India leading global organic cotton production
India is producing 51% of global organic cotton, according to Textile Exchange's report on the 2018/2019 organic harvest year, and overall organic cotton production was up 31% rise in organic over the previous year. This is the second-largest harvest on record since 2009/10.
The 2020 Organic Cotton Market Report, which can be accessed here, also shows that 222,134 farmers grew 239,787 metric tons of organic cotton in 19 countries on 418,935 hectares, and 55,833 hectares of cotton-growing land was in-conversion to organic to meet growing demand.
Most organic cotton — 97% — comes from just seven countries, with India producing 51%. After India, it’s China (17%), Kyrgyzstan (10%), Turkey (10%), Tajikistan (5%), Tanzania (2%) and the US (2 %).
Facilities certified to the Organic Content Standard (OCS) grew 48% and the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) was up 35%.
In releasing the report, Textile Exchange acknowledged that these optimistic numbers from last year come at a time when the world is struggling with covid-19 and more.
“While this report celebrates growth in global organic cotton production and the important contributions this makes to the health of people, the environment, and farming communities around the world, Textile Exchange is highly conscious of the turmoil the world is in right now,” the group said. “From the omnipresent coronavirus pandemic to reports of egregious human rights abuses within the textile industry and our communities — we are not short of reasons to support farming and processing systems that protect the health of people and the planet.”
The next few months are certain to “unveil challenges that businesses are enduring” and unpredictability will impact the next growing cycle.Transparency and the sharing of risks and rewards are key to achieving UN sustainable development goals, according to Textile Exchange.
Image: The cover of Textile Exchange's 2020 Organic Cotton Market Report.
