Mass market retailer Target has today joined over 170 brands and apparel industry stakeholders by committing to the CanopyStyle initiative in a bid to ensure the use of ancient and endangered forest fibre is not found in its own viscose textile supply chain.

Target says it will “pursue, with a goal of achieving by (end of) 2020, viscose apparel garment supply chains that are free of ancient and endangered forests, endangered species and controversial sources.”

The announcement comes on the ‘International Day of Forests’, where CanopyStyle has also chosen to launch its new #Irreplaceable campaign to throw a spotlight on the importance of the preservation of these forests with respect to biodiversity and local communities that rely on them for their livelihoods.

The #Irreplaceable campaign is being supported by over a dozen partner brands including Esprit, Gap, H&M, ASOS, Zalando and C&A China and comes at a time when some brands are turning towards tree-sourced cellulose and away from traditional synthetic fibres due to the microplastic problem.

But as CanopyStyle points out, if there is a big shift towards this type of sourcing: “Where will all these trees come from?”

Courtesy: