C&A warns of supply shortage for organic cotton

For C&A Europe, which has been dedicated to promoting organic cotton production  for 10 years already, counteracting this step backwards is a special priority.

Thorsten Rolfes, Head of Corporate Communications Europe, explains, “We are  now at a critical point in which the demand for organic cotton is exceeding the  supply. The availability uncertainty tied to this threatens to endanger long-term  investment in organic cotton.”
After worldwide production of organic cotton continuously rose up to the year 2011,  crop yields subsequently sank by 8 percent in the following years. Regardless of the  fact that, at the same time, 50 percent of the production countries increased their  production of organic cotton. Reasons for this are e.g. lack of knowledge regarding  organic cultivation methods and lacking cooperation between the communities.

To spread awareness of this problem, C&A is now publishing the informational  brochure “Let’s take Bio Cotton to everyone every day.” This comprehensively  explains the added value and current challenges of organic cotton production, and  shows opportunities for all those in the global supply chain. Here, C&A sees  garment industry companies as having particular responsibility.   

“Brands play a key role in the development of organic cotton as a sustainable  resource. Some brands are taking action, but the supply crisis shows that much  more needs to be done. Collaboration is the key – working in partnership with  experts, local communities and governments can enable organic cotton to realize its  full potential,” says Rolfes. “But firms can make a difference not only in the  production countries but also in the sales markets by making their customers aware  of the subject of organic cotton. In our experience, it is possible to create  awareness, fulfill the demand and be profitable.”

C&A is currently the largest buyer of organic cotton and sold over 100 million  products made from organic cotton in the fiscal year 2013 – another significant  increase in comparison to the previous year. The share of organic cotton against  the total cotton collection is 38 percent. All cotton in C&A products labelled with Bio  Cotton is 100 percent certified organic cotton – never blended. Seventy-five percent  of the processed organic cotton, which is cultivated without the use of pesticides  and artificial fertilizers, comes from farm projects supported by the C&A Foundation  – around 60,000 farmers in India benefit from these projects.

The social- and  environmental programs place focus on the local communities in the production  regions with the aim of improving the living conditions of the cotton farmers who  work there. Examples of projects include drip irrigation and the provision of organic  seeds, along with instruction for the farmers and other important partners in the  organic cotton supply chain.

“CottonConnect” also adheres to these principles and is an independent company  founded by C&A in partnership with Textile Exchange and Shell Foundation. The  objective of “CottonConnect” is to more sustainably structure the global cotton  supply chain through collaboration with 22 textile retail companies and fashion  brands. All profits are exclusively reinvested. 

C&A has set itself the long-term goal of procuring its entire cotton collection from  sustainable production by the year 2020. At the same time, C&A Foundation is  supporting a number of initiatives aimed at increasing organic production and  improving farmer livelihoods. Recently, the foundation, in partnership with  CottonConnect, held the first Organic Cotton Roundtable in India as a “Call to  Action” for stakeholders to come together to address the decrease in production.  You can find more information on organic cotton at C&A and the brochure “Let’s  take Bio Cotton to everyone every day” at http://www.canda.com/biocotton. ;