Jack & Jones to use first harvest of Pakistani cotton

Fashion retailer, Bestseller and its brand Jack & Jones are making history with the first-ever harvest of certified in-conversion cotton from Pakistan, thanks to their long-time supplier and partner Artistic Milliners.

The first harvests from the Milliner Organic Project’s organic farms in Kohlu, Balochistan, Pakistan, have already been harvested – and have also passed a crucial milestone: clearing the Control Union’s demanding requirements to be certified as in-conversion cotton.

Bestseller has been a part of the initiative since the beginning and is funding it. Jack & Jones, the fashion retailer’s brand, will receive a portion of the cotton in exchange.

Danique Lodewijks, Senior Project Specialist, Bestseller Sustainability, said that this is certainly an excellent achievement so early in the project. They can see how critical it is to focus on a direct-to-farm approach in order to increase cotton production to the next level. Not only in terms of traceability and access to organic cotton, but also in terms of ensuring the lives and well-being of farmers and their communities. It’s not easy, but it’s the only path forward.

Artistic Milliners, one of the fashion industry’s most forward-thinking suppliers, is the country’s first private sector investor in organic cotton farming. More than 2,000 farmers and roughly 9,300 acres of land are already covered by this initiative.

Omer Ahmed, CEO of Artistic Milliners, said that the Milliner Cotton Organic project’s harvest this season is the first of many to come. As he had stated, this will be a game changer in Pakistan’s cotton sector. They’re here to help their long-time brand partner Bestseller bridge the gap between organic cotton supply and demand.

This harvest’s in-conversion cotton will be used in Jack & Jones’ December 2022 denim collection.

Mikkel Hochrein Albrektsen, Creative Buying Manager at Jack & Jones, said that they’re always looking for new ways to improve and reinvent their jeans’ sustainability and transparency. This idea is a perfect fit for their way of thinking, and it’s only the beginning of a more transparent and comprehensive supply chain. They aim to be able to manufacture 200,000 jeans from the first harvest, and then increase in the subsequent seasons.