Regenerative cotton - A supply chain revolution in the making?

Summary

The script explores the journey of ethical and sustainable cotton production through the Cotton Connect program in India. It delves into regenerative agriculture practices, aiming to reduce pesticide use and adapt to climate change, benefiting smallholder farmers. The program educates farmers on better techniques, resulting in increased profits and yield. The traceability of cotton from farm to garment is ensured through technology like DNA markers, with a vision to scale these practices across the industry.

Takeaways

• 👚 Ethical and sustainable clothing labels promise a more responsible production process, but trust in these claims can be challenging to establish.
• 🌱 Regenerative agriculture is an alternative to conventional farming practices, focusing on reducing pesticide and fertilizer use and promoting sustainable methods.
• 👩‍🌾 Cotton Connect, led by CEO Allison Ward, aims to educate smallholder farmers in regenerative agricultural practices to improve their farming techniques and profits.
• 🌍 The impact of climate change is a significant challenge for farmers, and regenerative agriculture is presented as a solution to help them cope with unpredictable weather conditions.
• 📈 Participating in the Cotton Connect program has led to an average increase in farm profits by up to 47%, due to reduced inputs and increased yield.
• 🌟 Women are empowered as 'climate change ambassadors', playing a pivotal role in educating others in their community about sustainable practices.
• 🔍 The traceability of cotton from farm to garment is crucial for ensuring the ethical claims made by clothing brands are accurate.
• 📊 The Trace Register (TR) system and physical DNA markers are used to track cotton through the supply chain, ensuring transparency and trust.
• 🏭 The carbon footprint of gins and spinners is a focus, with efforts to use renewable energy sources like solar and windmill to reduce environmental impact.
• 🌿 The government is drafting policies to support sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices, indicating a broader shift towards regenerative agriculture.
• 🌟 The potential for scaling up regenerative agriculture is significant, with Cotton Connect already covering 5% of cotton production in Gujarat, demonstrating the possibility for broader industry change.

Q & A

What is the main concern of customers when they see labels claiming ethical or sustainable garments?

Customers are concerned about whether these claims are trustworthy and what real impact they have on the environment and ethical practices within the industry.

What is the role of Cotton Connect in the context of the village of Catco in India?

Cotton Connect aims to understand and implement regenerative agricultural practices among small holder farmers, which can be more sustainable and ethical.

What does regenerative agriculture mean in the context of the script?

Regenerative agriculture refers to a shift from conventional practices that involve excessive use of pesticides, fertilizers, and water, to more sustainable methods that can restore and maintain soil health and biodiversity.

How does Cotton Connect help farmers improve their agricultural techniques?

Cotton Connect educates farmers on better agricultural practices, such as using the right pesticides, biopesticides, and pheromone traps to reduce pests, which can lead to more sustainable farming.

What is the impact of climate change on cotton farming as mentioned in the script?

Climate change has led to unpredictable conditions causing widespread destruction of crops, properties, and affecting animals. It is becoming a significant challenge for farmers.

How does regenerative agriculture help farmers cope with climate change according to the script?

Regenerative agriculture educates farmers about climate change impacts and provides solutions like better composting to retain moisture during heat, and strategies for replanting after floods.

What benefits have farmers seen from participating in Cotton Connect's program?

Farmers have seen an increase in profits by up to 47% on average due to a reduction in inputs by 15% and an increase in yield by around 18%.

How does the script describe the role of women in the climate change initiative?

Women are trained as climate change ambassadors, who are then responsible for educating other women in their communities about sustainable practices.

What is the significance of the traceability platform TR bail in the supply chain?

TR bail is a traceability platform that helps track the cotton from the farm to the final product, ensuring that the cotton used in garments can be verified as coming from the farmers participating in the program.

How does the use of physical DNA markers in the cotton supply chain ensure trust in the product's origin?

DNA markers are sprayed onto the cotton during processing, and these can be detected in the final garment, providing a means to verify the cotton's origin and ensuring the claims of ethical and sustainable practices.

What are the environmental and social considerations for gins and spinners mentioned in the script?

The script mentions reducing the carbon footprint of gins, ensuring respect for human rights among seasonal labor forces, and generating power through renewable sources like solar and windmill.

What is the potential for scaling the regenerative agriculture practices as discussed in the script?

Cotton Connect has already worked with a significant number of farmers, and the government is showing interest in drafting policies for sustainable agricultural practices, indicating potential for scaling these methods.

What challenges remain for Cotton Connect in proving the scalability of regenerative approaches?

The remaining challenge is to demonstrate that the regenerative approaches can be scaled effectively across the industry, which is a work in progress and requires continuous effort and validation.

Outlines

00:00

🌿 Sustainable Cotton Farming with Regenerative Practices

The first paragraph introduces the concept of ethical and sustainable clothing labels and questions their trustworthiness. It then shifts to Catco village in India, where Allison Ward, CEO of Cotton Connect, explains the organization's mission to apply regenerative agricultural practices to smallholder farmers. These practices include reducing the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers, teaching farmers to make their own biopesticides, and using pheromone traps to combat pests. The paragraph also addresses the challenges posed by climate change and how regenerative agriculture can help farmers adapt to unpredictable weather conditions. The benefits for farmers are highlighted, with an average increase in profits of up to 47% due to reduced inputs and increased yields. Additionally, the creation of 'climate change ambassadors' among women in the village is mentioned as a way to spread knowledge and best practices.

05:01

📏 Traceability and Trust in the Cotton Supply Chain

The second paragraph delves into the post-farm life of the cotton and the processes involved in ensuring its traceability and trustworthiness. Nanan Patel, Managing Director of Viba Lakmi, explains the steps taken at the gin and spinning stages to maintain the integrity of the cotton from the farm to the final product. The use of a traceability platform called TR bail, which captures data at various stages of the supply chain, is discussed. The paragraph also touches on the use of physical DNA markers to trace the cotton, ensuring that garments can be verified as being made from the specified cotton. The environmental impact and human rights considerations at the gin level are also addressed, with a focus on reducing the carbon footprint and using renewable energy sources. The paragraph concludes with a discussion on the continuous journey towards improvement and the potential for scaling up these practices.

10:01

🌱 The Future of Regenerative Agriculture in Cotton Production

The third paragraph focuses on the future of regenerative agriculture in the cotton industry. It discusses the challenges of scaling up these practices and the importance of proving their effectiveness on a larger scale. The paragraph mentions the government's role in drafting policies to support sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices. The potential impact of regenerative agriculture on a global scale is highlighted, with the example of Cotton Connect's work reaching a significant portion of the cotton production in Gujarat. The paragraph concludes with a call for brands, customers, and producers to consider the journey towards regenerative agriculture and the necessity of having a plan for sustainable practices.

Keywords

💡Ethical Clothing

Ethical clothing refers to garments produced in a way that respects workers' rights, ensures fair wages, and minimizes harm to the environment. In the video, the concept is explored through the examination of labels on clothing that promise ethical and sustainable practices, questioning the trustworthiness of these claims and their impact on consumers.

💡Sustainable Practices

Sustainable practices in the context of the video involve agricultural methods that maintain ecological balance, reduce resource depletion, and promote long-term environmental health. The video discusses how these practices are being applied to cotton farming, aiming to reduce the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers, and adapt to climate change.

💡Regenerative Agriculture

Regenerative agriculture is an approach to farming that not only sustains but enhances soil health, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. The video explains that this involves moving away from conventional practices like excessive pesticide use and embracing techniques that can improve soil fertility and water retention, which are crucial for coping with climate change.

💡Cotton Connect

Cotton Connect is an organization mentioned in the video that works with smallholder farmers to implement regenerative agricultural practices. They aim to improve the livelihoods of farmers and ensure the traceability and sustainability of the cotton supply chain, which is a key aspect of the video's exploration of ethical and sustainable clothing.

💡Climate Change Ambassadors

The term 'Climate Change Ambassadors' refers to a group of women in the video who are educated about the impacts of climate change and regenerative agriculture. Their role is to disseminate this knowledge within their communities, acting as pioneers in promoting sustainable practices, which is a significant part of the video's narrative on community empowerment.

💡Traceability

Traceability in the video is about the ability to track the origin and history of products, specifically cotton, through each stage of the supply chain. It is crucial for ensuring that the cotton used in garments is indeed from ethical and sustainable sources, as claimed by the labels, and is a key component in building consumer trust.

💡Ginning

Ginning is the process of removing the seeds from the cotton fibers, which is a critical step in the cotton production process. The video discusses how ginning facilities are involved in the traceability process, ensuring that the cotton from the farmers participating in the program is kept separate and properly identified.

💡Composting

Composting is the process of decomposing organic matter to create a rich soil amendment. In the video, it is presented as a solution to help farmers retain moisture in their soil during hot weather, which is an adaptation strategy to cope with the unpredictable climate conditions that affect cotton production.

💡DNA Markers

DNA markers are substances that can be used to identify and track the genetic material in a sample. In the context of the video, physical DNA markers are used to tag cotton during processing, allowing for the verification of the cotton's origin in the final garment, thus ensuring the integrity of the traceability system.

💡Carbon Footprint

The carbon footprint refers to the total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly or indirectly by an organization, event, product, or person. The video discusses the efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of ginning facilities, such as by using renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, which aligns with the broader theme of sustainability.

💡Regenerative Cotton

Regenerative cotton is cotton that is produced using regenerative agriculture practices, which aim to improve soil health, reduce chemical inputs, and enhance biodiversity. The video suggests that such practices can have a positive impact at scale across the cotton industry, which is a central message in the discussion about the future of sustainable farming.

Highlights

The promise of ethical and sustainable garments can be verified through labels that ensure transparency in the supply chain.

Cotton Connect, led by CEO Allison Ward, aims to apply regenerative agricultural practices to smallholder farmers.

Regenerative agriculture involves reducing the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and water, and teaching farmers better agricultural techniques.

Cotton Connect educates farmers on creating their own biopesticides and using pheromone traps to reduce pests.

Climate change poses significant challenges to farming, and regenerative agriculture is seen as a way to help farmers adapt.

Farmers participating in the Cotton Connect program have seen an average profit increase of up to 47%.

The program has also established 'climate change ambassadors', women who educate others in their community about sustainable practices.

Cotton is weighed and recorded upon entering the ginning facility, ensuring traceability from farm to final product.

Vibala Lakmi, a third-generation cotton company, uses a mechanized process to separate cotton from seeds, maintaining quality and traceability.

Cotton Connect's traceability platform, TR, captures data from farm to garment, ensuring the cotton's journey is transparent.

Helixa's physical DNA markers are used to trace cotton, allowing for verification of the cotton's origin in the final garment.

Gins and Spinners are also considered in the sustainability journey, with a focus on reducing carbon footprint and respecting human rights.

The government is drafting policies to support sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices.

Cotton Connect has worked with 770,000 farmers, impacting nearly 4 million people, showcasing the potential for scaling up.

The challenge is to prove that regenerative approaches can scale effectively across the cotton industry.

Brands, customers, and producers are encouraged to consider regenerative agriculture as a necessary step towards sustainability.

Transcripts

you're walking the streets of a big city

going to clothes stores and trying on

garments and they have a label promising

that they're more ethical or

sustainable how do you know that's a

promise you can

trust I want to know exactly what impact

they really make can customers trust the

promise of these labels and if so can

this approach scale to change the whole

cotton

industry this is the village of catco in

the state of garat in

India and this is Allison Ward the CEO

of cotton connect what we want to do is

understand how we can take regenerative

agricultural practices and apply it to

small holder Farmers what does

regenerative agriculture mean the

starting point is to understand what it

is the alternative to Conventional

practices normally mean excessive use of

pesticide excessive use of fertilizer

and probably excessive use of water we

help farmers learn really good

agricultural techniques so that might be

using the right pesticides it's also

about using biop pesticides so making

their own pesticides on the

farm

spech

fore

for speech

we also teach them about using pheromone

trap it's a trap that attracts the male

moth and that actually reduces things

like pink ball worm which is one of the

big pests in Cotton Allison went on to

tell me how 10 years ago the issues were

about pesticide and fertilizer use but

increasingly now one of the big problems

is simply the impact of climate

change

for spech

forch

for spech

unprecedented drains widespread

destruction was Unleashed on crops

properties and animals as well

so I asked Alison how regenerative

agriculture would help these Farmers

cope with unpredictable climate

conditions there's no magic wand but we

can talk to Farmers and educate them

first about the impact of climate change

and also

Solutions understanding how to use

composting better to retain moisture if

it gets really hot if there is excessive

flooding how to to replant the cotton if

if that's appropriate which brings us to

the key question what's the overall

impact for farmers in taking part in

this program we see an amazing benefits

to Farmers and we see the farm profits

overall increased by up to 47% on

average and that's because there's a

reduction in inputs by 15% and then also

yield is increasing by around 18% so

combined we're really seeing the farm

being much much more

profitable we've also created a group of

women called the climate change

ambassadors I know you said You' were

grateful to us but the Gratitude is to

you they are really the Pioneers in

their Village and the goal is that we

educate them and they then educate other

women

spe so from here the costume gets bagged

up and it goes into jinning and the

farmer may sell directly to the gin or

the agent may come and buy from from the

village itself we teach Farmers on the

quality of their cotton so the longer

the length of the cotton thread the more

money they'll get there's no doubt that

the farers I spoke to had seen real

benefit from being part of this program

but what happens to their cotton after

this

point how do we know you can trust that

your garment is made from this cotton

rather than someone else's my name is

nanan Patel I am the managing director

of Viba lakmi Viba lakmi was started uh

in

1970s and I am the third generation in

Cotton this is a unit which is both a

jinner and a spinner I was curious to

know about the process here and

particularly what makes it trustworthy

when it comes to being able to trace the

cotton from farmer to garment the Lori

is weighed in before it enters the

facility and the details are recorded of

the weight Etc in the designated area

the Lori offloads the seed cotton which

is the raw

cotton it is kept in a designated area

for our

program so at the gym it's a very simple

mechanized process that separates on one

side this fluffy cotton wall and on the

other side you get

seed the bail we typically in India is

in the about range of about 165 kgs the

Bales are then stored in a designated

area again for our program there the

unique bail IDs and stickers are printed

from our platform software and then

those are pasted onto the individual

bails TR bail is cotton connect

traceability platform which helps supply

chain to track the difficult to track

last male Supply chains it it captures

the requirement at the farm level the

jinner the spinner the Knitter the

beaver and the Garment manufacturer we

collaborated recently with helixa

physical DNA markers are sprayed at the

gene conveyor belts where this DNA gets

added to the the raw material or the

lint if you test the Garment you can see

traces of the DNA in that so we'd heard

about the impact of the Farmers what

about the Gins and Spinners in the Gins

we are really looking at the carbon

footprint of the Gins it tends to be a

labor force that's seasonal so we want

to ensure that human rights are

respected within the Gin almost 77% of

the power is being generated by our own

solar and windmill the Bales then based

on the orders move to the next processor

The Spinners

[Applause]

what I'd seen throughout was the lengths

gone to keep the coton separate and to

run the process well I asked dawa is

this as good as it gets or is there

further to

go they definitely have met the expected

standard of the

facility but those are the Norms as of

today this year that we are in these

Norms are changing evolving so that is

why it makes it a journey I thought I'd

had pretty good answers to my first two

questions but I still want to know about

scale and the future I asked the cotton

connect team if we could come together

for one last discussion specifically so

I could ask what's next what what can

you do with this cuz the risk for con

collect as I see it is that fantastic

islands of Excellence yeah and all

around you it's not quite so good the

government is in the process of drafting

a blueprint uh for new policies around

sustainable and environmental friendly

Green agricultural practices that

clearly goes to show uh the the the

level of interest and the seriousness

the government also holds I would

definitely like to tap and build onto

that one when I saw this journey 10

years ago everyone said it was too

difficult to have a traceable cotton

Supply since cotton connect started

we've worked with 770,000 farmers and if

you look at that in terms of a farming

family that reaches almost 4 million

people and that allows Brands and

retailers to understand their program

but also make a claim against

it so in the course of one week in

India I'd seen the difference cotton

connect program has made on the ground

with small hold of

farmers and I've seen how this plays out

through the jinning and spinning

stages and I've been convinced that this

can

scale cotton connector already covers

five % of cotton production in goodat

alone which shows the potential the

challenge remaining is the part I find

most compelling can they prove that

those regenerative approaches can scale

as well inevitably it's a work in

progress but Brands customers and

producers alike need to ask if we're not

on this journey towards regenerative

then what is the plan and regenerative

agriculture and cotton really looks like

it can have an impact at scale across

the world

all