Cleaner Cotton
Campaign

A Cleaner Approach

Key Concepts and Strategies for
Integrating
Cleaner Cotton
into Product Lines

Ten Good Reasons
to Join the Cleaner
Cotton Campaign

Case Studies

Cleaner Cotton

Key Concepts and Strategies for Integrating Organic Cotton into Product Lines

Availability Estimated 1998 organic cotton harvests from United States growers could be as few as 20,000 bales or 10,000,000 pounds. Depending on weather conditions (i.e. the outcome of the Texas organic cotton harvest) the 1998 supply is probably already pre-purchased.

Action Strategy: Analyze your cotton volume and see how it compares to present and projected supplies of organic cotton, in order to gain a broader perspective of a still growing market. Plan Ahead. Manufacturers considering Spring 2000 product releases need to place orders with cut and sew operations and/or mills by February 1999 at the latest to give the incentive farmers need to plant organic acreage for the growing season. Call the Organic Fiber Council to learn who to contact when you are ready to start the planning process.
Call the Organic Fiber Council, part of the Organic Trade Association, to learn who to contact when you are ready to start the planning process.
(413.774.7511 x 28 - California)



Product Testing Most industry insiders agree that it's better to get your feet wet before transforming all of your product lines to organic. Start slowly and gain experience which can be transferred to other areas in your company.

Action Strategy: Assign a point person to work with appropriate divisions to devise an action plan. Analyze your product profiles to determine where you can test market a garment with one hundred percent organic cotton, such as value-added products in underwear, babies or home furnishings. Alternatively, look for opportunities to produce a garment with a blended percentage of organic cotton.


Price Expect to pay more for high grades of organically grown cotton. The price of organic cotton fluctuates according to fiber quality and supply. A blending program using low quality organic fibers can affect the unit cost of a garment by just a few cents, while a one hundred percent high quality organic conversion program can result in a twenty to fifty percent increase in fabric.

Action Strategy: Work with a preferred mill and calculate volumes and timing to give an organic spinner as much information as possible to specify yarn prices. Find an entry point with which you feel comfortable, then decide whether you will absorb the price as part of an environmental objective, pass it on to customers, or split the difference. Strategize on how and when you will communicate these efforts (if at all) to the consumer.


Education and Outreach Employees need to learn about the importance of using organic cotton fibers. Wholesale customers who carry your products also need to know why organic cotton is important, so that their staffs can be equally motivated to the challenge. The increased motivation and improved morale of employees can't be underestimated for companies taking on an issue such as organic cotton. Follow through with education programs as thoroughly as possible to make everyone feel a part of a valuable effort.

Action Strategy: Sign up for one of the Sustainable Cotton Project's farm tours, held in California's San Joaquin Valley each year between late September and late October. (530.756.8518 x 34 or 530.370.5325 - California, U.S.A.) Launch an internal program to educate employees about the switch to organic cotton fibers first. Develop a slide show which demonstrates what organic agriculture means and why you want to support it. Begin to include some of your key customers and/or suppliers into the program so that they too can become part of the industry initiative.

It takes one pound of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to conventionally grow the three pounds of cotton needed to make a T-shirt and a pair of jeans.