Cotton News

January, 2007

The past year has been a great one for organic cotton in the market, and a very strong one for the Continuum vendors. Each has expanded and deepened their commitment to organic cotton and sustainable textiles.

ABMT: In the past year, ABMT attained full organic certification for its Australian mill, meeting that country’s strict guidelines around the use and processing of organic fibers. In addition to its Ecolabel certification and its ongoing commitment to low-impact processing, this sets ABMT up as a global leader for sustainable textile production of quality knits.

In China, ABMT is producing an even wider range of organic cotton knits, and continues to do new and innovative developments.

For 2007, ABMT will also be able to offer recycled polyester as part of its mix.

Badjatex: Badjatex is growing its organic program at a rapid rate. It now has 7 denim products: rigid, stretch, denim and ecru, and is working on additional developments, including a 50’s shirting fabric. The company’s combination of quality, strong pricing, and fast service is quickly making it a significant player in the organic industry.

Pratibha: 2006 has been a year of investment for Pratibha – in people, programs and infrastructure.

People – Pratibha has made a strong investment in training its staff on the new quality and management programs that it has implemented with the help of a consulting team from South Africa. In addition, the company is moving forward rapidly on hiring and training of women as part of the Women Empowered project.

Programs – The Vasudha organic farming project continues to expand strongly. It now covers three different states in India, and is producing from medium to extra-long staple cotton, as well as Fair Trade cotton. Pratibha is also increasing its involvement in the communities, through training programs, work with local non-profits, and an innovative program that has managers volunteering in the communities on a monthly basis.

Infrastructure – Pratibha is investing in expanded capacity to meet the increasing demand for organic cotton products. A second spinning mill is under construction, a new sampling room is almost completed, and at least four new sewing factories will be ready in 2007. The company has also replaced its power system with a more efficient generator that uses less polluting natural gas.

August, 2006

Pratibha Syntex Limited, Fair Trade Cotton, New Projects: PSL is a company that does not stand still. Shreyaskar Chaudhary, the visionary managing director, is constantly looking for ways to improve PSL’s positive impact on the world. The Vasudha project continues to grow as more and more farmers convert to organic, and in addition to now producing an amount of Extra Long Staple cotton from some regions, PSL now has a number of farms in the process of being certified to produce Fair Trade organic cotton. This means that we will be able to offer you garments that carry the Fair Trade certification with organic cotton, and the premium on the final product will only be 5% above simple organic. Please note that because quantities are limited, it is best to plan ahead if you want to use this program. Otherwise, you can also ask us about Fair Trade with conventional cotton from PSL.

Pratibha Syntex also moving forward with their plans to put a new manufacturing facility in the area of the Vasudha farming project. According to Chaudhary, as each generation comes of age, there is only limited opportunity to farm, and rather than have even further migration to the already overcrowded cities, he wants to offer them employment opportunities that will keep them near their families.

Pratibha Syntex and Women Empowered: PSL has already proven their commitment to social and environmental change through all that they are doing with organic cotton, but now they are going one step further. They have decided to introduce the first large-scale affirmative action plan in Maydhya Pradesh, which has a strongly male-dominant culture. Currently it is almost all only men who get jobs, while women stay at home. This can represent a hardship for the women who have no access to the benefits for employment (medical care, housing, etc.) as well as the obvious independence that comes from an income. PSL's goal is to have 50% of its workforce be women, and to support their development through training and education programs.

I’m also going to take this opportunity to promote a few others things that I am involved in:

Organic Fiber Education Initiative: This is the organic cotton consumer education project that I have been working on with La Rhea Pepper and other members of the organic community for over a year. We have just recently given ourselves a name, and have formalized our structure as a non-profit organization. If you would like to receive any of the materials we have already created (a one-page pamphlet, and a 50-page booklet), please see our website: www.AboutOrganicCotton.org, and if you are interested in sponsoring our next phase (improving the website, and creating education kits for schools and businesses), please contact me at anne@continuumtextiles.com.

Mission Statement: The Organic Fiber Education Initiative exists to educate consumers and organizations on the facts about organic textile fibers, and to inspire them to choose products made with organic as frequently as possible. OFEI uses the resources of the organic fiber community to create materials that are accessible and available to all.

Organic Exchange: The Organic Exchange continues to move at a fast pace, and recent accomplishments include the Peru regional conference and the OE Market Report and Fiber Report. For further information on these, as well as the upcoming annual conference in Holland September 13-15, please visit www.organicexchange.org.

I am also working on a project for the Organic Exchange, to produce a Certification Guide that will help companies identify the standards they need to certify against, and how to do it. This is still underway, but watch our website and OE’s for updates.

Anne Gillespie