“With climate change a reality, both agriculture lands and forest covers shrinking, experts the world over are advocating for agroecological and regenerative agricultural practices. For us, it’s imperative to promote a more holistic approach to farming, especially amongst its smallholder cotton farming communities living in the forest corridors.”
Arun Ambatipudi, Chetna Organic India
Farmers across India have been practicing regenerative farming techniques for millenia, it was the introduction of GMO seeds and the American long staple cotton that generated a downward spiral for cotton farmers and the reliance on toxic chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
With regenerative farming practices, farmers grow cover crops in addition to their cash crops to help increase soil organic matter, sequester carbon in the soil, and reduce erosion. Farmers also use the waste from the farm and convert it into compost, which acts as a natural fertiliser and pesticide for soil. Another major contributor to soil erosion is tilling, a common practice that involves digging, stirring, and overturning soil. Reducing the need for this practice can help the soil retain more water, organic matter and potentially store more carbon.
The core idea of regenerative agriculture is that farming can give back to, rather than take from, the soil and society.
Cloth & Co. is on a regenerative cotton journey and look forward to sharing farmer stories as we transition our collections - it’s still early days and a slow road; one that we plan to really enjoy.
Regenerative means more to us than just a sustainable source for our cotton, we believe in working closely with the farmers we are sourcing from, demonstrating that we are on the regenerative journey with the hardworking humans in these communities. These principles are deeply intrinsic to who we are as people and what Cloth & Co. represents as a brand.
