Hot commodity
Cotton won’t lose its crown anytime soon – particularly when it comes to denim manufacturing. As Inside Denim finds out, opportunities abound for getting things right in Africa.
Africa is home to 54 countries, including 48 on the mainland and six island nations. When several of the world’s top denim-producing countries (think Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam) also happen to be some of the most significant consumers of African cotton fibre – according to Paige Earlam, head of group marketing at Liverpool-headquartered trader and producer Plexus Cotton, that is – it perhaps becomes even more necessary to cultivate a deeper appreciation for the continent’s current role in the global cotton trade.
Marco Bänninger, head trader for hand-picked cotton at Swiss trader Reinhart and a member of the Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) advisory board, was kind enough to break down the differences between African cotton for Inside Denim. “There are indeed larger and smaller differences in quality among the various producing origins within Africa,” he says. Highlighting the role of individual spinning mills’ preferences in the selection process, Mr Bänninger for the most part attributes any major variations to the ginning processes in different regions. In West Africa, he says, cotton is almost exclusively ginned by saw ginning, whereas roller ginning is more common in East Africa.
While acknowledging the inherent difficulties with making any manner of generalisation (“quite different qualities are produced even within one country,” he states), Mr Bänninger says that, on the whole, West Africa tends to produce better (ie, longer) staple lengths than its eastern counterpart, which he puts down to these geographical variations in cotton ginning. On price, he points to the quality advantages of the cotton produced in Cameroon, for example, in addition to certain grades from Burkina Faso, as a key reason behind different (largely western) African countries’ higher price points for their fibre. These so-described quality advantages are mainly due to the better grading and longer staple lengths of the cotton produced in parts of West Africa, he says.
Mrs Earlam emphasises that each African country has its own unique selling point. “You must appreciate that soil, weather patterns and how groups of farmers are set up – plus government guidelines and priorities – are different in each country,” she notes, adding how Plexus works with farmers and governments to find “the best way forward” for each of them, on a case by case basis. Opportunities do exist for doing things differently, she elaborates. Herself a founding member of the Fashion Council Uganda, established in 2019, Mrs Earlam is particularly well-versed in this.
Navigating (and nurturing) regeneration
Now headed up by a board of directors with designer Bobby Kolade (born in Sudan to German-Nigerian parents, but raised in Uganda prior to periods of work in Berlin and Paris) at the helm, Mrs Earlam says it was always her intention to leave the nascent fashion council once it was up and running (she left in September 2020). The original idea was to use Plexus’ and her own connections to bring a Ugandan fashion council to life, through forging new and expanding existing professional networks to help local designers at the beginning of their careers. She especially lists the involvement of the London-based Commonwealth Fashion Council, Mr Kolade and other designers including Gloria Wavamunno – the English-born, London- and Kampala-raised founder of Kampala fashion week – as key sources of support in helping this vision become a reality.
This focus on fruitful, in-country partnerships meshes well with Plexus’ commitment to regenerative agriculture as a company. “We are very much about using various systems to look after the soil,” she reveals, also emphasising that, to date, the group grows its cotton in nations which do not permit the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and encourages the use of rainwater for growing crops. Plexus is also currently in the process of expanding its organic production. Aiming to progress further down this route through farmer education, she details several on-the-ground Plexus initiatives designed to show local farmers how to adopt natural remedies for pest control, as well as train those newer to the profession in organic production.
This includes setting up chilli production sites (the resulting peri-peri sauce can be used as a natural insecticide) and the introduction of Plexus’ Planter concept, which enables smallholders to leave their mulch and plant new seeds with minimal disruption to the soil at the appropriate depth, meaning end-of-season crops are less likely to be burned. The company works with the Netherlands’ SNV development organisation, among other enterprises, to train young people in farming practices (SNV’s goal is to upskill 2,000 young farmers) and help them to develop life skills, generally. “All our partners are committed to education,” she underlines. “The development and changes we wish to bring in all take time and investment, so it is an evolving process.”
Denim for Africa, by Africa
Whereas most African denim-making takes place in Kenya, Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco and South Africa, these export-focused articles are very much geared towards the climates of the Northern Hemisphere, Mrs Earlam explains. In Uganda, for instance, some designers do upcycle second-hand denim with prints and embroidery, but these ‘pre-loved’ garments were originally intended for the cooler temperatures found in the global north, so are somewhat lacking in terms of providing a ‘perfect fit’ for locals. Perhaps because of this, the country has yet to witness the wearing or production of denim on a mass scale, she says. Citing Bobby Kolade’s past work as an example, she suggests that lighter denim in brighter colours would better suit the regional market.
Plexus does not envision setting up its own denim production anywhere in Africa at present. Mrs Earlam, however, does see potential in the idea that the company could become involved in supplying its cotton for local denim production, whether that be CmiA, Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) or Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)-certified fibre. (Incidentally, when Inside Denim asked, CmiA revealed that it is not currently working with any denim brands or designers.) Africa traditionally exports more than 85% of its lint cotton in raw form, possessing “very little” industrial textile capacity of its own, she tells us, with a significant proportion of this being lost as a direct result of the disbandment of the global Multi Fibre Agreement in 1994 (the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing which followed expired in 2005).
Elaborating on this, she says: “The textile industry is the industry that has created the most employment over centuries. I would love to see this happen in Africa, where the raw fibre is locally processed all the way through to finished goods and cooperatives allow for the diversification of crops, so more people have greater opportunities.” With the continent’s total population set to swell to almost 2.5 billion by 2050 (representing a doubling of current numbers, according to the UN), the desire to help create skilled and suitably well-paid jobs with strong development opportunities for local young people can only be considered a worthy ambition.
Mrs Earlam is decidedly upbeat about the opportunities ahead for Ugandan fashion, in particular. Discussing one of her favourite experiences in recent years, attending Kampala fashion week, she says that the excitement she felt as a result of the experience left her practically “buzzing” for weeks (particularly as a former art educator). “All the talent and creativity, vibrant colours and local charm – it will stay with me forever.”
Plexus has regularly collaborated with fashion design students from Liverpool John Moores University over the years, acting as both a catalyst and a competition sponsor for the making of garments inspired by its traceable cotton initiatives in Africa.
Credit photo: Plexus Cotton
