Our customers and products

59%

of NEXT brand textile products meet our responsible sourcing criteria

81%

of cotton meets our responsible sourcing criteria

Over

590

Suppliers engaged in the ZDHC programme

Our commitment is to offer beautifully designed, excellent quality clothing, footwear, accessories, homeware and beauty products that are well made, functional and safe, sourced responsibly and provide outstanding value to meet or exceed our customers’ expectations.

Approach

Our Responsible Sourcing Approach sets out our ambition to source 100% of the key raw materials we use through known, responsible or certified routes between 2025 and 2030, depending on the material. Our products must be:

Sourced in line with our Responsible Sourcing Approach
Free from harmful substances
Excellent quality
Safe, functional and fit for their intended purpose

In addition, we:

Aim to provide the highest standards of customer experience, regardless of whether our customers shop instore or online
Support our customers to donate difficult to recycle unwanted products

NEXT products must not contain chemicals which could be harmful to our customers, the workers who make our products or the environment. Therefore NEXT, as a member of ZDHC, has strict Restricted Substances Standards which state the limits for harmful chemicals used in or during the manufacture of our products.

NEXT sources products from over 39 countries and those products are made up from a large variety of raw materials. We are committed to responsible sourcing and building full transparency to trace the raw materials back to source as part of our Responsible Sourcing Approach. The raw materials in our products must be sourced in a way that respects the people, animals and environment in our supply chain.

Approach updates

Challenges and Targets

The raw materials used in our products come from the world's natural resources and we are committed to responsible sourcing and providing trusted provenance and traceability back to source.

The main raw materials used in our products are cotton, polyester, manmade cellulosic (such as viscose), timber, leather and wool. We recognise these materials come from the world’s natural resources and can have wide ranging environmental and social risks associated with their production and extraction contributing to issues such as deforestation, water stress and climate change.

As part of our Responsible Sourcing Approach, we have a range of policies and have developed clear guidance for our Product team to use when developing their ranges. We are working with our suppliers to help reduce the impact of manufacturing processes on the environment and on the health of those working and living in communities around our production sites.

Looking Ahead - during this year, we will:

Collaborate with our Total Platform partners to establish minimum standards and share best practice across Responsible Sourcing topics
Review opportunities to go beyond our main raw materials
Continue to engage our product teams, starting with updated training in April 2024
Increase supplier engagement through both online and in-person formats

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