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This was published 7 years ago
Ikea and WWF cotton initiative working its way around the globe
By Lucy Cormack
Samadhan Savade has never heard of Ikea.
A cotton farmer in Nandkheda, in India's central west, Mr Samadhan knows nothing of the flat-pack giant, its Scandinavian furniture designs or its famous blue and yellow logo.
On his farm, which he manages with the help of his mother Kalinda and his wife Nivmala, Samadhan produces more than eight metric tonnes of cotton a season.
And while he does not know it, his eight-acre cotton farm, 6923 kilometres from Sweden, plays its own small role in Ikea's global cotton supply chain.
Cotton farmer Samadhan Savade says the "comforts of life have increased," since he joined the Better Cotton Initiative.Credit: Lucy Cormack
Ikea uses around one per cent of the world's yearly supply of cotton – last year it used 140,000 tonnes.
Its bedspreads, sofas, sheets and mattresses all rely heavily on cotton, more than half of which is sourced from India and Pakistan.
In those regions the natural fibre is referred to as the "king of textiles", a "cash crop" which in India employs 60 million people.
But while cotton is the fibre of choice for consumers, homewares and clothing manufacturers, its production comes at a cost.
Cotton is considered a "cash crop" in India where the industry employs 60 million people in production, processing, marketing and trade.Credit: Lucy Cormack
More than 10,000 litres of water is needed to grow just one kilogram, pesticides and fertilisers are used intensively, and biodiversity loss, chemical poisoning and child labour have all plagued the industry.
The social and environmental impacts of the industry in India were such that more than a decade ago it was suggested Ikea "abandon cotton altogether".
Nivmala Samadhan Savade works on the cotton farm with her husband and mother in law.Credit: Lucy Cormack
"Some said we should move our sourcing to 'safe' countries like the US," said Guido Verijke, former deputy business manager for Ikea textiles.
"But Ikea has the financial power and is big enough to change things, so instead we decided ... to do something about the problem."
Ikea's Indira blanket, made from BCI cotton, which is woven, died, stitched and packaged in India.Credit: Lucy Cormack
This led to the formation of a partnership between the furniture manufacturer and conservation group WWF in 2004, with the goal of making conventional cotton farming more sustainable.
The result was the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a global program which now has more than 850 members, including H&M, Levi Strauss & Co., Marks and Spencer, Marimekko and Burberry.
Members who have joined the initiative commit to a range of social and environmental requirements, including fair work practices and regulated use of land, chemicals and water.
When it began more than 10 years ago, BCI attracted just 500 farmers from India and Pakistan, most of whom "were not ready to listen to the environmental or social issues; they were only interested in saving money," says Arif Makhdum, of WWF Pakistan.
But after a year of positive results, the project was expanded and by 2010, the first licensed BCI harvest took place in Brazil, India, Mali and Pakistan.
Now it is farmed all over the world, from China, to Africa, Israel, the US and Australia.
For Samadhan, joining BCI meant going against all the farming practices he and generations before him had followed, but it paid off.
Where once he earned $240-300 per acre, he now earns $1200, while halving costs on water and chemicals.
Reducing the use of unnecessary pesticides has also led to an improvement in his health.
"After [joining] BCI, the comforts of life have increased," he says.
As BCI farmers report their success, more and more join the movement, which has grown from 500 farmers in 2004 to 44,000 today.
By 2020 BCI aims to have 5 million farmers producing 8.2 million metric tonnes of 'Better Cotton' by 2020, or 30 per cent of global cotton production.
At the Sivaparamesh Spinning Mill in the revenue block of Coimbatore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the heat is intense.
Inside the mill floor-to-ceiling machinery roars as it spins kilos of velvety white cotton into thin threads of yarn.
Workers in white hairnets and face masks move across the mill floor, deftly tending to half-metre spindles should a thread become tangled.
From here the cotton will be transported to Asian Fabricx in Karur, in India's south.
The fabric mill is a multi-building complex, powered by local wind farms, six megawatts of solar energy and more than 3500 workers.
It is here that some of Ikea's most popular bedspreads, curtains and blankets are spun, woven, died and stitched, before being sold around the world.
From August next year however, these products may never leave India, but instead be sold from India's first Ikea store, when it opens in Hyderabad.
"An Indian consumer seeks good price, functionality and durability. Something that should last for generations," said Yughandar Mandavkar, chief executive officer of Grass Roots Action for Social Participation.
"Indians are very brand aware. If it is a fancy label, yes we will go for it. But I'm not sure Indians will go for a label which is known for clean or green initiatives."
Once its Hyderabad store opens, Ikea expects to host up to 6 million customers a year. But Mandavkar suggests footfall won't necessarily translate into sales.
"... Maybe 5 per cent will be customers, but I think most will just look, to say, "oh beautiful, Ikea brand, [it's] Europe's best, we'll buy next time."
Lucy Cormack travelled to India as a guest of Ikea.