There Is an Information Block Between the Retail and Agricultural Ends of the Supply Chain

Cotton is increasingly vulnerable to climate extremes. The same year that droughts affected farming in the US also saw the crop being virtually wiped out by floods in Pakistan. How does the cotton sector minimise these risks?
Ben Eaves: The cotton sector alone cannot control the weather or natural disasters, but if we work on the basis that climate extremes are linked to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the cotton industry can certainly play their part in minimising its carbon footprint. This should be encouraged at all levels of the supply chain. 

From an agricultural level, reducing carbon emissions can come from various practices like limited or no tillage, optimised fertiliser use/use of natural alternatives and crop rotation. All of these things can improve the biodiversity of the soil which in turn can sequester more carbon, preventing it from being released into the atmosphere. Measuring carbon capture also allows growers to receive carbon credits which they can then monetise. Switching diesel powered machinery with renewable power can reduce GHG emissions too.

Since the primary form of energy for processors is electricity, the same can be said for running machinery and heating chemicals for dyeing/printing with renewable energy sources, like solar. Not only is this better for climate change, it also decreases their reliance on traditional fossil fuel energy sources which have become a significant cost burden this year, as well as making them a more attractive counterparty for sustainability conscious supply chains.

From a transportation perspective, GHG emissions are largely unavoidable, but one thing that could be contributing to higher transportation use is the trend of more frequent changes in fashion lines, with reduced lead times as per the demands of the retailers.

For retailers, we might encourage them to be more sustainability minded and be prepared to invest in sustainable supply chains, whether this is investing in farm programmes, being willing to pay the prices that processors require to justify using sustainably grown cotton which rarely comes without a premium, or reducing the frequency of fashion trend turnovers.

The release of GHG is an inevitable part of the lifecycle of cotton but hopefully the above shows there are some alternative options which are less impactful and in most cases can, with some investment, relatively easily reduce GHG emissions. That sounds very simple and right now the cotton trade is suffering one of the toughest markets in years so immediate changes are unlikely. 

Perhaps more onus needs to be placed on governments to offer more grants/low-cost finance for green investments or increase tax on unsustainable supply chains. Just last week, French lawmakers approved a landmark bill which targets fast fashion retailers, limiting advertising rights and imposing penalties on low-cost clothing which encourages impulse buying and regular renewal. If this has the effect of discouraging fast fashion, then inherently it could lead to a reduction in cotton supply chain GHG emissions.

In this context, what role does regenerative cotton/agriculture have to play? Could you please elaborate, as also your work in the context?
Ben Eaves: Responsible consumption and production is one of the 2030 UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). In pursuit of this objective, the adopting nations have taken action to legislate and promote more sustainable fashion. Whilst circularity is a major target, increasing sustainable growing is another important goal, especially as virgin cotton is far more versatile than recycled cotton with the currently available recycling technology, which will certainly take some time to scale. The recent failure of Renewcell is a good example of a textile recycling pioneer that was allowed to fail as it lacked demand from retail as well as financial backing from investors. The world was obviously just not ready for this yet.

For a long time, the retail sector was under the impression that organic cotton would be their answer to sustainable sourcing but there are many reasons why organic will never reach scale and still only 1% of world cotton production is organic. This is primarily due to higher input costs and lower yield, as well as being more labour intensive without guarantee of a worthwhile premium in the sale price. It also takes at least three years to convert a conventional cotton field to certifiable organic.

However, in the last couple of years regenerative cotton has started to appear as an alternative. While the buzzword is still in its infancy, a number of organisations have already introduced regenerative cotton certification programmes which growers can sign up for if they can meet the required criteria and/or make certain commitments. In general, the programmes share a common goal of reducing the environmental impact of cotton growing by implementing certain practices and can be verified with science backed data. 

It is also more often than not traceable, whether physically eg. Fibretrace or through original or digital transaction certificates eg. Control Union and Textile Genesis. For retailers placing orders for sustainable cotton textiles and garments this data is becoming more important, due to incoming legislation aimed at preventing greenwashing. But in the short term the legislation is being heavily criticised for being too punitive, as the risk of a retailer mislabelling or innocently making incorrect sustainability claims makes them nervous about increasing commitments to sustainable cotton.

That said, regenerative cotton certainly looks scalable, as it doesn’t come with the same limitations as organic. Although it still requires some upfront investment to implement new practices, and can be more labour intensive especially when coming to data collection, yields are for the most part not impacted (sometimes improved) and on balance the cost benefit ratio is more attractive. It also doesn’t have a three-year conversion window and certification can be obtained relatively quickly. This could be the answer to scalable sustainable cotton production. 

At Liverpool Cotton Brokers Ltd we are limited in what we can do, but we can educate and provide a safe and reliable environment to buy or sell sustainable cotton. Our clients can be confident in the knowledge that we understand the challenges and are here to help.