However, they face a gap in between supply and demand. Will this gap be bridged with the help of new policies?
As the demand for sustainable hometextiles increases, the organic cotton label is getting more attention from the consumers. Hometextile brands want more organic cotton from farmers but due to the rise in consumption of this fiber in recent years, they are finding that world supply may not meet demand.
The Textile Exchange's recent report showed that the amount of harvested organic cotton set records in the 2019-20 crop year at 249,153 tons. But despite these high numbers, this figure only takes into account 1% of world production. As an example the company, Milliner Organic, has paired with the World Wildlife Fund to produce more sustainable products. This is just one example of many in today's industry. The aim of this program is to get organic cotton from the Baluchistan region into local markets. The goal is to add transparency to the chains of production and grow locally available organic cotton.
The top 7 organic cotton exporting countries account for 95% of global production, or at least 50% in India. China is the second highest producer, followed by Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Tanzania and Tajikistan. Pakistan contributes to the global growth to some degree, even if it is not one of the top-ranking countries. This implies Pakistan is picking up in its market"
The Federal Bureau of Investigation in India estimates that about 20,000 metric tons of cotton were wrongly certified as organic due to a calculated scam in one case only in November 2020. Following up on rumours of systematic fraud, IOAS carried out surveillance audits. They detected fake Raw Cotton Transaction Certificates - TCs. These documents were forged by fraudsters using templates with fake QR codes, which led to a cloned website of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority of the Indian Government to pretend they were authorised. In consequence all certificates of authenticity and credibility for the organic raw material will be checked by GOTS itself and a permanent solution for data collection of the feedstock and reviews is currently being created for India only.
Due to the situation in India since then we have seen an increasing focus on the need for greater transparency throughout the supply chain which starts at the fiber stage. According to Organic Cotton Accelerator, it is essential for organic cotton farming to use only organic seeds which can be tracked and verified. They want to make sure that people who produce cotton know that their seeds are important and they should be mindful of 100% original seed quality.
The industry needs to make sure that the seed is certified, that the integrity is correct right from the beginning, and making sure all parties get what they expect from it. The most important factor in this regard is finding a suitable seed for farmers to have a successful yield. We must start with the right base for organic cotton because otherwise things will just get harder for everybody.
Growing organic cotton is important, but it's more & more essential to consider the heavy demand. However, it’s crucial to maintain an objective view of reality and take account of how far nature can be stretched without compromising the seed. Non-GM cottonseed production guidelines are designed to help the organic industry maintain integrity at the seed level.
The new guidelines are aimed at producing a standardized approach within the garment industry for production of non-genetically engineered seed. They also want to make it easier for organic cotton growers to have access to them. The guidelines are just one part of a multifaceted, all-natural strategy to ensure that an organic cotton label actually reflects an organic cotton product. Technology is just as important, too.
The conclusion is that Pakistan could become due to its fruitful soil and resources grow to one of the largest organic cotton producer and easily replace India. Unfortunately the farmers reacting too slow and it may take several years more to become a major player on the world market. Since then Pakistan will depend longer on imports for GOTS certified cotton which is of a significant higher cost than normal cotton.