So
why should a business or user of cotton textiles attempt to convert to using organic cotton?
Cotton provides nearly 50% of global
fibre needs, and is perceived by most consumers as a 'natural' product. Yet it also uses nearly 25% of all insecticides applied
to agricultural crops, and 11% of all pesticides , on some 2.5% of the world's cropped area . However, many consumers remain
unaware of this, and filling in this knowledge gap is one of the biggest challenges facing those of us working towards a sustainable
textile future in Europe
.
Cotton production has severe impacts
at the farm level on human and environmental health - increasingly, the social impacts of pesticidesuse are becoming apparent,
in areas of food security, debt, and dependency - not to mention the added burden on already weak medical services in developing
countries.
Cotton is also an important export
earner for many African countries, representing 50 to 70% of export revenues in Bénin while it is the second largest export
earner in Tanzania and Zimbabwe
. It is one of
seven agricultural commodities that make up 61.8% of agricultural exports from LDCs .
However, liberalisation has reduced the control cotton producing developing countries have over production . Prices have been falling
consistently since the 1950's. Manufacturers tend to be based in the developed world and have been protected by their ability
to hedge losses against futures markets.
Four
critical sustainability issues have been identified for businesses operating in the textiles sector:
- To eliminate hazards to human health
- Improve the efficiency of natural resource use
- Reduce waste and pollution
- Improve social equity in the entire supply chain
Discussions of policy towards agriculture,
the environment and development often forget about poverty alleviation and the role in wealth creation and development of
small farmers (although at the same time, there can be a two speed approach to policy: larger farmers viewed as economically
important, and smaller farmers only approached from a poverty/subsistence perspective ). Cotton is often seen as
competing with food crops, especially by northern development NGOs. However, organic farming is a focus for social change
not an end in itself.
While many countries promote cotton production
as a tool for poverty reduction and gaining access to international trade, this link appears to be breaking down as cotton,
like many other commodities exported from developing countries suffers from overproduction and low international prices (also
exacerbated by subsidies paid by the leading exporters and richer nations, the USA, EU and China), while pesticides, seed
and fertiliser costs to farmers are increasing under structural adjustment programmes, leading to debt (and suicide) problems.
Organic production tends to lead to lower costs and give higher net incomes to producers; it thus contributes to poverty reduction.
The problems range far deeper than the health
impacts of chemicals: pesticides tend to work best in mono-cropped, intensive farming systems, damage soil fertility, cause
water pollution, leave residues on other costs, impact on numbers of beneficial species, and affect biodiversity in or near
the field, to name only a few problems.
Animals and livestock are also
affected by pesticides: cattle, goats, poultry, cats and dogs have all been fatally poisoned in the Benin cotton zone since
the introduction of endosulfan based insecticides (Endosulfan is a persistent and acutely toxic compound) in the 1999-2000
season. Cotton, cowpea and cereal farmers have also observed repeated poisoning of wild animals and beneficial organisms.
Beninese farmers describe how the first cotton pesticide application on newly cleared land causes mass kills of large earthworms
and after 2-3 years cultivation, the earthworms killed after spraying are smaller and thinner and numbers decline noticeably
over the years. Pesticide treatments have also caused complete disruption of termite and ant colonies, and poisoning of snakes,
toads and birds.
Pesticide contamination of food
crops scattered among cotton plants is another major route of human and animal exposure. Data from the poisoning incident
documentation by OBEPAB in Benin shows that food or drink contamination is as important an exposure route as handling and
spraying. In the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons, food contamination accounted for 68% of poisonings and 74-86% of fatalities.
Furthermore, certain organophosphate
(OP) pesticides have been shown to be immuno-suppressants by depleting T-cells and can therefore further suppress the immune
system of people living with HIV/AIDS , thus accelerating the rate at which victims develop full blown
AIDS and die, and threatening the transfer of knowledge to future generations.
Early results from this research
in West Africa show residue levels are much higher among those using and applying endosulfan than among those who are not.
The following tables show the results of the
most recent investigations into deaths and poisonings from pesticides in Bénin (OBEPAB 2003):
|
Product |
Cotalm |
Endosulfan |
Dursban |
Decis |
Tiktac |
DN |
Cystoate |
Undetermined |
|
Health impact |
73 |
347 |
26 |
4 |
1 |
9 |
0 |
11 |
|
Death |
9 |
53 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
13 |
|
% Deceased |
11 |
13 |
24 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
100 |
54 |
Pesticides use in Bénin has declined slightly
in recent years. This is certainly due to increases in the costs to producers as subsidies have been removed with liberalisation.
However, this does not mean that overall pesticides application has declined, but rather that some or all of the reduced official
imports have been replaced by illegal trade in pesticides
In Sénégal 43 new cases of poisoning were
also discovered this year. While no deaths were recorded, 7 incidents required hospitalisation and 36 were treated through
self-medication.
Callisulfan
(a formulation with endosulfan) causes 35% of cases, and affected mainly males between ages 19 and 49. Poisoning occurred
by direct contact with the skin during spraying.
A
further incident uncovered occurred in November 2002, where there was a mass intoxication of 30 people in south Eastern Sénégal.
This was through oil contaminated with Chlorpyriphos (the active ingredient was traced by the Cerex Locustox lab in Dakar
at PAN Africa 's request). This is another cotton pesticide.
The
Senegalese cotton company SODEFITEX has however admitted to overreacting with pesticides use and creating more problems than
they solved - they are now promoting Integrated Pest Management and planning organic production trials.
Tragedy
is all too common – on a field visit in 2002 we came across a particularly tragic story, an entire family of 2 adults
and 3 children who dies on successive days after their maize store was contaminated by a leaky pesticides container.
Conventional cotton growing can reduce food security, either because less food is grown on the farm due to the
risk of poisoning and the pressure to grow as much cotton as possible because of the risk of crop loss leading to debt when
pesticides, seeds and fertilisers cannot be repaid, or because food crops are lost through contamination. Also, the debt problem
reduces available cash to supplement diet through buying in food, and increases pressure to increase the cotton crop area
to pass the economic threshold of production. In Sénégal a farmer needs a yield above 1000 kilos a hectare to break even .
The average cotton yield is just over 900 kilos a hectare. For many smaller farmers, this often means a complete withdrawal
from cotton as a cash crop, and alternative cash crops are few and far between. In Benin, average pesticide treatment costs
for cotton farmers have risen by 80% since 2000 while cotton income per hectare has remained the same. In the conventional
system, farmers feel pressured to plant as much (or more) cotton as they can manage to try and guarantee enough income for
their debt servicing. Many farmers are using cotton pesticides on stored grain - a highly unsafe practice. Re-use of empty
pesticide containers for storing drinking water and food is common.
Cotton
farmers in Benin have told us how food security has reduced, with the numbers of food secure households falling from 90% to
3% between 1990 and 2001.
Organic cotton on a mixed organic farm can
increase food security, through crop rotations, by placing less emphasis on growing as much cotton as possible to steer clear
of debt, by having more wild foods available in a more diverse ecosystem, and more and healthier livestock. Organic cotton
production, while sometimes leading to lower yields, allows farmers to intercrop food and livestock, helping achieve food
security.
Price remains an issue, mostly for conventional
farmers but also for organic farmers. For example, the state sets prices in much of West Africa. These are usually below world
market prices (20 US cents against 60 US cents per pound in Senegal in 2002). This is partly to subsidise the state sector,
but also to allow the state sector to compete against artificially low prices on the international market.
Paying farmers a higher price would represent a minor cost to Western companies as a percentage of finished
products, which can be absorbed or justified in the final selling price. By some estimates, a fair price through the supply
chain could cost less than 1% of the total sales price..
However, although two-thirds of
UK consumers interviewed in a 1997 MORI poll would not buy a product which endangered the health of workers, this concern
cannot be translated into action as there is currently no way for consumers to distinguish ‘damaging’ from ‘safe’
products.
Africa accounts for only 1.7 percent of
global trade, even though it represents one-third of the membership of the World Trade Organisation, according to official
statistics..
The nearly 10 years experience with organic
cotton in Africa confirm that it is a viable and beneficial option for most farmers, and indeed, will get better, as the technical
resource and research bases for the sector are so far non-existent. As the sector attracts more interest and resources through
market development (through direct investment and support from research, state and donor communities) then more benefits can
be expected to emerge, but it is clear that even in projects that have been less successful in finding export markets there
are positive impacts and empowered, more sustainable communities at the field level (see Senegal section later). Organic cotton
production is a technically feasible method of production with many benefits for African farmers and government, to summarise,
in organic cotton projects:
Health
problems are reduced
Soil
fertility and food security are enhanced
Incomes
are often higher - indeed, a factor in lower yields is that farmers are content to stop production once they reach a certain
level of income!
Smallholder
women farmers join organic projects for a variety of reasons. In the conventional sector, farmers need to be included in a
producer group, and membership is often difficult for women. In the organic sector women can gain increased independence within
the community and as independent producers. They are also attracted by reduced health risks and increased food security. In
general, women seem to benefit proportionately more from organic cotton production, and are able to decide how to spend their
own income. In Sénégal, for example, they are saving up income generated from organic cotton to buy labour saving devices
such as millet mills, enabling them to increase income-generating activities in the time gained.
Small farmers generally are motivated towards
organic cotton to avoid corruption in the conventional sector, health risks, debt, and by the prospect of receiving organic
premiums, cash payments, and so on.
For women, the prime motivations for organic
farming are improved family health, and their children are not at daily risk of fatal poisonings. Their food supply is also
safer, and more plentiful.
The challenges in the greening of
cotton supply chains vary at each stage. While issues of labour standards have begun to be addressed, as have issues arising
from certain chemical dyes, other issues remain. In raw materials, pesticides use and abuse is now joined by the issue of
GM cotton, which already makes up a significant amount of world production while consumers continue to be suspicious of the
technology. In processing, certain oils used in machinery are a concern. In manufacture, water use is a serious issue, as
is bleaching. Worker health and safety is a particular concern for many, although it is also a major issue at the farming
end. In the assembly stages, worker issues also occur; at the distribution and retail end, issues of building sustainability
arise, and at the consumption stage, the volume of water used in washing is one of the greatest environmental impacts of clothing,
while second hand clothes that end up resold to developing countries can devastate local textile industries (Source: the Reality of Sustainable Trade)
There are other pressures on business to increase
ethical considerations. There is the higher public awareness of these issues, allied with an increased willingness to use
the ‘green pound’ to match their personal ethics. For larger businesses, there is now much greater public scrutiny
of their activities, and the risk of consumer loss of confidence in them if they fail to meet the standards demanded by consumers.
There is furthermore an increasingly vibrant ethical investment sector led by organisations such as the Cooperative Bank.
Trade itself is often argued to
be the route to help poor nations out of poverty. While the discourse is often naďve, and rightly criticised , there is no doubt that trade
can help poor communities generate one of the commodities they most lack to invest in their own development: cash. But trade
of itself does not guarantee that cash will reach those communities, and certainly the current international situation in
cotton shows that just wishing for tickle down doesn’t work. Meanwhile organic cotton shows that if the supply chain
is scrutinised and designed for fairer trade, benefits can flow down to the producers.
However, there are many obstacles. Communications,
infrastructure and so on are all difficult in many developing countries, but the problems are not insurmountable. Many of
the problems linked to Africa are indeed down to perception of the continent rather than actual and there are increasing numbers
of companies sourcing organic cotton there. Another problem is the difficulty in identifying supply chain partners with the
right capacities, or investing in partnerships and development of capacity. Surmounting some of these problems does require
long-term investment and commitment.
In the context of greener cotton supply and
textiles, and more ethical trade, organic cotton is only one tool among many. Essentially, it is the showcase for how conventional
production can be improved. Organic production is not only an end in itself - it is unlikely ever to make up more than a third
of world production if organic food markets are anything to go by, but like organic food it can lead the conventional sector
to improve its whole process. Organic cotton should also be viewed as a 'learning system' for all cotton production, including
IPM and conventional systems, to enable a reduction in chemical use and reduce agro biodiversity loss while improving farmer
livelihoods.
information supplied by www.pan-uk.org
