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As British high street stalwart Marks & Spencer makes its debut at London Fashion Week with a high-profile "see now, buy now" runway format, observers and conscious consumers alike are asking a pressing question: how sustainable are Marks & Spencer’s practices in 2026?
The heritage brand currently receives Good On You’s middling "It’s a Start" score. While the retailer is undoubtedly making some visible efforts to take responsibility for its actions, it continues to produce vast volumes of clothing, falls short of ensuring that living wages are paid to its garment workers, and leans into accelerated production cycles.
This analysis is based on the official Marks & Spencer brand rating published in May 2026 and reflects the company’s publicly disclosed information up to that point. It may not account for newer marketing claims made by the brand since then, but it provides a rigorous look at the reality behind the corporate messaging.
Marks & Spencer is Known for Quality, But What About Sustainability?
Founded in 1884, Marks & Spencer has evolved into a quintessential British institution. It remains a reliable destination for food, fashion, and homeware, as well as a major regional employer whose financial results are frequently scrutinized by economists as a barometer for the wider UK economic climate. Over recent decades, the brand has also significantly expanded its footprint overseas.
For generations, the company has been synonymous with high-caliber products. Its iconic tagline—"This is not just food, this is M&S food"—has even woven itself into the British cultural lexicon as shorthand for superior quality. But what does that reputation mean in 2026, an era where Marks & Spencer is equally recognized for mass-producing clothing?
Consumers are increasingly forced to reconcile two conflicting realities: how can a company manufacture such massive quantities of apparel to a supposedly high standard while selling them at relatively low price points? Operating sprawling retail stores packed with densely loaded racks of clothing inevitably leads back to a critical set of questions: where does it all go, what is it made from, and who actually made it?
To answer these questions, analysts dive deep into Marks & Spencer’s corporate disclosures and publicly available third-party sources. When measured against Good On You’s leading sustainability methodology, Marks & Spencer achieves an "It’s a Start" rating. This middling score acknowledges the steps the retailer has taken to mitigate some of its environmental and social footprints, while firmly noting that its efforts do not go far enough—particularly given the sheer scale of its mass production. Because this rating has remained steady across recent reviews, analysts conclude that the brand has either failed to take sufficiently effective action to close its sustainability gaps or has chosen not to disclose such improvements transparently.
Environmental Impact
When evaluating its environmental impact, Marks & Spencer once again secures an "It’s a Start" rating.
On the materials front, the brand utilizes a selection of lower-impact alternatives and maintains that it is on track to completely phase out virgin polyester in favor of recycled polyester in its clothing range by 2026. While substituting recycled materials is a step in the right direction, environmental advocates point out that polyester remains fundamentally fossil-fuel-derived. Every time synthetic garments are washed, they shed microplastics into water systems. Consequently, critics argue that Marks & Spencer should focus on reducing its overall reliance on polyester instead of merely swapping its origin, especially since it remains the brand’s second most-utilized material.
On a structural level, the company is actively working to curb greenhouse gas emissions across its manufacturing processes, backed by science-based targets designed to shrink the carbon footprint of both its direct operations and its complex supply chain.
Despite these initiatives, the dark side of mass production remains visible. Clothes carrying the M&S label have been identified on at least two separate occasions within textile waste dumps in the Global South. While the corporate entity explicitly states that it does not export excess clothing, the physical reality of thousands of discarded garments washing up in vulnerable international ecosystems points to a staggering volume of overproduction.
To its credit, the retailer has implemented various extended producer responsibility measures. These include clothing take-back schemes operated in partnership with charity Oxfam, an in-house repair service, and a notable one-year guarantee on all children’s apparel designed to encourage longer wear. Yet, analysts emphasize that producing consumer goods on such a massive scale is fundamentally incompatible with a truly sustainable business model.
This tension was amplified in 2026 when Marks & Spencer revamped its fashion business model to accelerate production cycles. Under a program titled "Love That Drop," the brand introduced monthly, trend-led capsule collections that push clothing from the initial design phase to store shelves in as little as two weeks. This strategy mimics the high-velocity, resource-intensive cycle pioneered by fast-fashion giants, encouraging continuous overconsumption and placing intense pressure on suppliers to produce more at a faster pace—a dynamic that historically harms factory workers.
Furthermore, Marks & Spencer’s catwalk debut at London Fashion Week in September 2026 underscored this pivot toward instantaneous consumption. By utilizing a "see now, buy now" format, the brand made runway collections available for purchase immediately after the show, bypassing the traditional six-month trade turnaround that has historically defined high-end fashion calendars.
Labour Rights
In the realm of labor rights, Marks & Spencer scores another middle-of-the-scale "It’s a Start" rating from analysts.
The brand demonstrates positive transparency in several key areas. More than half of its final production stage facilities are certified by the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) Best Practice Guidance, and the company publicly discloses its entire tier-one fashion supply chain in collaboration with the Open Supply Hub.
Additionally, Marks & Spencer operates targeted initiatives aimed at supporting vulnerable women and girls within its supply chain. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the retailer drew praise for establishing robust policies to protect factory workers from infection—a success the company largely attributed to its long-standing relationships with core suppliers, widely regarded as the gold standard for factory partnerships.
While these achievements are commendable for a traditional high street retailer and establish a constructive example for industry peers, a significant gap remains: the lack of verifiable evidence that workers throughout the entire supply chain are paid a living wage. The brand does not appear to have formally adopted a recognized living wage benchmark, missing a foundational requirement for genuine labor justice in the garment sector.
Animal Welfare
Animal welfare standards at Marks & Spencer also result in an "It’s a Start" designation.
The retailer maintains a formal animal welfare policy aligned with the Five Domains of Animal Welfare. It sources its wool exclusively from non-mulesed sheep and ensures that all leather is procured from finishing tanneries certified by the Leather Working Group (LWG). Looking forward, the brand has set a target to source all of its wool from "preferred" alternatives by 2030—including certifications like the Responsible Wool Standard, Responsible Mohair Standard, Responsible Alpaca Standard, and the Global Recycled Standard.
However, the brand’s product lines still heavily feature animal-derived materials such as leather, shearling, wool, down, and alpaca, all of which carry inherent risks of animal suffering and environmental degradation. Sustainability advocates argue that Marks & Spencer should accelerate its shift toward innovative, non-animal alternatives and leverage its immense purchasing power to fund the research and development of emerging, plastic-free fabric technologies.
Overall Rating: "It’s a Start"
Marks & Spencer has undoubtedly invested considerable effort into refining its operational practices over the years. Compared to many of its high street competitors, its public disclosures are remarkably robust: it maps its final-stage suppliers, incorporates high percentages of recycled polyester, and transparently tracks its progress against stated climate goals. These factors form the basis of its "It’s a Start" rating from analysts.
However, these positive strides are frequently undermined by strategic shifts toward accelerated fast-fashion business models, frequent collection drops, and an unwavering reliance on high-volume manufacturing.
To elevate its standing to "Good" or "Great," Marks & Spencer would need to curtail overall production volumes and move beyond the traditional take-make-waste paradigm that fuels global overconsumption and textile waste. It could also deepen its supply chain transparency by tracing raw material producers beyond tier-one factories. While the company is working to improve the sourcing standards of its animal products, significantly reducing its reliance on animal-derived fibers—especially popular seasonal staples like cashmere knitwear—would represent another vital step forward.
Above all, establishing a binding corporate commitment to ensure that every worker in its supply chain receives a living wage remains an urgent necessity. Given the sheer scale of the apparel it manufactures, a vast workforce depends on its production lines, and each individual deserves fair compensation that supports a comfortable life.
Alternatives to Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer commands a loyal following thanks to its diverse product range, offering accessible clothing for women, men, and children alongside homeware and beauty products at reasonable price points. For consumers seeking "Good" and "Great" alternatives that align more closely with ethical and sustainable values, several brands operate within similar categories.
Toad&Co is a US-based brand operating with a strong social and environmental ethos, offering versatile outdoor and casual wear for men and women primarily in sizes XS to 2XL.
Harvest & Mill focuses on organic basics that are grown, milled, and sewn exclusively in the United States, supporting domestic organic cotton farmers and regional sewing communities while championing undyed, unbleached fabrics to conserve water and energy.
Colorful Standard provides timeless, durable everyday essentials for men and women in sizes XS to 2XL, consciously rejecting seasonal micro-trends to combat the cycle of overconsumption.
Sheep Inc specializes in responsibly sourced merino wool knitwear, grounding its production philosophy in environmental harmony, carbon-negative practices, and rigorous animal welfare standards.
SeamsFriendly offers customizable clothing for women, men, and children across a wide spectrum of sizes and heights, producing garments on-demand to minimize deadstock inventory and waste.
Printfresh, founded by textile designer Amy Voloshin, creates a vibrant collection of sleepwear, apparel, and lifestyle goods crafted in inclusive sizes ranging from 2XS to 6XL.
Oobi delivers children’s apparel, swimwear, and lifestyle products using low-impact, non-toxic dyes, avoiding animal products, and utilizing sea freight to lower its carbon transport footprint.
Disruptor London offers PETA-approved vegan personal care products formulated around ingredient transparency, waterless formulas, and plastic-free packaging.
Feature image via Unsplash; all other images via brands mentioned. Good On You publishes comprehensive ratings evaluating the impact of fashion and beauty brands on people, the planet, and animals. Explore their directory to search thousands of alternative brands.
