What is the difference between sustainable, traceable and organic cotton? Or is it all the same? Read further and find out. Sustainability is defined “as finding the balance between profitability, protecting the environment and being socially responsible”. According to the United Nations, sustainability in the cotton industry means the ability to produce cotton today without reducing the ability of future generations to do the same. Traceable cotton is tracked in a traceability system from the farm to the shelf. Such as system follows specific rules that define the data that must be gathered and stored at each stage of the supply chain. The purpose of traceability is to: • Improve the integrity of the supply chain by substantiating label claims. • Trace materials back to their origin. • Support effective audits by having complete records at hand. • Respond quickly and effectively to crisis ...

The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) is one of the founding partners of the Sustainable Cotton Cluster. Elaine Smith, Director: Clothing and Textiles, explains government’s involvement and reveals why she is excited about cotton. 1. Why did the dti become involved in the Sustainable Cotton Cluster? The dti has a competitiveness improvement programme (CIP) that provides funding for a group of companies to work together as a cluster or supply chain to improve their competitiveness. Cotton SA made use of this opportunity and applied to the dti with a well-researched and developed business plan to revive the cotton industry in South Africa and make it a viable fibre to source locally. 2. What does the dti’s involvement in the cluster entail? The department funds the cluster project for five years. Over this period, our contribution decreases while the cluster ...

Hennie Bruwer, CEO of Cotton SA, is optimistic about the future of cotton. Not only has production doubled between the 2014 and 2015 season – from 42 000 to 97 000 bales – but the year-old industry initiative, the Sustainable Cotton Cluster, is already making a positive impact. Cotton SA was the driving force behind the Sustainable Cotton Cluster, but the initiative now involves 5 value chain stakeholders, including the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti). “Our aim is to create an enabling environment for cotton producers and manufacturers to supply local and international customers with fully traceable and sustainable cotton products,” says Hennie. A recent study has shown that the demand is there; the task at hand is to increase the volumes that are being produced. To this end, one of the cluster’s objectives is to increase local production by 388%. Another primary objective is to build 15 ...

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is an international programme that wants to establish a balance between the economic, environmental and social aspects of growing cotton. The end result is a profitable, responsible and sustainable management approach. The programme aims its efforts at four specific goals: 1. Reduce the environmental impact of cotton production. 2. Improve livelihoods and economic development in cotton producing areas. 3. Improve commitment to and flow of Better Cotton throughout the supply chain. 4. Ensure the credibility and sustainability of the Better Cotton Initiative. The Sustainable Cotton Cluster is currently implementing a programme the obtain BCI certification for South African cotton. Adherence to the BCI principles of continuous improvement on the farm will demand that local cotton producers: • Minimise the potential negative impacts of crop protection ...

Technology has long been used to keep track of products in a supply chain. While consumers only see a barcode, it’s the intelligence behind those black lines or square blocks and numbers that really count. Hennie Ras, the Cotton Cluster domain expert on traceability, says that supply chain systems vary from the simple, retail barcode version on one hand, to the highly sophisticated systems first developed by the US Army and NATO on the other. In the middle are masses of systems that can track products within companies and a few that can track within specific supply chains. The fresh fruit industry, for instance, is a good example of where a specific commodity is traceable. “Our challenge, however, was different,” says Hennie. “To support the Sustainable Cotton Cluster we had to integrate a chain that deals in different commodities – from seed cotton, to lint, to yarn, to material and to finished ...

IQL is a professional services organisation that supplies the Cluster’s technology component and the support services needed to integrate the supply chain. IQL’s involvement started with the work it did for Cotton SA in terms of its strategy and business model. In the context of the Cluster, however, Cotton SA’s role will become much bigger. Traditionally it looked at production, consumption, trade and stocks – namely the farmers, ginners and spinners. In future it will consider the complete supply chain, from the farmers to the retailers. Hennie Ras, (Director Operations visibility solutions for IQ Logistica), says that cotton is the forerunner in the initiative to make the local textile industry sustainable and competitive. “Cotton cannot represent all the other industries, such as wool and mohair, but we have to work closely together so that the learning that has taken place in the Sustainable ...

Joseph Kempen, CEO of Loskop Gin, says that cotton should be the Marblehall area's logo. "We have massive unemployment here, but also beautiful cotton soils and access to water. Cotton can play a huge role in job creation." And this, he adds, is one of the main reasons why he and Loskop Gin got involved in the Sustainable Cotton Cluster. In the Marble Hall area, unemployment stands at more than 50% and cotton is the solution, Joseph believes. "With the necessary support, we can create 2 000 jobs in six months if we plant now. Because cotton is not a crop that farmers consume themselves but have to sell, it gives them money in their pockets to invest. In this way farmers can start moving up the value chain and away from subsistence. It isn't a quick solution, but it is a sustainable one." A successful cotton value chain, however, depends on access to a gin, which is where the crop's value is unlocked. ...

In the 2014/2015 season, the cotton grown in a partnership between small holder farmers along the Olifants River and an established commercial farmer was the best to be processed at Loskop Gin from all points of view. The cotton was clean, of superior quality and the 80 hectares that were planted had yielded a remarkable 405 000kg. "This partnership is in effect our farmer of the year," says Joseph Kempen, CEO of Loskop Gin. Jannie Terblanche, the commercial farmer who initiated the scheme, did not set out to grow superior cotton; his vision was to change the future. "My work with emerging farmers is because of what my head told me to do," he says. "I want my children to have a future in South Africa and I can do that by creating jobs to help break the cycle of poverty around us." Being an experienced cotton farmer, Jannie knew that the 80km between Marble Hall and Zebediela next to the river was ...

Prilla Mills in Pietermaritzburg is one of the largest of southern Africa’s eight cotton spinning mills – four in South Africa and one each in Swaziland, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique. But size was not what convinced Enrique Crouse, Managing Director of Prilla, to join the Sustainable Cotton Cluster initiative as a member. The big picture did. “I take note of what happens in the world,” says Enrique. “I attend an international conference every year and sit on the international spinners committee. So I have seen the trend of sourcing in close proximity to the market gain momentum. The concepts of ‘near-sourcing’ and ‘quick response’ have shaped our industry globally, and is an influence South Africa cannot escape.” For Enrique, the Sustainable Cotton Cluster presented the opportunity to help South Africa respond to these influences. “It was strategically important for us to get onto the bus right ...

The procurement power of government can be a potent force for change. Beni Letebele, the Sustainable Cotton Cluster’s programme manager, explains why the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA) is good news for cotton. What is the PPPFA and what is it meant to achieve? The PPPFA is the law that directs procurement by all state entities. Its aim is to use state procurement as a tool to address past inequalities, by basing buying decisions on more than competitive pricing alone. The PPPFA allocates preferential points to procurement from persons or groups that were prejudiced by unfair discrimination, and therefore uses the economic muscle of the state to help build an equitable society. Why is the PPPFA relevant to the aims of the Sustainable Cotton Cluster? Under the PPPFA, textiles are a 100% designated category, which means that all textile products ...

In February, Valentine’s Day is a reminder that love is all around us. The same can be said of cotton – every day of the year. We all know that there’s cotton in the clothes we wear and the towels we use. But did you know that there was cotton in your computer, your car tyres and, quite possibly, the dressing on your salad? According to the National Cotton Council of America, the world uses more cotton today than any other fibre, and all parts of the cotton plant are useful. FBIRE/LINT • Textiles and yarns for clothing, towels, bedding and other household items. • Cordage (cords and ropes) • Cord for car tyres • Plastic reinforcing • Stuffing inside pill bottles SEED Linters – the short fuzz on the seed – provide cellulose that is used in: • Plastics • Explosives • High quality paper products • Batting for padding mattresses, furniture and automobile cushions • Computer chip boards ...

Mr Price Group – one of South Africa’s best known clothing and homeware retailers – was a founding partner of the Sustainable Cotton Cluster. There from the start, the Group is already enjoying the benefits of participation. Retailers are the cornerstone of the Sustainable Cotton Cluster’s integrated supply chain programme (ISCP). Without their participation there are no orders on which to base production and manufacturing planning. Retail demand drives the ISCP and enables it to build virtual partnerships between supply chain stakeholders. Retail satisfaction ensures the ISCP’s growth and increasing success. Establishing the ISCP was a challenge but Mr Price Group’s experience confirms that it was the right thing to do. “For Mr Price Group, our partnership with the Cluster has already resulted in cotton price stability, improved margin opportunities through waste elimination, visibility and data ...