Cotton
About 80% of all cotton is produced by small-scale farmers. Some 30 to 50 million farming families in developing countries depend on cotton, but the high cost of seeds and inputs traps them in a vicious cycle of debt. Working conditions are often challenging. Moreover, heavy use of water, pesticides and fertilizers, sometimes in monocultures, has caused widespread ecological degradation. Cotton markets are non-transparent and although prices are rising they fluctuate wildly, making investment in cotton production a risky business.
Production of sustainable cotton provides an answer to these challenges: organic production minimizes the harmful effects of cotton farming on the environment, while fair trade allows farmers to earn a stable income. Solidaridad also works with the Better Cotton Initiative to help farmers improve environmental and social conditions and financial profitability.
Cotton programme: pioneering clean and fair cotton
Solidaridad works to improve farmers’ livelihoods by promoting the production and marketing of sustainable cotton. We embrace different routes to sustainability and are pioneers in organic and fair-trade cotton. Solidaridad is a member of the Council of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) to improve environmental and social conditions in the cotton sector, and is one of the first implementing partners to support farmers in cultivating Better Cotton. Solidaridad cooperates with brands like Levi Strauss & Co, H&M and Adidas to include Better Cotton in their supply chains. Solidaridad also works with the Rabobank Foundation in the ProCotton programme to improve the incomes of small cotton producers in developing countries.
At the other end of the chain, Solidaridad teams up with leading brands and retailers to promote clothing made from sustainable cotton and meet the growing demand from concerned consumers. The global market for sustainable cotton is doubling each year, a clear sign that the time is ripe to expand the production and processing of organic, fairtrade and Better Cotton.
Impact: improved livelihoods for almost 75,000 farmers
Several innovative initiatives by Solidaridad have developed into successful sustainability labels. In 2001 we founded Kuyichi, the first fair-trade fashion brand, putting sustainable fashion and organic cotton on the agenda. Solidaridad was also the first organization to support farmers in organic and fair-trade cotton production by setting up the high profile farmers’ organizations Oro Blanco (organic, Peru, 2000) and Chetna Organic (organic and fair trade, India 2004). More recently, Solidaridad initiated the first Better Cotton Initiative projects in India and Mali (2010) and started demonstration projects in China (2011). In the period 2004-2009 the Solidaridad cotton programme reached over 39,000 farmers. Impact studies show a substantial improvement in the livelihoods of the farming families. The cotton programme now (2012) reaches almost 75,000 farmers.
History and prospect of the cotton programme
| Start of the cotton programme | 2000 |
| Main issues |
sustainable production, reducing the use of fertilizers, pesticides and water, improving social conditions, creating a mainstream sustainable cotton market, improving farmers’ incomes and setting up producer organizations
|
| Countries |
Peru, Mali, Benin, Senegal, Zambia, Tanzania, India, China, Brazil
|
| Partners (farmer projects) |
Chetna Organic (COFA/FFID), Oro Blanco, ENDA Pronat, CMDT/APROCA, BioSustain, Super Spinning Mills, Myrada and many more.
|
| Partners / programmes | BCI, BC FTP, ProCotton |
| Donors |
RaboBank Foundation, GSRD Foundation, Consense Foundation, Jackpot, Ford Foundation and others
|
Outlook
In the next five years the cotton programme will focus on:
- increasing the supply of sustainable cotton;
- accelerating the market transition to sustainable cotton;
-
upscaling and supporting brands and retailers in making the shift to sustainability.
New partnerships
Solidaridad was actively involved in setting up the ProCotton programme and the Better Cotton Fast Track Programme. For the latter, Solidaridad is an implementing partner in a public-private partnership to increase the availability of Better Cotton. These complementary vehicles have great potential to drive the desired upscaling of activities, but to achieve our goal of making sustainable cotton a mainstream commodity we must broaden our partnerships. We therefore seek new partners to provide knowledge, expertise, donations, investments, loans and exposure for frontrunner initiatives.
Cases
We offer
Solidaridad aims at a sustainable and fair cotton chain, from farmer to consumer. The organization consists of a worldwide network of regional expertise centres and cooperates with local partners. Together we deliver the following services:
Our services in the Cotton programme
- Training farmers in farming techniques that have less negative impact on people and the environment and lead to better quality and higher yields.
- Supporting producer organizations through capacity building and organizational strengthening.
- Assisting producer organizations to get access to means of production, finance and markets.
- Supporting agricultural producer organizations and industrial producer companies to qualify for social and environmental standards.
Results
Some of the key results in Solidaridad's Cotton programme:
- Solidaridad is a council member of the Better Cotton Initiative, that works towards a more sustainable cotton chain and cotton production.
- Spring 2010, 9 Better Cotton projects were initiated; 8 in India and 1 in Mali. Scoping activities in China were taken up as well.
- In collaboration with Rabo Foundation, Solidaridad set up the the ProCotton programme. Through farmer support activities, market linkage and access to finance, sustainable livelihoods and economical benefits are achieved for farmer communities in Mali, Senegal, Zambia, India and China.
- Solidaridad supported and supports projects and producer organizations in Peru, Benin, Senegal, Zambia, China and India to produce sustainable (organic, fairtrade and better) cotton.
- Solidaridad initiated MADE-BY, a network of companies, producers and civil society organizations for socially responsible clothing production.
- Solidaridad set up the fashion brands Kuyichi and the company Fair&Co (100% Organic Cotton, M’Braze and private label) in order to expand the sales of people- and environment friendly cotton fashion in the Netherlands.
- Solidaridad raises awareness about clean and fair cotton amongst fashion labels and consumers.