Manifesto statement: “Make organic cotton an accessible choice”

• Make a platform to connect producers & suppliers
• Finding ways to encourage brand engagement: e.g. labelling transitional cotton
• Explaining benefits by
  • Farm level: e.g. training farmers to organic principles (beyond a checklist)
    • Invest in farmer to farmer extension services
  • Building the value case
  • Addressing price barriers – working with the supply chain:
    • closer collaboration -> price clarity right back to raw material stage
    • addressing efficiencies and risks – identifying clearly the issues and the interventions needed
  • Right relationships – alignment between the different parts of the supply chain
  • Innovate to address issues – answers/interventions may be different/at different scales – not-site-fits-all.
  • Working with government (e.g. taxation, regulation or subsidies)/both in producing and consumer countries:
    • Aligning strategy of sector
    • Lobbying on key issues
  • Honest conversation and reflections on what we can do to be part of the value chain (don’t blame others for what is going wrong and take responsibilities for what you can change)
  • Direct support between brands & farms to connect producers and suppliers (facilitated by initiatives like C&A Foundation, Cotton Connect, etc.):
  • General point:
    • Interventions must be multiple. No single answer (holistic problems need holistic solutions).
    • Learn from what has worked somewhere else. E.g.: India government support driver demand.
      • Innovate-share best practices (more the whole bell curve)
      • Look at what has worked with other successful schemes and replicates.

Manifesto statement: Leverage manufacturing capacities for organic cotton in Africa. Need to develop the issues in concrete work streams:

• Promote local existing advantages and build connections at regional level, e.g.: OC yarn available in Burkina for local handicraft, existing manufactures in Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, Ivory Coast)
• Convince brands to take commitment, e.g. small brands with specific products
• Work on the quality
• Start with the worldwide supply chain. See what is already possible, invest locally after
• Engage with the government to promote investments in the OC manufacturing sector

Manifesto statement: One name for organic in China

• Chatham house rules and anti-trust – Social issues around Xinchang. Not a lot of transparency, need to have a safe space to talk about it. To our knowledge happening at factory level and not at farm level, OC supply chain apparently not affected by it.
• Need for organic seed and greater research. Lot of investments in India but not in China. Huge barrier for smaller farmers, need to encourage smaller farms to grow OC. Very small number of producer groups
• Awareness raising at government level: OC too small component at supply chain level, more on making higher part of supply chain sustainable. Water good entry point. In Xinchang, desert area and salty lands. Education on better water use practices
• Price: OC much higher rest of world. Focus on higher end. Target new products (blends) x specific market.

Lot of terms behind organic (eco, bio, etc.) at local level certified with national Chinese program. Agree on what term to use when selling organic certified as OCS and GOTS to grow domestic demand. Make brands agree on a term for OC.

Manifesto statement: Dreams for the US: increasing production and manufacturing products of organic cotton

• Supply chain infrastructure: a big part of the supply chain currently stops at the gin. Need to develop the post-gin stages including the spinning, dyeing etc.
• In/external costs: need to internalize the external costs of outsourcing in the products particularly the costs that are not in the US price
• Raise consumer awareness: need to further educate consumers
• Corporate initiative: not wait have companies move e.g. Patagonia
• Full apparel line in GOTS: develop full OC fashion lines to allow people to wear only OC (Europe more advanced)
• Have data-backed evidence for change: to help companies make decisions.

Manifesto statement: Scaling-up production in Latin America & the Caribbean

• Replicating/adapting the Chetco model from India taking into account the specificities of the region
• Creating a WG on OC at the Sustainable Fashion Lab (now broadly on sustainable textile) to promote OC and to help farmers scale their production (as a first step to develop a Regional-OCRT in Latin America)
• Build strategic partnerships at regional level and learn from success (Bergman/ Rivera model): Brazil x Peru
• Work with governments: policy making x advocacy specifically on issues of certification and integrity -> need to be discussed

Manifesto statement: Happiness important for each player

Start with farmers:

• Not only price but empowerment
• Understanding ground reality: quality x integrity
• Support in-conversion farmers (first 3 years): buy x sell
• Giving comfort and security is important to improve integrity
• Pay the extra cost of sustainable production (not a premium) –> securing future

Supply chain: work on demand side -> get commitment of partners for sustainable material to bring more volume and uptake to secure on the long run and recognize effort

Brand and retailers:

• make consumers happy with providing OC
• secure supply chain longer run, support efforts farmers and key stakeholders by incentivizing with money x recognition with marketing tools to help them increase productivity and scale up
• need to get commitment from CEOs with sourcing % of OC

Building the trust together for a bigger impact (sell story in a better way)

Implement tools x technology (Textile Exchange)

Manifesto statement: 10% increase in OC of cotton production share in Turkey, EMENA & CA, work along the chain:

• Start from change makers and brand commitment
• Consumer demand from awareness and education
• Supplier loyalty/commitment x collaboration -> all along the supply chain
• Government subsidies/import tax for organic products to stimulate production.
• New price mechanism to limit multiplication extra costs linked to organic to end products and allow affordable products