Hein Voss Sustainable Fashion Entrepreneur Seminar AQM Milieuaspecten van productie en kledingstuk 07-01-2016 2 Agenda The Current Situation Alternatives offered BCI - OE/GOTS organic Fairtrade Where to start? Consider the alternatives Understand your stakeholders Challenges for next steps 1
The Current Situation From conventional cotton to alternatives 3 Normal cotton Most pest-sensitive and waterintensive agriculture crop Consumption of 11% of worlds agriculture pesticides Cultivation of 2.4 % arable land Grown in 90 countries with involment of about 30 milllion small scale farmers High social, ecological and economical negative impact Use for about 30% of all textile and clothing. Time for Sustainable Changes Alternatives offered Tree approaches for social and environmental improvement. Movement to Pure & Fair Textiles & Fashion 4 1. Better cotton (BCI) 2. Organic cotton 3. Fairtrade cotton Characteristics Organic Fairtrade BCI Conventional Use of synthetic pesticides no restricted restricted (IPM) yes Use of synthetic fertilizers no restricted restricted (IPM) yes Use of genetically modified cotton seeds no no yes (if legal) yes (if legal) 2
Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) by genetic modified seeds 5 collaborative multi-stakeholder effort focus on a few highly significant social and environmental issues in cotton farming improving environmental and social conditions of bulk cotton production; not creating a premium quality cotton product. define Better Cotton at global level by adopting a flexible approach, specific enough to provide solutions for farmers, broad enough to be adopted in a wide range of conditions not designed with a fully segregated supply chain and endproduct label. Organic cotton by OE and/or GOTS 6 Less soil and water contamination; Increase of soil fertility and biodiversity; Less health hazards for farmers and consumers; Contribution to mitigation of climate change by avoiding energy intensive mineral fertilizers Minimizing emission of green house gas N 2 0 from fields and increase of soil organic matter contents Increase farmers income due to organic premiums and reduced input costs Reduced vulnerability of farmers livelihoods: by avoiding debts for the purchase of external inputs; by diversifying the farm through crop rotation and intercropping 3
Fairtrade cotton by co-operationwithmarginalizedproducers 7 Social Development * Structured farmer groups with transparent administration, which they own and govern democratically * No discrimination regarding membership and participation based on ILO core standards Economic Development * Guaranteed minimum price (cost-covering; reduced risk) * Fairtrade premium for improvement of socio-economic situation of farmers, their families and communities * Pre-financing of input costs if requested and long-term trading relationship Environmental Development * Restrict use of agrochemicals (list of banned substances) * Encouragement towards organic agriculture Based on standards, producer groups achieve certification for their crops and must show gradually improvements in all three domains. Where to start? Knowing some of the differences 8 Environmental performanc Organic Better Cotton Conventional Production Illegal practices(environmental) Socialperformance 4
Consider your alternatives 9 Choosing a socially, environmentally and economically sustainable model by knowing more backgrounds Innovation GMO seeds Corporate concentrationin agriculture inputs Bulk supply Pure Material or product OCS / GOTS certified Supply by demand Long term commitments Tracebility ISO 14001 SA 8000 / BSCI Made-By Fairwear Foundation FairTrade TWENTY YEARS OF FAILURE Why GM crops have failed to deliver on their promises (according to Greenpeace) 10 Latest report nov. 2015 Multinational corporates influences in agriculture Monsanto owns 87% of all GM seeds Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta, Bayer, DuPont and BASF control 76% of agro-chemical market Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta control 53% of the commercial seed market 5
11 OE100 / OE BLENDED BECOMEOCS 12 organic labeling => COMPONENTS 6
GOTS 4.0 independent certification 13 GOTS is a voluntary standard that covers the processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trading, and distribution of all textiles made from at least 70% certified organic natural fibers (organic cotton, organic wool, organic silk ), a textile product carrying the GOTS label grade organic must contain a minimum of 95% certified organic fibers, whereas a product with the label grade made with organic must contain a minimum of 70% certified organic fibers. All Processing / B2B Trading Stages Environmental and Social Criteria Organic material or product OCS versus GOTS certified 14 OCS GOTS Raw materials Organic fibers Organic fibers Chain of custody tracking system Transaction certificates Transaction certificates Environmental issues addressed in processing None Chemical use Water treatment Environmental policy Social issues addressed in processing None Based on ILO norms Label claims allowed * note that there are specific criteria in each standard for when the claims can be made Contains X% organically grown cotton Organic or Made with X% organic materials 7
Working as Fairtrade partners Each partner counts: Supply transparancy from cotton farmer to the delivering party 15 Build trust and give respect Get to know your production partners Establish a sustainable value chain together Build strong relationships Share transparent, honest & inclusive information Find solutions for production bottle-necks together Understand your stakeholders Who is responsible for a systemic change? 16 Consumers Producers (incl. subcontractors) Retailers (incl. buying departments) NGOs (incl. certification institutes) Governments 8
Challenges & controversies Each system has its challenges 17 We don t care about anything else but a buying price of $2 per t- shirt How can we maximize profit and bonusses? Consumers don t want to pay more for sustainable clothes How come RE-5 products are still not very expensive? How can we increase production scale? How do I know that your product is indeed 100% sustainble? We have to stay flexible and can t commit to long-term contracts Why should I pay for Fairtrade & transparancy certification? As Buyer for international Fashion Retailers As Buyer Sustainble Fashion Entrepreneur What s next? 18 Every time you spend money, you re casting a vote for the world you want For more information, please contact: Hein Voss Email: info@h3pmotives.nl Website: www.h3pmotives.nl Phone: +316-46351763 9