Solidaridad Network

The subject of cotton farmers keeps raising its head time and again, though in the context of broader discussions about cotton, but invariably the disconcerting issues facing them often languish on the periphery. An analysis of a Solidaridad paper that spotlights on the plight of farmers.

Solidaridad has just published a paper on the interplay between cotton and climate change, which shows that in the near future almost every cotton producing country will be negatively affected by climate change. The paper’s author, Tamar Hoek, Senior Policy Director (Sustainable Fashion), responds to questions related to the paper.

In the foreseeable future, almost all cotton producing regions around the world will be negatively impacted by climate change, and if brands/retailers don't do their bit about their relationships with cotton farmers and value chains, the damage to livelihoods and production could be irreversible.

It is disappointing to see that a lot of companies still do not see the urgency of how important it is to source sustainable cotton. There is still so much fear around transparency of where the cotton comes from, the volume and certifications used. The just-released 2023 Cotton Ranking report by Solidaridad Network and Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) shows that the gap between frontrunners and laggards is getting bigger.

Jargon-laden and flowery sustainability reports by a majority of top brands and retailers would come across as a heap of gobbledygook if their actual performance is taken into account. Well, certainly for the cotton sector. As many as 89% are still non-transparent, unsustainable and show little progress towards improving labour conditions, says the 2023 Cotton Ranking just published by Solidaridad Europe and the Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK).

A first of its kind Small Farmer Atlas brought out by nonprofit Solidaridad is a comprehensive satisfaction survey detailing their inputs on issues ranging from prosperity and income, to sustainability, bargaining power and land use.

Commodity prices have a direct bearing on farmer incomes, as do the prices that garment manufacturers are willing to pay for raw materials. Tamar Hoek, Senior Policy Director (Sustainable Fashion) at Solidaridad Network, disentangles the threads that make for these intricate relationships.

The Apparel Impact Institute (AII) has announced the lead funders in its new $250 million Fashion Climate Fund. A first-of-its-kind collaborative funding model for fashion could unlock an estimated $2 billion in blended capital across various asset classes, to help meet the industry's goal to halve carbon emissions by 2030.

Cotton cultivation takes place in a rural context and the agricultural sector is quite remote from the realities of the fashion industry and on which brands often feel that they have limited influence. The cotton value chain is a long and complex one. How can one ensure that due diligence regulations will not inadvertently exclude smallholder cotton farmers from global value chains? The first in a series.