If we want cotton in the next thirty years, we need to support small farmers and their communities. This is not the only reason, but the long-term vision driving the development of direct-to-grower programmes. Their ambition is to bridge the wide gap, a chasm really, between global brands and individual farms. The most disruptive projects believe it is time to create new market mechanisms. 

Where does my cotton come from? What is the definition of sustainable cotton? Behind these seemingly innocuous questions, there is a lot to unpack. There are many reasons that make tracing the natural fibre back to the specific farm that grew it near impossible.

One simple enough reason is that an estimated 100 million farmers cultivate cotton on our planet and 90% of these on plots measuring less than two hectares, as per “Global Market Report: Cotton” released in 2020 by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and State of Sustainability Initiatives (SSI), accessed on the World Bank’s website. The Sustainable Trade Initiative, an NGO known as the IDH, estimates that around 99% of the world’s cotton farmers are smallholders and they grow 75% of the 25 million tonnes produced annually. This means that the vast majority of those who grow cotton and work the fields live below the poverty line.

The role that small farms play in the denim and apparel industry remains pretty much off screen. Direct-to-grower programmes are helping lift the veil. Slowly. One farm, or group of farmers, at a time. Most of the projects extend beyond the narrow scope of cotton growing to support rural communities year-round. Australian brand Outland Denim and Swedish label Nudie Jeans have been working with Bossa Denim in Turkey since 2020 on an initiative called Sag Selim that is widely regarded as a model of excellence with regards to protecting vulnerable migrant workers.

Good seeds and good deeds

In Pakistan, denim mills Interloop, Soorty and Artistic Milliners have set up direct-to-farm systems to support smallholdings and the rural communities and workers, predominantly women, whose livelihoods depend on cotton.

Artistic Milliners runs two projects, the Milliner Cotton Initiative (MCI) for sustainable cotton in Rahim Yar Khan, in the south of the country, and Milliner Organic (MO) in Kohlu, Balochistan, with WWF Pakistan as the implementation partner for both. “Over the past ten years, we’ve experienced a shrinking cotton crop,” says Saqib Sohail, a senior manager for Artistic Milliners. This, he says, is due both to farmers switching to sugar cane, which is easier to grow, and to the deterioration of soil health which has impacted yields. Nearly 1,500 farmers are a part of MCI, a number that has increased threefold since it launched. In addition to assistance in increasing cotton yields and quality, MCI seeks to support the communities on a broader level. “We are helping farm workers, who are mostly women and migrant workers, develop alternative sources of livelihood,” says Mr Sohail, mentioning training in sewing and embroidery, helping set up micro plant nurseries, supplying honey harvesting kits or egg incubation boxes.

The mill’s second programme,  Milliners Organic (MO), which receives funding from brands  to support farmers in Balochistan who grow organic cotton. “Balochistan has a large land mass and a perfect climate for cotton. It is too remote for chemicals companies to be interested, so it was a perfect area to develop organic cotton, something of a blessing in disguise,” says Mr Sohail. “We supply the seeds, but also teach composting techniques, so farmers can make their own fertiliser, and we sponsor organic certification as well.” It is a costly endeavour, with a budget of $600,000 over four years, without counting seeds, which he says would add another $100,000. Danish fashion group Bestseller has invested in the project, and recently increased its contribution from 30% to 45%, he says. This secures 30% of the crop, or now 45%, for the retailer. Levi Strauss and H&M have since joined. “Some 1,600 farmers are now involved and we aim to have 2,000 next season, but this depends directly on brands’ commitment,” he says.

A matter of scale 

“It is somewhat ironic that everyone wants sustainable fibre, but no one wants to pay,” says Mr Sohail who insists that not 2,000 but 100,000 farmers are needed. “If we expand the project, we won’t need funding. We don’t want to have to rely on donors, we want farmers to be able to live from their harvests. That is the only truly sustainable model.”

Then, of course, the organic cotton fibre needs to be sold. The recent cases of organic certification fraud have impacted demand. “This is more about shaken confidence in the certification process than in the use of organic cotton itself,” points out Mobeen Chughtai, corporate communications and CSR senior manager for Soorty, which also runs an organic cotton farmer initiative in Balochistan. “It won’t last, but at this stage, where Pakistani organic cotton is just starting to take-off, it is proving to be an enormous hurdle.”

Nearly 1,400 farmers have joined Soorty’s Organic Cotton Initiative (SOCI) since the Pakistan-based mill launched the programme in 2021. “We’ve managed to incorporate quite a few best practices but most vitally, we’ve been able to reach one of our primary goals and assist the communities of Naal and improve livelihoods in the area,” Mr Chughtai tells Inside Denim. 

Supporting rural communities

The mill is particularly proud of its collaboration with DOCH, a collective of Balochi social entrepreneurs, to support and train 100 women in the region throughout the year. This covers not only the local Balochi art of embroidery, known as “doch”, but also financial literacy, and digital and social media marketing skills.

In Turkey, Sag Salim has been running since 2020 and has reached more than 6.5 million people in the cotton farming community, says James Bartle, founding CEO of Outland Denim. It cares for small farmers, but he says the point of the programme “isn’t to gatekeep impact to only Outland suppliers or products, but rather benefit a geographic area where cotton farming, whether it be organic or conventional, is a primary source of income for the community.” It is also open to any brand, retailer or mill that wants to contribute to the cause.

Sag Salim, which means “safe and sound”, specifically seeks to protect workers from exploitation, slavery and unsafe working conditions. As part of its mission to help them understand and defend their rights, it has set up communications channels in languages spoken by the migrant community. “We believe these topics are resonating with the community as engagement has risen by over 100% since last year,” he says.

These programmes vary in size but do tend to extend beyond the farm itself to assist the workers who are the most vulnerable in the global supply chain. The services they provide highlight some of the shortcomings of standards and certifications. As respected as it is, GOTS does not cover working conditions on farms, but starts at the factories. It is a sign that organic certification alone is not enough, says Niccy Kol, Raddis System brand catalyst. “It is just a box ticked, there is no real engagement.” 

New business models

Raddis System is creating a different, and fairer, business model that connects global brands and retailers with actual farmers in India. Raddis, which stands for Radically Disruptive is an innovative model conceived by Grameena Vikas Kendram Society for Rural Development (GVK Society). The Indo-Dutch hybrid organisation promotes market-driven regenerative value chains and supports 18,000 smallholders and their communities in southeast India. Among these, 2,500 farmers grow organic and regenerative cotton as part of Raddis Cotton. The traditional buyer-seller model is upended in that brands do not just buy a certain amount of cotton but pay rather an ‘acre contribution’ calculated on the number of acres that will be needed to grow the cotton.The acre fee is central to the disruptive system, it is also considered a donation to the NGO and is often tax deductible. It provides the funds that allows GVK Society to purchase and distribute non-GMO seeds, not only cotton but other symbiotic and food crops (legumes, marigold, pulses, castor, neem, beans, okra), train farmers and provide year-round guidance and support for the farmer families and rural communities. “We do the work,brands provide the financing, you could say,” says Ms Kol. Brands that have embraced this concept include Hugo Boss, Umber & Ochre, Bedstraw & Madder, Papillon Bleu and Lässig.

“The tribal farmers we are supporting live below the poverty line, they grow a single cotton crop a year, and have no access to irrigation,” says Sanne van den Dungen, supply chain manager. “Shifting to regenerative agriculture is an incredible amount of work.” In the conventional process, she says, the farmers are the ones that take on all the risks.

They do not know at what price they will be able to sell their goods, they usually receive payment six or nine months after sowing, and they also have families to care for. This, she says, is why the entire system needs to be disrupted.

These farmers are also helping save our planet, points out Ms Kol. “They are rebuilding healthy ecosystems, and we are measuring the impacts.” A brand joining the Raddis System can not only have a real impact on farmers’ lives, but may also be able to claim carbon eco-credits in the near future.. “This is not offsetting but true insetting. And it is a responsibility every brand should take,” she adds.

Sourcery is another organisation seeking to transform cotton trading by shifting from a push-based system, where farmers grow goods and then sell them, to a pull-based one, where a brand asks a farmer to grow cotton for them, as Crispin Argento, founder, tells Inside Denim. “Our membership-based framework is based on true engagement, true trust, true impact, shared financial risks and shared rewards.” This, he says, can lead to transparent, fair and efficient trade, whereas “twenty years of sustainability strategies has gotten us nowhere.” The organisation has decided to focus on cotton as a starting point but also plans to cover other textile fibres such as wool and viscose.

The three-year-old organisation, founded by the former director of the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA), is looking to set up a direct-to-grower “sourcing club” business model in which members pay a fee to be a part of the programme. The organisation is working closely with major brands, including Ralph Lauren, Etam and Boll and Branch,   as well as mills, though none are, as yet, official members under Sourcery’s new membership model.

The farmers are mostly located in India, but not only, says Mr Crispin. The disruptive nature of Sourcery’s concept is, he intimates, why it is not open to much transparency. These reservations aside, what really counts, he says, is that the system be profit-based. “My experience at OCA taught me that philanthropy doesn’t work on a large scale. The market pays the rent, not goodwill.” 

A Western vision?

We must recognise that we have a very Western business vision of direct-to-farm systems, points out Anne Oudard, the author, with Ani Wells, of an ongoing series of reports looking into #WhoMadeMyCotton. “It can work well for farmers who are considered or operate as businesses. Though partnering with a network of smallholder farmers requires more work and investment, the social and environmental benefits could be so much greater,” she says. She supports the mills setting up these programmes, but would also like to see more engagement from brands. “A single major brand could change the entire game,” she says.

The move to build closer connections with cotton growers has a long way to go if it is to make an impact on a large scale. It requires investment from both sides, brand and farm. Small and tribal farmers have good reason to be hesitant to join these programmes, points out Sanne van den Dungen, at Raddis. “It is their livelihood, and when they began planting cotton 20 years ago, they were made big promises by seed and pesticide promoters. None of which came through. They are, mostly, less well-off today.”

These new projects, and the innovative business models that are in development, are looking to build a bridge between two very different worlds. When a brand or a retailer wants to know where the cotton it uses comes from, it seeks to clear away some of the opacity in its sourcing and guarantee the ethical and certified provenance of a raw material. Fear of being held accountable for its supply chain may not be absent from its thinking. In both cases it is a form of insurance. The hope is that these direct-to-farm programmes also ensure a better life for small farmers and rural communities.

Some 1,400 farmers have joined Soorty’s Organic Cotton Initiative (SOCI) since the Pakistan-based mill launched the programme in 2021. 
Photo: Soorty

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