Biodiversify’s Post

We’ve been up to some exciting work involving cotton….India…. and Primark! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing a series of posts detailing our work and insights on what has been happening so far and introducing you to our collaborators CottonConnect, Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and the Srushti Conservation Foundation (SCF). Primark has been working hard on its Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme. This programme delivers in-depth training to farmers on how to grow cotton sustainably. It started in 2013 with 1251 farmers enrolled and has since grown and reached 299,388 farmers at the end of 2023! Primark hopes their training programme will contribute to helping them achieve their aim to ‘restore biodiversity’ by 2030. However, the question is how exactly the training is helping local wildlife. This is where we come in 🙌 We have been researching the effect the training programme has on plants and animals in and around the cotton farms. How do birds respond to the changes in farming practices as a result of the programme? How about the earthworms or the butterflies? 🦅 🦋 Our research will help Primark gain a deeper understanding of how the Sustainable Cotton Programme is helping local wildlife, taking them a step closer to reaching their sustainability goals with every new piece of learning that is uncovered. Find out more about Primark’s Sustainable Cotton Programme ⬇ - https://lnkd.in/e8R3WEus #Primark #PrimarkCares #CottonConnect #SCF #SEWA #Biodiversity #Cotton #Research #HowChangeLooks #India

Groundbreaking work involving multiple stakeholders, building on over a decade of work already. Ultimately with all the frameworks at the moment, in the end it all comes back to what is happening on the ground. How do companies really start to better understand and improve their relationship with nature? Follow below to find out

The Unseen Cost of "Better" Cotton 🏷 While the fashion world races towards more "sustainable" practices, a year-long investigation by NGO Earthsight sheds light on a shadowed reality in the Cerrado, South America’s largest savanna. This biodiverse region, crucial to our planet's health, faces a silent crisis, largely overlooked amidst global environmental debates. BREAKING: The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), praised for environmental stewardship in cotton production, is under scrutiny. Earthsight's investigation reveals a stark 43% spike in deforestation rates in 2023, with the cotton industry playing a pivotal role. Brazil, a leading cotton powerhouse, finds its BCI-certified crops entangled in controversies over land rights and environmental abuses, particularly in Bahia. Fast-fashion giants, including H&M and Zara, are linked through complex supply chains to these very fields, spotlighting the intricate web of responsibility. This eye-opening report not only questions the authenticity of sustainability labels but also calls for a closer look at the supply chains of our favorite brands. As we don the latest styles, it's imperative to ponder: What are the real costs of being fashionable? Discover the intertwined tales of environmental activism, corporate responsibility, and the quest for genuine sustainability in the cotton industry. Join us in unraveling the threads of this compelling narrative, as we navigate through the findings of Earthsight's Fashion Crimes Report. Dive deeper into the full report and join the conversation on how we can champion true sustainability in fashion. 🎙 https://lnkd.in/ejP4M-UK Your thoughts and actions can shape the future of fashion. Let's weave a new narrative together. #Sustainability #BCICotton #Fashionindustry #Environmentalimpact #Ethicalfashion #H&M #Zara #BetterCotton 

We are excited to tell you more about our work with Primark and its partners CottonConnect and Self Employed Women's Association on their Sustainable Cotton Programme. We, together with Srushti Conservation Foundation (SCF), have been researching the effect of Primark’s training on the plants and animals in and around the cotton farms 🌿 In March, our Senior Consultant Mirjam went to Gujarat in India - a major cotton-growing area where the Sustainable Cotton Programme kicked off in 2013. It was here that we set up the surveys for our research 📝   Together with biodiversity experts from the Srushti Conservation Foundation, we visited cotton farmers who are - right at this moment - receiving training through Primark’s programme. We surveyed the plants, birds, insects, soil, amphibians and reptiles to evaluate the impact the training programme was having on their species’ presence and abundance 🐍 🦋 🕊 To allow us to assess the impact comprehensively, we visited farmers who had not yet received any training and conducted a similar survey on their cotton farms. We completed the research with biodiversity surveys in some natural areas.  We will review the data on local wildlife, comparing and contrasting cotton farms with and without training and the natural areas to allow us to gather insight into the effect the programme has on biodiversity. This monitoring will continue to take place over the next few years. Changes in farming practices may take a while to translate into tangible improvements in biodiversity which is why we will continue our surveys for the next few years. Find out more about Primark’s Sustainable Cotton Programme - https://lnkd.in/e8R3WEus  #Biodiversity #Cotton #CottonConnect #HowChangeLooks #India #Primark #PrimarkCares #Pilots #Research #SCF #SEWA  

Zara and H&M source cotton grown on stolen and illegally bulldozed land in Brazil’s Cerrado, according to a new report. Not only are Zara and H&M complicit in the destruction of one of the world’s most precious ecosystems, they want people to believe that their jeans and t-shirts are sustainably made. The fast fashion industry has again come under scrutiny due to its links to forced labour, pollution, and environmental destruction. A new report has accused #fastfashion brands Zara and H&M of sourcing cotton grown on land in Brazil’s Cerrado that has been stolen and illegally bulldozed. This highlights the ongoing ethical and environmental concerns within the fast #fashionindustry, which has been increasingly scrutinized for its role in forced labor, pollution, and ecosystem destruction. The Cerrado is one of the world's most important and biodiverse ecosystems. Located in Brazil, it is often referred to as the “cradle of waters” because it supplies water to eight of the twelve major river basins in the country. The Cerrado is home to numerous plant and animal species found nowhere else on earth. Despite its ecological importance, the region is under severe threat from agricultural expansion, particularly for soy and cotton farming. The report alleges that cotton used by Zara and H&M is grown on lands in the Cerrado that were illegally seized and cleared. This illegal land acquisition and #deforestation contribute significantly to the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of the ecosystem. Both Zara and H&M have made claims about the sustainability of their products, often using certifications and marketing campaigns to promote their environmental credentials. However, these certifications can sometimes be misleading or insufficient. The certification process may not adequately trace the supply chain back to its roots, failing to account for illegal activities such as land theft and unauthorized deforestation. This controversy is part of a larger pattern of issues within the fast fashion industry, which includes: Forced Labor: Reports have repeatedly highlighted the use of forced labor in the supply chains of many fast fashion brands. Workers in developing countries often face poor working conditions, low wages, and lack of rights. Environmental Pollution: The fast fashion industry is one of the largest polluters globally. It contributes to water pollution through the use of toxic dyes and chemicals in the textile production process. Additionally, the synthetic fibers used in many garments shed microplastics, contributing to ocean pollution. Waste: The business model of fast fashion relies on the rapid turnover of cheap, disposable clothing. This results in a significant amount of textile waste, much of which ends up in landfills. More here: https://lnkd.in/d8dE2x5J More here: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://lnkd.in/dnUPDdbU

🌳👕 ZARA, H&M COTTON TIED TO DEFORESTATION AND RIGHTS ABUSES IN BRAZIL Zara & H&M – two of the world’s largest fashion companies – source cotton from industrial farms in Brazil that are accused of illegal deforestation, land grabbing, violent conflicts and corruption. These practices are violating the human rights of local communities and tearing down the Cerrado, the world’s largest savanna, according to a new report by climate NGO Earthsight. Lying south of the Amazon, the Cerrado is home to 5% of the world’s animals and plants, encompassing 161 species and millions of humans depending on its forests for their livelihoods. But half of the biome’s native vegetation has already been lost to industrial farming by agribusinesses turning their attention to the Cerrado to spare the Amazon. And just last year, deforestation rates in the region increased by 43% – almost all of which is illegal. “While we all know what soy and beef have done to Brazil’s forests, cotton’s impact has gone largely unnoticed. Yet the crop has boomed in recent decades and become an environmental disaster,” said Earthsight director Sam Lawson. “If you have cotton clothes, towels or bed sheets from H&M or Zara, they may well be stained by the plundering of the Cerrado.” Video footage from the year-long investigation shows a community member being shot, lands being burned, and large swathes of green fields being cleared, tracing over 800,000 tonnes of cotton back to firms in Asia that make clothes for Zara and Inditex (the parent company of Zara, PULL&BEAR, Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Stradivarius), which together have over 10,000 locations and made $41B in combined revenue in 2022. Brazilian cotton has become much more prominent in the fashion industry over the last decade, with the country now the world’s second-largest exporter of the crop, and set to overtake the US by 2030. In the last decade, Brazil’s cotton exports have more than doubled, and almost all of this is grown in the Cerrado. The investigation found that H&M and Zara’s suppliers source cotton grown in the Brazilian state of Bahia by two of its largest producers: SLC Agrícola S.A. (which is the top producer) and Grupo Horita (the sixth-largest). Both owned by some of Brazil’s wealthiest families, their cotton production in western Bahia is linked to a number of illegalities. Both Grupo Horita and SLC Agrícola also have a history of illegal deforestation. The former’s farms were found to have illegally felled over 25,000 hectares, while there were no permits found for 11,700 hectares of deforestation by the company between 2010 and 2018. In fact, it has been fined over 20 times for environmental violations, totalling $4.5M. #GreenQueen #sustainability #climateaction #climatechange #emissions #deforestation

Patagonia is for all of us trying to do things in a better way an #inspiration (maybe better said an "inspiraction") This time they are focusing on #packaging. This is critical because: 1. Packaging often comes from either virgin plastic (yes, we all hate polybags) or paper whose production destroys #forests (3.1 billion trees yearly nonetheless) 2. There is huge advancements in #sustainable and circular #textiles, but packaging was falling behind and at the end of the day we are wrapping treasures with trash 3. This partnership will develop and SCALE packaging alternatives made with innovative materials such as agricultural waste and non-forest alternative fibers. The world scale is capitalized for a reason, scale is critical to achieve results in a realistic, economical way Way to go @pack4Good and usual thanks Patagonia for leading the way. #innovation #circularity #fashionmanufacturing https://lnkd.in/dNwPmaKp

【Daily News】 Are H&M and Zara Driving Deforestation in Brazil? Zara owner Inditex wants answers from Better Cotton after an environmental nonprofit linked the Spanish fashion giant to corruption, illegal deforestation, land grabbing and violence against local communities through two certified Brazilian cotton producers. 🔔 🔔 🔔 The case might come under the scope of below EU legislations: EU Proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)  EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles With current enforced and pending EU legislation under the umbrella of EU Green Plan, the business unit needs a structural system to comb through the matrix and be in compliance. CSI is here to help with a workable solution. #Zara #Inditex #BetterCotton #sustainability #deforestation #corruption #supplychain

This is certainly troubling if true. Brands and retailers rely on sustainability protocols to not only propose generally accepted sustainable practices, but also to ensure that producers are conforming to those practices. The major difference between the US Cotton Trust Protocol and BCI is the fact that BCI is having to cope with a set of different production and social standards all over the world, while the USCTP encompasses a fairly ubiquitous landscape of farming practices and social impacts across the US cotton belt. This makes it much easier for the USCTP to monitor producers' adherence to standards and emphasize the "Trust" component in the US Cotton Trust Protocol. Arable land in the US is shrinking, not increasing, so no risk of deforestation here. https://lnkd.in/gx6JkX38

We at The TreeMap recently wrote a blog about deforestation in Indonesia, highlighting the viscose industry’s role. Our data contributed to the "Deforestation Anonymous" report by a coalition of NGOs, including Greenpeace and RAN, exposing the connections between deforestation in Indonesia, Chinese mills, and the European fashion industry. It's great to see the issue brought to light in The Guardian, which reveals the problem of ancient trees being cut down to make t-shirts. 🌳👕 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gMkrANgZ #Deforestation #EnvironmentalImpact #SustainableFashion #TheTreeMap #Greenpeace #RAN #TheGuardian