"Customers care more than ever how products are made," says CEO, Stuart Rose
Marks & Spencer today unveiled a major new campaign called 'Look behind the label' to tell customers about the way its products are sourced and made.
All Marks & Spencer stores, including all store windows, will feature hard-hitting messages and striking imagery about M&S products and their health, quality and environmental aspects including: "We're committed to reducing salt faster than you can say 'sodium chloride' " and "It's not just our green dyes that won't harm the environment". A series of advertisements will run every day this week in the national press.
Marks & Spencer has also announced it will become the first major UK retailer to sell clothing made from 100% Fairtrade cotton. From March, t-shirts and socks will be sold in M&S stores and on www.marksandspencer.com.
In food, Marks & Spencer is continuing its salt reduction programme and has removed 250 tonnes of salt across its food ranges over the past year, including cutting the salt content of its sandwiches by 15 per cent.
A YouGov* survey commissioned by Marks & Spencer shows consumers are thinking more about ethical and health issues when they buy clothing and food. Almost one third said they had decided not to buy an item of clothing because they felt concerned about where it had come from or under what conditions it had been made. 59% said they had also avoided buying a food product due to similar concerns. 78% said they would like to know more about the way clothes are made including the conditions in the factories where they come from and the use of chemicals in their manufacture. On food, 72% said they were specifically concerned about the future of fish stocks.
Stuart Rose, Chief Executive, Marks & Spencer, said:
"Customers want good value, but they care more than ever how food and clothing products are made. 'Look behind the label' is the first time we've talked about the lengths we go to to ensure everything we sell is produced in a responsible way. Our customers increasingly want to know about this, which is why we've decided to tell them what we stand for.
"Launching Fairtrade cotton builds on our innovative work in areas such as sustainable fishing, reducing fats, salt and additives in our food and banning harmful chemicals from children's clothing."
Harriet Lamb, Executive Director, Fairtrade Foundation said:
"Fairtrade certified cotton only became available in the UK late last year and we're delighted that Marks & Spencer is the first high street retailer to introduce its own range. Fairtrade aims to start a new trend, by guaranteeing disadvantaged farmers a fair and stable price including a premium to invest in long term farm development as well as social projects in their local communities. Buying M&S clothes made with Fairtrade cotton will bring the prospect of a brighter future to many cotton farmers and their families in India."
The 'Look behind the label' campaign will run in over 420 Marks & Spencer stores, in the national press and on the side of Marks & Spencer lorries. Advertisements will include:
| Headline
|
M&S Story |
| We're committed to reducing salt faster than you can say 'sodium chloride'. |
- Reducing salt content ahead of industry targets + working towards Food Standard Agency targets e.g. 250 tonnes removed across our food over past year.
- Reduced salt in sandwiches by 15% in last 12 months, equivalent to 2.5 tonnes.
- Kid's Eat Well range developed to meet Government recommendations of less than 1g salt per portion. |
| It's not just our green dyes that won't harm the environment. |
- Banned use of 56 chemicals that could be a risk to the environment, factory workers and our customers.
- Banned use of harmful chemicals in children's clothing.
- We know all the factories that dye our clothing.
- Regular visits to suppliers to ensure standards are met. |
| Our ready meals lack a certain something. Hydrogenated fats. |
- Removal of all hydrogenated fats, artificial colours, flavourings and flavour enhancers from our ready meals.
- Committed to removing all hydrogenated fats from all our food in 2006. |
| After these sandwiches have disappeared, so will the packaging. |
- Used 1,500 tonnes of recycled plastic in Food to Go range including sandwich cartons made from cornstarch-based biodegradable film. |
| We wear out our clothes before you buy them. |
- Carrying out up to 100 durability tests on samples from all of our clothing ranges at 350 test centres worldwide. |
| We believe in sustainable fishing. Hook, line and sinker. |
- Ranked top UK retailer for responsible fishing by Greenpeace and the Marine Conservation Society.
- All fish used by us is covered by our sustainable sourcing policy including sandwiches, ready meals and deli. |
| There's nothing woolly about our commitment to animal welfare. |
- None of our products are tested on animals by us or our suppliers.
- We only use free range eggs in our food business - 250 million eggs every year laid by 750,000 hens.
- We do not sell items made from fur.
- In 2005, we won the RSCPA Alternative Fashion Award for our work in clothing. |
For further information
Clair Foster: 020 8718 8323
Olivia Ross: 020 8718 1618
Kate Gentle: 020 8718 8741
Tania Littlehales: 020 8718 2098
Notes to editors
1. Photographs of Stuart Rose in front of 'Look behind the label' décor and examples of the advertising are available on www.mandslibrary.com.
2 *YouGov interviewed 2,300 people in the UK for Marks & Spencer in January 2006. Highlights of the survey include:
Clothing
- 87% said retailers have a responsibility to ensure that products they sell are manufactured in a fair and humane way.
- 52% said they are more concerned by issues relating to ethical sourcing e.g. working conditions in factories, than they were 5 years ago.
- 31% said they had decided not to buy an item of clothing because they felt concerned about where it had come from or under what conditions it had been made.
- 78% said they would like to know more about the way clothes are made e.g. the conditions in the factories where they come from and the use of chemicals in their manufacture.
Food
- 70% said they have made an effort to reduce salt consumption, 59% no longer add salt at the table and 46% said they look out for lower salt content in prepared foods in an effort to reduce intake.
- Food issues that are influencing customers and are of most concern to them are reduced salt (35%) and GM free foods (28%).
- 80% said retailers should do more to protect fish stocks.
3. Fairtrade certification gives customers an independent guarantee that the farmers who produce the product get a fair price for their crop plus a 'Fairtrade premium' which is invested into their community. In 2005, Marks & Spencer's Café Revive became the first major coffee shop chain in the UK to offer Fairtrade-only tea and coffee to its customers. As a result of this move, the Fairtrade Foundation has estimated that out-of-home Fairtrade coffee sales in the UK will increase by 23%.
4. Marks & Spencer's Fairtrade cotton range will be sold in 40 M&S stores and online from March. The range will include:
- Menswear:
- £8 round neck t-shirts in chocolate, black, indigo and royal blue
- £5 pack of two pairs of socks in black and beige
- Womenswear:
- £7 cap sleeve t-shirt in light pink, light mole and navy
- £4 pack of two pairs of socks black and cream
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