Make Cotton Sustainable

NEWS REPORT / THE ECONOMIC TIMES

Indian Sustainable Farmers Go For Certification

Global certification agencies monitoring and certifying sustainable value chains are now focussing on Indian farmers, including cotton cultivators, as consumers become more conscious of the need for sourcing and supply chain integrity. A report in the Indian newspaper, The Economic Times, notes that global agencies involved in sustainable agriculture value chains such as Rainforest Alliance and Utzcertified are increasingly targetting growers in India.

Apart from a slew of textile brands, now FMCG brands such as Unilever and Nestle are looking at increasing procurement of sustainable plantation crops. Certification typically enables farmers get better prices since there is greater assurance on the integrity of the product

Mr Shatadru Chattopadhayay, MD of Utzcertified was quoted by the Economic Times stating, “The sustainable agriculture movement was earlier focussed more on customers but today we are equally concerned about the producers (farmers), notably in markets like China, India and Brazil.” Utzcertified is focussing on tea, sugarcane, cotton and textiles, besides coffee. It has certified as many as 2,000 soyabean farmers in Madhya Pradesh besides associating with sugarcane farmers who supply cane to EID Parry. Rainforest Alliance so far has certified 7,655 hectares.