Consultant
Sustainable & Organic Farm Systems
Texworld forum
In search of organic and other sustainable textiles
September 15 2010
Simon Ferrigno - sustainable & organic farm systems

Cotton remains one of the most important fibres in the world:
35% of textiles market and global production in 2010/11 of 25.3 million tonnes
However, many sustainable options are now
Cotton's use of pesticides has declined, however, serious challenges remain including:
Water use, land use, soil fertility, use of chemicals, energy/GHGs, etc.
Texworld, Paris - www.sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk - 15-09-2010

September 15 2010
Texworld, Paris - www.sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk - 15-09-2010

BCI is a multi-stakeholder initiative - from producer to retailer – to reduce the damaging environmental and social consequences of cotton production.
www.bettercotton.org

Goals
To demonstrate the inherent benefits of Better Cotton production, particularly the financial profitability for farmers
To reduce the impact of water and pesticide use on human and environmental health
To improve soil health and biodiversity
To promote Decent Work for farming communities and cotton farm workers
To facilitate global knowledge exchange on more sustainable cotton production
To increase the traceability along the cotton supply chain www.bettercotton.org

Target: 300,000 tonnes by 2012 (1.3% global cotton)
BCI members already account for 4% of global cotton production
2010:
India: 30,000 farmers, 37,000 hectares
Pakistan: 50,000 farmers, 164,00 farmers
Brazil: 150 farmers, 27,000 hectares
West Africa: 5,000 farmers, 13,200 hectares www.bettercotton.org

BCI, organic and Fairtrade
BCI complements, rather than competes with, existing initiatives such as Fairtrade and organic cotton.
All three are working to increase the amount of environmentally and socially sustainable cotton.
BCI is focused on the long-term transformation of the mass market, making smaller improvements on a larger scale
BCI will not use a labelling scheme and there will be no fixed premium for Better Cotton.
BCI is actively working towards aligned activities with Fairtrade and organic www.bettercotton.org

Texworld, Paris - www.sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk - 15-09-2010

Farm/Farmers
Natural resources: land, soil, water, energy
Primary
Marketing & support
Value Chain
Marketing &
Retail
Consumers
Texworld, Paris - www.sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk - 15-09-2010

Texworld, Paris - www.sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk - 15-09-2010

water energy
Chemicals
Texworld, Paris - www.sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk - 15-09-2010
Seeds
Sun
Fertiliser

Inputs to the farm system: water – labour – seed – finance – inputs – training – land – soil
– biodiversity -
Extractive systems
- deplete soils through poor management
- increase poverty through poor productivity, low prices, high costs, labour exploitation
- pollute land, air and water through improper chemical use
Outputs from the farm system: fibre – food
– water – pollution – money – soil degradation – loss of resources – social change/issues -
Constructive systems
- train people
- study and balance agronomy, productivity, people and planet
- reduce water use
- build soil fertility
- invest in research, development e.g., improved varieties
Texworld, Paris - www.sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk - 15-09-2010

Resilient (food, education, health, ecosystem, water...
Supported (training, investment, fair returns, fair wages and practices...)
Productive
(good varieties, good soils, etc.)
Innovative
(research and development)
Long-term (contracts, relationships, partnerships)
Texworld, Paris - www.sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk - 15-09-2010

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Costs
Certification
Traceability
Premium or fair prices
More expensive if potentially higher quality raw material
Poor economies of scale (at beginning)
CSR costs
Monitoring
Management
Farmer support/investment
Benefits
Shorter value chain
Better quality management
Traceable product
Positive stories from farming = communication
Fewer intermediaries (=fewer commissions)
More productivity
More efficiency
Lower footprints including costs of water and energy
Closer management
Texworld, Paris - www.sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk - 15-09-2010

A strong consumer message (organic, Fairtrade)?
Or a combination of all options?
Partnership with a movement (Fairtrade)
Wide change across sourcing chain (BCI)
Texworld, Paris - www.sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk - 15-09-2010

Verifiable
Traceable
BCI addresses the wider product mix and addresses the awkward question: and what about the rest of your cotton?
Calculated: impacts, positives versus negatives
Think of products and where there is room for manoeuvre in margins
Adapted to business size: an
SME, niche or high end brand might be able to do 100% of organic and/or FT
Organic or FT good consumer facing options or even loss leaders, while...
A larger business might need a mixture
Texworld, Paris - www.sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk - 15-09-2010

Get help and collaborate:
NGOs
Trade Bodies
Experts
Existing programmes
…
Thank you.
Simon Ferrigno
+44 1843 845 919
+44 7940 462 311
Skype: simon_ferrigno simon@sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk
simon@sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk
Texworld, Paris - www.sustainableorganicfarmsystems.co.uk - 15-09-2010