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our cotton
Our organic cotton is produced by three cooperative projects in India – two in Madhya Pradesh and one in Gujarat. Since 1992 they have expanded to include over 2,500 farmers, collectively producing over 400,000 pounds of cotton each year. Before switching to organic production, the farmers were borrowing from moneylenders at a rate of 24-36% per annum to buy pesticides and chemical fertilisers. The standard of living and quality of life of the farmers and their families has improved on all projects. Cotton is grown rotationally with maize, soybeans, wheat, sesame, sorghum and chillies. Some of these are ‘barrier’ crops and repel pests; others, such as maize and sorghum, attract beneficial insects. Soil is fertilised by adding natural organic materials such as manure, compost and earthworm castings; crop rotation; the addition of oil cakes as supplements and the use of bio-dynamic preparations. After the cotton fibre is harvested by picking the flowers (bolls) of the cotton plant, it is ginned at a facility near the growing area. This process separates the fibres from the seeds in a cotton ‘gin’ (short for engine). It also removes all dirt, stems and leaves, producing clean cotton ‘lint’. The lint is compressed into bales and sent to a mill in Madhya Pradesh ready to be spun into yarn. |