Products and Materials

Around 40% of all the materials used by Barbour are cotton.



Barbour strictly prohibits any type of forced or child labour in our supply chain and all suppliers must adhere to out Supply Code of Conduct. All suppliers of cotton must therefore be able to prove the origin and provide traceability of cotton materials in ​Barbour products.

We recognise the below as Preferred Material options for cotton:

• Recycled (Global Recycled Standard (GRS) or Recycled Content Standard (RCS) certified)
• Organic (Organic Content Standard (OCS) certified)
• Better Cotton

Barbour is a proud member of Better Cotton. This is the largest cotton sustainability programme in the world and its mission is to help cotton communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. It is sourced via a chain of custody model called “mass balance”. ​ This means that Better Cotton is not physically traceable to end products, however, Better Cotton Farmers benefit from the demand for Better Cotton in equivalent volumes to those we ‘source’. 

In FY2023, 65% of our cotton was sourced as Better Cotton. By 2032, at least 95% of all our cotton will be sourced as Better Cotton, organic or recycled.

All animal-derived materials used in Barbour products must be sourced in full accordance with our Animal Welfare Policy. This sets out a wide range of requirements, including sourcing in accordance with the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare:

• Freedom from hunger and thirst ​
• Freedom from discomfort ​
• Freedom from pain, injury, and disease ​
• Freedom to express (most) normal behaviour ​
• Freedom from fear and distress​

We do not use fur, angora, mohair, shell, horn and exotic skins.​

Currently, around 5% of the materials used by Barbour are wool. We recognise the below as Preferred Material options for wool:

• Recycled (Global Recycled Standard (GRS) or Recycled Content Standard (RCS) certified)
• Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) certified wool
• Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) certified alpaca fibre

3% of the materials used by Barbour are leather. We recognise the below as Preferred Material options for leather:

• Recycled (Global Recycled Standard (GRS) or Recycled Content Standard (RCS) 
• Sourced from Leather Working Group tanneries

Barbour is a proud member of the Leather Working Group. 



This is a group of brands, retailers, product manufacturers, leather manufacturers, chemical suppliers and technical experts that have worked together to develop an environmental stewardship protocol specifically for the leather manufacturing industry. ​

​The group sets out environmental priorities for leather manufacturers and provides guidelines for continual improvement. 

By 2032, 95% of our leather will be sourced from Gold or Silver Leather Working Group tanneries. 

Synthetic materials such as polyester and polyamide, offer a specific functionality that is well suited to certain products, such as our quilted jackets. Polyester and polyamide account for 25% of the materials we use. We have committed to increasing the proportion of synthetic materials that are from recycled sources year on year and will review performance annually.

Our new Quilt for Life scheme also supports the longevity of our quilted jackets providing a means for customers to have their trusty quilted jacket cleaned or repaired to keep it in use for longer.