SUSTAINABLE COTTON
CERTIFIED ORGANIC COTTON
At Cloth & Co. we use GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified cotton throughout our collections to ensure that we are bringing the highest quality and standards to our customers. Organic cotton has the ability to increase the income of smallholder farmers, reduce water use and improve water quality and soil health.
Organic cotton is grown from non-genetically modified seeds, without the use of toxic fertilisers or pesticides which not only pose detrimental health risks to farmers and local communities but also play a significant role in the degradation of our soils.
Removing pesticides is essential to addressing climate change, increasing biodiversity and safeguarding human health. With an estimated third of the world’s soil already degraded, we must do our part in supporting its regeneration.
Pesticides are poison. They have been linked to long-term health problems - particularly lethal for vulnerable, developing country farmers - and to the decline of vital insect pollinators which are crucial to our way of life.
- ejfoundation.org
REGENERATIVE COTTON
“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.
The truth is, conventional cotton is one of the thirstiest crops in the world taking around 2,720 litres of water to produce just one t-shirt - the same amount as the average person would drink in three years.
KALA COTTON
Kala cotton is indigenous to Kachchh in Gujarat, India. The cotton is organic, as the farmers do not use any pesticides and synthetic fertilisers. It is a purely rain-fed crop that has a high tolerance for both disease and pests. It is resilient and resurgent in the face of difficult land conditions.
Khamir, a not for profit organisation started experimenting with cotton and today the Kala Cotton Initiative encourages sustainable cotton textile production in harmony with local ecology.
The project aims to create a value chain at multiple levels by working with marginalised communities and promoting locally grown species. To implement this initiative, Khamir have created a supply chain between the Kala Cotton farmers, ginners, spinners and weavers to convert the raw cotton into hand-woven products.
Cloth & Co. in partnership with the Peoli women in Almora source hand-spun Kala Cotton for our beautiful hand-knitted, naturally dyed cotton knits. We will be introducing our new limited collection for pre-order mid-winter 2022.
100% ORGANIC COTTON JERSEY
Made in partnership with the Tirupur Stitching Unit.
