Leveraging SEWA's existing relationships with local farming communities was critical to the success of the programme from the start.
UK fashion retailer Primark has extended its partnership of the Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme, with the India based Self Employed Women's#
Meetings organised in local villages helped female farmers to secure the support of their husbands and male family members, many of whom were initially skeptical.
Alison Ward, Cottonconnect's CEO, said, “Achieving gender equality and empowering women is one of the UN's Sustainable Development goals, but no one government, NGO, charity, business or brand can effect positive change alone.”
“Working with the Primark team and SEWA, we've been able to develop a unique programme that tackles some of the challenges faced in achieving gender equality in farming communities,” she too added.
Paul Lister, responsible for Primark's Ethical Trading Team, said: “Primark has been working hard for the last decade to ensure that the rights of workers within our global supply chain are respected.”
“We believe that partnership holds the key to delivering change in developing countries such as India, which is why we approached SEWA and introduced them to Cottonconnect,” Lister too stated.
“The results have exceeded all our expectations and I'm delighted that we'll have the opportunity to reach a further 10,000 female farmers over the next six years,” Lister also noted.
Reema Nanavaty from SEWA said, “Giving women access to full employment is one of the best ways to drive societal and economic change. That's why we work with communities across India to do exactly that.”
“We've seen women invest their increased income back into their families, whether that's sending their children to school, improving their living conditions or buying and cooking more nutritious food,” she added.
“Through this programme we're been able to make a material difference to people's lives and we're looking forward to reaching even more women over the next six years,” Nanavaty observed. (AR)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India
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