Alia Malik
Senior Director of Data and Traceability Better Cotton Initiative
Cotton can be absorbed back into the earth as it is inherently biodegradable
The Better Cotton team includes more than 100 individuals from diverse cultures, countries and backgrounds who are passionate about achieving the Better Cotton mission: to help cotton communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. From humble beginnings, the organisation has grown rapidly to become the world’s largest cotton sustainability programme, currently working in 12 countries. In a chat with Fibre2Fashion, Better Cotton’s Senior Director of Data and Traceability Alia Malik discusses sustainable cotton production.
How many stakeholders are now part of Better Cotton? Has the count increased in the last five years?
We now have nearly 2,500 members and growth is steady at 20-25 new members/month.
In which geographies is sustainable cotton production growing consistently?
Production looks really different in different landscapes. Efficient agriculture practice is strong in a number of developed countries producing cotton – but the lever to improve the lives of people through cotton production is smaller than in contexts where it is less mechanised – because there are so many fewer people involved. And then across Sub-Saharan Africa there is typically smallholder rainfed agriculture – low carbon footprint but a highly precarious livelihood. And then somewhere like India the numbers of farmers are tremendous and the ability to make big improvements on many counts are huge. So, it depends whether you are looking at making positive change in the years to come and what you consider to be more sustainable.
Has the dependence on cotton as predominant fibre for apparel production decreased in the recent years?
Yes, polyester has predominant market share, and this is continuing to grow.
How have you incorporated traceability and transparency into Better Cotton’s programmes?
In September 2021, we launched an ambitious project to develop a Better Cotton traceability programme to bring transparency to cotton.
What is the current demand of sustainable cotton in the global textile industry? At what rate is it growing?
Cotton is fighting for its market share with polyester. Cotton is the fibre that can be absorbed back into the earth as it is inherently biodegradable while microplastics are huge pollution drivers.
Which are the top 5 Better Cotton producing regions across the world? Where is the scope growing?
The top Better Cotton producing regions are Brazil, India, Pakistan, US and Turkey, but the order varies year-on-year.
What kind of innovations and technologies are being used to grow cotton sustainably?
Integrated pest management, precision spraying of pesticide, data from satellite to inform growing decision, and the rise of zero tillage and cover cropping are the main methods currently used to grow cotton sustainably.
What is the environmental impact of growing cotton sustainably versus conventionally?
Growing more sustainably with Better Cotton is all about continuous improvement. We work with nearly three million farmers around the world – supporting them through partners – to make ongoing changes to growing more sustainably in environmental, social and economic areas.
How willing are farmers to cultivate cotton sustainably? What are the challenges in convincing them to do so?
Farmers work closely with the land and depend on it for their livelihoods and want to do the right thing. The challenge is around protecting their crops season to season in the context of changing weather patterns and unpredictable markets. In many contexts, particularly for smallholder growers, there are tremendous opportunities to help them improve the efficiency of their growing practices – to use less water, less chemical fertiliser and pesticide, and produce better harvests.
What are the short-term and long-term goals at Better Cotton?
Long term goal is to help cotton communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. 50 per cent reduction on GHG emissions from cotton production is one of our headline goals. Short term goal is getting a traceability offering out there – at a meaningfully global scale – that ensures that the 250 million people that depend on cotton for their livelihoods can continue to access markets that will increasingly demand traceable fibre.
Published on: 26/05/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
