Danish fashion company Bestseller hopes to incentivise more farmers to make the transition to organic agricultural practices by promising that it will enroll more ‘in-conversion’ cotton into its portfolio. The company hopes that using in-conversion cotton – which is produced by farmers in the process of going organic – will encourage more producers to adopt sustainable best practices. Bestseller’s sustainable materials specialist, Gudrun Gudmundsdottir, said: “We want to do our part to encourage more farmers to navigate the transition to organic cotton. As we introduce in-conversion cotton in our more sustainable cotton portfolio, we also support the farmers behind it and their commitment to getting their organic cotton certification.”
Though the Brande-based outfit is yet to finalise the details of its plans to more closely engage farmers in their transition to organic cotton cultivation, it’s upbeat that this model can “build strong relationships” and “hopefully secure our supply of future organic cotton volumes”.
The current landscape sees just one per cent of the world’s farmer’s produce in line with organic agricultural practices. For one to transition takes around three years, as the soil needs to recover from the pesticides and synthetic fertilisers used commonly in conventional cotton farming.
When they do commit, it’s often without any guarantee of a financial payout for adopting more sustainable practices, meaning farmers subject themselves to working against a yield decline and under stricter regulations to ensure land qualifies as organic.
With so much at stake, Bestseller has vowed to incorporate more in-conversion cotton into its portfolio as to alleviate concerns for farmers and encourage them to take the leap.
Gudmundsdottir says: “It is a direct signal to farmers that there is a demand for organic fibre and that their efforts to convert their farming to organic practices are supported and valued.”
When these farmers yield organic cotton, Bestseller has said it will increase its uptake of the more ‘sustainable’ material and will ultimately establish a direct-to-farm sourcing model.
