Updated: Dec 2020
Ninety percent of the world’s cotton farmers live in developing countries, which is where Fairtrade focuses its efforts. Fairtrade works with farmers who’ve formed small producer organizations, as well as contract production organizations in the process of forming independent cooperatives.
Fairtrade works with farmers to stop or reduce the usage of agrochemicals and supports them to adapt to changing climate patterns. Fairtrade cotton fields in Western Africa and India are rain-fed, reducing the region’s water footprint, when compared with production in other countries.
Requirements in the Fairtrade Standards also protect farmers’ health and safety, and ban genetically modified cotton seeds. A large percentage of Fairtrade cotton is also organic certified
Read more: Fairtrade Certified Cotton
Address unsafe and unfair labour conditions in cotton processing and textile factories
Reduce the usage of agrochemicals and ban genetically modified seeds
Accelerating use of water management techniques and technologies in cotton fields
Empowering cotton farmers to follow efficient farm maanagement practises
Standards for responsible and ethical farming of cotton