Interview with Eileen Mockus

Eileen Mockus
CEO
Coyuchi

We know of instances where organic cotton is sold as conventional cotton

The organic cotton market is booming, and holds huge potential for manufacturers using the product. Eileen Mockus, CEO of Coyuchi, manufacturer and exporter of sustainable home textile, talks about the organic cotton industry with Fibre2Fashion.com

How do you see demand for organic cotton evolving?

Farmers should see an increase in demand for organic cotton. There is still more opportunity to connect farmers growing organic cotton with the market, since we know of instances where organic cotton is sold as conventional because there doesn’t appear to be demand for it at the farm level. Coyuchi has been involved with Chetco to work with Chetna Farming Co-operative in India, and push the demand for organic cotton grown by their farming community. It is this type of interaction which provides the best visibility to everyone in the supply chain and aligns supply with demand.

Which of your products use organic cotton?

Coyuchi manufactures a variety of home textile products that uses organic cotton including sheets, towels, rugs, duvet covers, blankets, robes, table linens, dish towels, loungewear, nursery basics and more.

What percentage of your overall production comprises organic cotton?

One hundred per cent of our cotton products are made of organic cotton.

Do you prefer organic cotton over other sustainable varieties of cotton like BCI?

We use only organic cotton as we always have. As we have built our supply chain with organic cotton, there is no need to introduce another standard such as BCI. Coyuchi supports Fairtrade, and have one of our towel collections, Air Weight, where organic cotton and cut or sew are certified as Fairtrade.

Do you place orders for supply of organic cotton or its production?

We do not place orders directly to farmers. We work through our supply chain.

Which quality parameters do you take into consideration while sourcing organic cotton?

We are interested in the same quality parameters as in conventional cotton. We request longer staple length where appropriate like our Organic Supima cotton, where we have all the benefits of Supima and it is organic cotton.

What are the certifications mandatory for the supplier company in your company policy?

USDA Organic Certification for fibres and GOTS certification for processing are mandatory. We are also seeking more Fairtrade certified vendors.

What premium do you pay for this cotton variant?

We only use organic cotton. So we never compare the cost of organic cotton with other types of cotton.

How do you foresee the demand for organic fashion products in the next fiscal?

We see a growing interest in our brand and in organic cotton.

Which countries do you source organic cotton from?

We mainly source fibres from India and Turkey.

Do you employ a third party for sourcing organic cotton?

We use transaction certificates through GOTS that are verified by Control Union, and we employ an agent in India to verify all documents ahead of any shipment.

Published on: 29/01/2016

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.