Denim mill formalises ties to organic cotton platform
Pakistan-based denim mill Soorty has built on its recent involvement with multi-stakeholder organisation the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) by formally becoming a contributor.
OCA is a global platform committed to bringing integrity and supply security to organic cotton, and to measuring its social and environmental impact. Its contributors provide support and investment to help drive farmer-centric programmes that aim to improve the livelihoods of organic cotton farmers and farmers that are transitioning to organic agriculture.
Fashion brand Esprit and home textiles developer Insignian Home became OCA contributors around the same time. Soorty has said it wants to go beyond cultivating organic cotton. It has set up the Soorty Organic Cotton Initiative (SOCI) as one of the first private-sector projects that aims to facilitate a shift to “a more ecologically and socially responsible cotton agronomy”.
This initiative will work over the next four years with almost 1,000 farmers from the area around Naal in Balochistan to help them transition to organic methods of producing cotton, improving lives and livelihoods.
