact:
Laura Repas, Canopy
+1-416-729-7484 Canopy Canopy is an international not-for-profit environmental organization dedicated to protecting our forests, species and climate. Canopy collaborates with more than 750 companies to develop innovative solutions, to make their fibre supply chains more sustainable, and to help protect our world’s remaining Ancient and Endangered Forests. Canopy’s partners include H&M, Sprint, Target, Amazon, Penguin Random House, Zara, TC Transcontinental, and Scholastic. Canopy’s work relies on the support of individual donors who share our passion for the planet.   www.canopyplanet.org