Research: majority of international companies using most cotton globally are failing to deliver on cotton sustainability

SUSTAINABLE COTTON REPORTS

The full Cotton Ranking report and a cotton market briefing, ‘Mind the Gap: Towards a More Sustainable Cotton Market’ give an overview of the market for more sustainable cotton.

37 companies estimated globally to use the most cotton in their products were scored across sustainable cotton policy, sourcing and use, and traceability. As transparency and accountability are considered paramount by PAN UK, Solidaridad and WWF, only publicly available information was used in scoring company performance. In general, there is still a significant lack of information on sustainable cotton policies, sourcing, and supply chain transparency.

The four standards deemed most credible in this research as assessed by the WWF Certification Assessment Tool are: Better Cotton, Cotton made in Africa, Organic, and Fairtrade.

COTTON GLOBALLY

Cotton is grown in around 80 countries worldwide and is a key raw material for the textile industry, accounting for around 32% of all fibres used. Sustainability issues include the widespread use of pesticides, with 6.2% of global pesticide sales associated with cotton production (which uses just 2.3% of the world’s arable land), and intensive water use, with 73% of global production currently dependent on irrigation.

While many smallholder cotton farmers are driven into debt by the cost of pesticides and fertilisers, sustainable cotton production has the potential to lift farmers out of poverty by providing a more stable income and improving working conditions.

A number of sustainable cotton standards have been developed in the last 30 years, starting with Organic cotton in the 1980s, followed by Fairtrade in 2004, Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) in 2005 and the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) in 2009. All provide guidance and support for farmers and seek to reassure consumers and retailers that the products they buy are being produced using sustainable farming methods.

The supply of sustainable cotton has never been greater (estimated to be at 13 per cent of global supply in 2015) but uptake by companies, essential for mainstreaming sustainable cotton, remains too low at approximately 17 per cent of what is available. Reasons for low uptake given by companies include low consumer demand, complexity of their supply chains and additional costs. Low uptake risks demotivating farmers and hindering lasting change in the textile sector.