Transformers cotton report aims to uproot ‘misinformation’
14/10/2021
Primarily authored by the foundation’s intelligence director, Marzia Lanfranchi, plus freelance fashion journalist, Elizabeth L. Cline, who specialises in environmental and labour issues, the report sets out to expose what is describes as the myths versus the reality when it comes to cotton.
Namely, the fibre’s relationship with water and pesticides, although it also delves into its social impacts at farm level. During a press conference on October 5, Ms Lanfranchi reminded the audience: “Your perception of cotton changes when you are actually on the farm”.
Much of the findings were drawn from information provided by the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), largely based on 2019 data published in early 2021.
“Cotton is an ideal case study in misinformation as so many of the widest circulated ‘facts’ about cotton are not facts at all or are highly misleading,” the report reads.
One of the so-called cotton 'facts' singled out as a prime example of misinformation (ie, ripe for debunking) during the virtual media event was the oft-repeated notion that “thirsty” cotton consumes 20,000 litres of water per kilogram of fibre.
Although the report warns against even using its own “accurate and updated” global averages for calculating – and broadcasting – cotton’s water use (and certainly does not recommend its readers ever describe cotton as “thirsty” going forward) without additional context, it does give a rough global average for both how much irrigation water (blue water) and how much rainwater (green water) it roughly takes to produce a single kilogram of lint, drawn from last year’s ICAC data.
Among five key concluding takeaways, the report’s authors suggest that, so as not to contribute to “society’s information disorder”, its readers go on to take misinformation seriously and be critical consumers of data.
In an effort to stop the flow of “half-truths, out-of-date statistics and numbers taken out of context”, particularly over the internet and social media, it also recommends publicly taking ownership of past reporting errors.
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