Cotton Diaries

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 [𝙘𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜] 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 “𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮” 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙚𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡, 𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨? 🤔 How would certifications and standards change and shape? Would they still exist? But also... What role would education play in enabling communities to define and implement their own ways? How would the definition of “sustainability” differ across various local cotton-growing communities? 🍃Drawing inspiration from the work we’ve done with from our comrades at A Growing Culture; the inspiring radical imagination journeys from Slow Factory and Rob Hopkins’ book “From What is to What if” and of course our status-quo challengers and farmers and land stewards friends all over the world… We’d like to kick-start our #ReimagineCotton series. This is an invitation for all of us to challenge current narratives and the sustainability-status-quo paradigm and reshape the way we imagine #cotton. Brace yourself. Let’s discuss! Join the conversation in comments! 💬 👀 Suggestions for our next big questions are welcome 📩

Talking about commitment issues... Organic cotton has been ready to take the relationship to the next level, but it seems some brands are hesitating to put a ring on it. «If brands are not committing to in-conversion volumes necessary for farmers to complete the shift, they’re throttling the future supply of fully organic cotton.» Thoughts? 🙄 «We don’t talk enough about farmers, the stewards of the land,” “The transition to sustainable raw materials can only happen through them, but the social and environment impact on farming communities is often overlooked. Recognizing and addressing these social dimensions is crucial for achieving holistic sustainability in the cotton sector and ensuring that sustainable practices benefit all stakeholders involved.» as Ruud Schute puts it. Full article by the Jasmin Malik Chua x Sourcing Journal. Link in comments.

Our very own Anne Oudard, our Responsible Sourcing and Supply Chain Designer 🌟 , will be speaking alongside Jacopo Polinori, Traceability Manager EMEA, hosted by The ID Factory Masterclass. 🗓️ Date: Today!! 🕒 Time: 4:30pm Don’t miss out! Register here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dgaMHfMb

"DOES IT SCALE?!" It's often the wrong question. This goes beyond food as we all know. "Scalability as a value derives from an industrial way of thinking: that the best solutions are those that can be replicated and implemented widely, and that uniformity breeds efficiency and productivity. This may work in a factory, but ecosystems are not factories. Ecosystem productivity derives not from uniformity but from diversity, flexibility and change. Accordingly, these, not scalability, are the traits that are key to success for the most exciting food systems innovations." Let 's repeat together: ECOSYSTEMS ARE NOT FACTORIES. What are your thoughts? Join the conversation in comments. Article link in comments. #regenerativeagrivulture #scale #ecosystems #cotton

“Certifications improve what is convenient, not what is necessary”. Thank you, Rachel Cernansky for your reporting and for including perspective that think beyond the certification paradigm. Cotton Diaries started off with a manifesto in 2018, that stated: “ Certification is just a starting point. Fashion brands are increasingly prioritising certified cotton over conventional, demonstrating a commitment to more sustainable supply chains. Now, they need to go one step further and move from standards that provide a positive proof point but address generic problems only, to meaningful due diligence that proactively seeks out problems to solve. “ and we increasingly covered the limitations of certifications. 👉What are your thoughts on #cotton certifications? 👉What are alternative models that work or could work? Kudos to Oshadi Collective and FARFARM. Check out our latest "Cotton At The Source" Media Kit where we explored some key questions for reporters and fashion #sustainability thought and culture leaders to reconsider the dominant narratives and in our "Stories from The Ground" booklet we explored alternative models. Link in comments.

🚨 Fashion Reality Check: Breaking News on Zara & H&M links with Deforestation, and Landgrabbing 🚨 Earthsight have just published "Fashion Crimes" their year-long investigation, linking Zara and H&M cotton products to large-scale illegal deforestation, land grabbing, violence, and corruption in Brazil’s nature-rich Cerrado region. 🇧🇷 Tracking 800,000 tonnes of "tainted" cotton to suppliers producing some of Zara and H&M's most heavily promoted goods, all on sale in Europe. All this cotton was under Better Cotton's standard, prompting their internal audit. With Brazil poised to become the world’s second-biggest cotton exporter, the timing couldn't be more critical, and it's a wake-up call for the fashion industry! ⚠️ As you dive into this eye-opening investigation, remember that not all Brazilian cotton is created equal. ⚠️ At Cotton Diaries, we're committed to sharing the counter-stories of local community leaders, small-scale family farmers, and activists on the ground. Explore FARFARM, pioneering ways to regenerate forests 🌳 through cotton grown in #agroforestry systems, or Diaconia's project, featured in our Stories From the Ground booklet (https://lnkd.in/eqNnYx3j), working with over 1,300 farming families in Brazil's Northeast. Together, they're showcasing innovative systems that promote #biodiversity, enhance ecological resilience, and offer an alternative to destructive monocultures. Join us in spreading awareness consciously, not sensationally. 💚✨ Read the full report and share it 🔗 nowbit.ly/3TOcgo3 #Regenerativefarming #deforestation #cotton #familyfarming #FashionRevolution #SustainableFashion #FastFashion #PeasantStruggle

“The Sound of Agroforestry” 🎶🌾🌴🌳 We’re in love with this project by FARFARM “Three songs were created with the local community, one for each stage of the agroforestry system, exploring ancestral techniques of work music: harmony that entertains, rhythm that coordinates, and lyrics that teach.” The power of creativity is real 💚✨ Check out the entire project: https://lnkd.in/ePtsSwBt

Terrestrial Organisms & "Space Colonization" - what are your thoughts? Some have started charting the course for potential habitation of other planets, and considering how we might use each element from Earth in these new environments. Among these, it turns out, is the unassuming #earthworm 🪱, destined perhaps to play a crucial role? The insights garnered from new research 👇 could greatly influence our approach to extraterrestrial living strategies. We invite all the soil geeks in our network to share their thoughts on these studies. How do you feel about transferring terrestrial life to support agriculture on alien terrains? Join the conversation in the comments and share your perspective. https://lnkd.in/eSWZ-BbM

Phwoar. What an incredible journey it's been! Over the last three months, our #CottonAtThe Source campaign has connected us with incredible cotton farmers and community leaders in India, Benin and Brazil. Their innovative solutions and future-proofing practices have reshaped our understanding of fashion. Their stories, which you've helped amplify, are indeed changing the narrative around cotton. A heartfelt thank you to all who participated in our events and engaged with our content. This may be the end of this campaign, but we hope it’s just the beginning of a greater change, one where media and storytellers help recentre local communities and farmers in the fashion and sustainability discourse. Remember, our resources (The Cotton At The Source webpage, our Stories From The Ground booklet and Media Toolkit) are always available for you to keep exploring and sharing. Let's continue to shift narratives, one story at a time. This wouldn’t have been possible without our partners and friends: A Growing Culture, OBEPAB, Pesticide Action UK, Srijan India, Diaconia Brazil, Léonce Gamai, Oluwafemi Kochoni, Fellipe Abreu, Thiago Trajano, Luiz Felipe Silva, Gbèmèho Elisé Fanou, Jaideep Hardikar, Prachi Pinglay & Apoorva Salkade.

We are only a day away from our press forum: Reimagining Cotton 🌱 This will be an incredible opportunity for journalists, press and storytellers to hear directly from farmers across the globe and their hopeful stories of future solutions in cotton 🇮🇳🇧🇯🇧🇷 Join us on March 19th, 10AM EDT | 2PM GMT To sign up, please go to the link here: https://lnkd.in/eMe_F52f