Cotton Clothing UK

WWF and Marks and Spencer (M&S) began working together on renewable cotton fiber in India in '09, integrating to guide farmers to build up methods for producing cotton which includes a lower ecological effect. Simply speaking, an easy method of making ‘better cotton’, in Better Cotton Initiative, or BCI. Within Q and A blog, Phil Townsend – sustainable natural product specialist at M&S – foretells me about his present visit to the cotton fiber industries in Warangal, India, and tells of all the individuals and groups which go into making cotton, better!

Phil, exactly why are M&S focusing on Cotton?

M&S is a large Uk store specialising in top quality food and fashion products and therefore cotton fiber comprises an important percentage regarding the raw materials they make use of. In 2007 M&S established M&S Arrange A, which set out their particular strategy to protect our planet by sourcing responsibly, lowering waste and assisting communities. Initially with 100 responsibilities to achieve in five years, it offers evolved to Arrange A 2020 with 100 brand new commitments including sourcing renewable cotton under the Better Cotton Initiative, BCI.

Cotton is a hugely essential product, creating nearly 1 / 2 of the fibre always make clothes and other textile products globally at the same time plays an important part within the economies and social benefit of building countries. It offers a livelihood for hundreds of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of minor farmers. But the environmental impacts are considerable. It can take to 2, 700 litres of liquid to create one mainstream cotton fiber t-shirt, the same as what the average individual might drink over 3 years! It’s consequently extremely important that M&S play a vital part in aiding cotton to-be manufactured in much better means.

What had been your expectations of this journey?

The purpose of the WWF – M&S relationship is always to create cotton fiber making use of less water, a lot fewer chemicals in accordance with less carbon footprint. The project requires working with over 18, 500 farmers who've received BCI licences on over 20, 000ha of cotton fields across almost 250 villages. It had been this year that the very first collect of much better cotton fiber was produced in addition to task went from energy to power.

It was my first trip to the project website and after taking care of it remotely for several years I happened to be really desperate to see it for myself and meet the many people involved! It had been the opportunity for me personally to see among the key places that M&S sources its cotton fiber from which will make an array of the clothes we sell.

Let me know exactly what it had been like on the go

One of the amazing reasons for having this project may be the range each person taking part in making it profitable. There is the WWF staff both in the united kingdom who oversees the project together with group in Asia who focus in implementation and tracking development. There’s the neighborhood partners like MARI (a respected NGO in Asia), that are there to simply help establish and enhance farmer cooperatives and KVK (the Indian Council of Agricultural analysis), the science and analysis centre which supply training and assistance to farmers to aid improve their crop administration. And, of course all of the field facilitators, cooperatives in addition to farmers on their own without whom the project would not be possible. BCI works together with these key people at each phase when you look at the cotton fiber production chain and witnessing how the BCI design had motivated all of the different actors to provide amazing causes the area, made the travel so beneficial.

What benefits maybe you have seen from task?

When you get to the task internet sites and talk to the farmers, the huge benefits the project is having become clear. Farmers said for the Farmer phone helpline that's been set up by KVK, the regional partners, to produce immediate tech support team for them for a whole array of inquiries including guidance on farm management methods. With this helpline a weekly newsletter is published to help other people comprehend more about the most frequent concerns asked. I saw different methods of built-in Pest Management (IPM) including pheromone traps for boll worm, pest paper traps, refuge plants and others, which are more environmentally friendly alternatives to chemical pesticides. Significantly, many farmers when you look at the task gained from yield increases which may have meant that their net gain has increased both from even more cotton fiber crop much less expenditure on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. A win-win for folks and world!

Therefore, what after that for the project and M&S?

The task is moving towards final exit phase in 2017 however the lasting aspiration with this partnership would be to make sure the Better Cotton programme becomes self-sustaining by strengthening the Cooperative Societies formed through the task. It will guarantee obligations to comply with the Better Cotton traditional System are handed over responsibly. The abilities and expertise of both WWF and M&S enables famers develop a solid sense of meaningful, impactful and effective company techniques that are advantageous to people and nature.

This task is a good illustration of various partners working towards a standard goal to make much better cotton fiber and also this is the reason why it really is probably the most successful and impactful renewable raw material stories. M&S initially focused on source 25percent of these cotton fiber sustainably by 2020 but with the huge development built in jobs such as this they will have sourced 32per cent lasting cotton fiber this present year and so have actually increased their target to 70percent. Here goes!

M&S is regarded as numerous stores and companies that are on a journey to supply much more renewable cotton fiber. Learn where you are able to support Better Cotton by checking out which retailers and brands have actually joined BCI at the higher Cotton Initiative website and appearance on for more on cotton from united states later on this present year!