Fair­trade cotton

The inde­pendent­ly con­trol­led Fair­trade label stands for the sup­port of small far­mers and workers in the pro­du­cing count­ries. Tex­ti­le fac­to­ries that pro­cess Fair­trade cot­ton sepa­ra­te­ly are requi­red to com­ply with ILO core labour stan­dards – an addi­tio­nal pro­tec­tion for tex­ti­le workers.

Sus­tainable sup­p­ly chain deve­lo­p­ment also means sourcing respon­si­bly on inter­na­tio­nal mar­kets. Sin­ce 2017, we have met Fairtrade’s cri­te­ria to use the Fair­trade Cot­ton label.  The seal shows that the cot­ton has been grown and traded accor­ding to the strict inter­na­tio­nal Fair­trade stan­dards. Cot­ton far­mers bene­fit from long-term and bet­ter trade rela­ti­ons as well as envi­ron­men­tal and cli­ma­te pro­tec­tion. Whe­re it says Fair­trade, it does­n’t just say fair­ness. It also gua­ran­tees that the cot­ton can be tra­ced all the way back to the field. Every cer­ti­fied pro­du­cer must adhe­re to a who­le set of envi­ron­men­tal and social standards.

6 good reasons for Fairtrade

The inde­pendent­ly con­trol­led Fair­trade label stands for the sup­port of small far­mers and workers in the pro­du­cing count­ries. Tex­ti­le fac­to­ries that pro­cess Fair­trade cot­ton sepa­ra­te­ly are requi­red to com­ply with ILO core labour stan­dards – an addi­tio­nal pro­tec­tion for tex­ti­le workers.

By pay­ing Fair­trade mini­mum pri­ces, fluc­tua­tions on the world mar­ket are absor­bed and the cot­ton far­mers’ cos­ts for sus­tainable pro­duc­tion are covered.

The addi­tio­nal pre­mi­um of 5 cents per kilo­gram of Fair­trade cot­ton is used by the coope­ra­ti­ves for com­mu­ni­ty pro­jects, for exam­p­le, edu­ca­ti­on, health or infra­struc­tu­re projects

The ILO core labour stan­dards, which pro­hi­bit explo­ita­ti­ve child labour and forced labour, app­ly throug­hout the sup­p­ly chain. 

All pro­ces­sing stages are obli­ged to com­ply with ILO core labour stan­dards. The coope­ra­ti­ves and orga­ni­sa­ti­ons in which cot­ton pro­du­cers join tog­e­ther are demo­cra­ti­cal­ly run and thus streng­then their nego­tia­ting position.

Strong envi­ron­men­tal stan­dards are in place to pro­tect workers’ health and safe­ty, pre­ser­ve natu­re and ban gene­ti­cal­ly modi­fied seeds and hazar­dous che­mi­cals. In addi­ti­on to advice and trai­ning on sus­tainable agri­cul­tu­re, the cul­ti­va­ti­on of orga­nic cot­ton is promoted.

Due to the strict spe­ci­fi­ca­ti­ons, 100% tracea­bi­li­ty back to the cot­ton field is possible.

Inde­pen­dent inspec­tors regu­lar­ly check com­pli­ance with the Fair­trade standards.

For more infor­ma­ti­on and back­ground on the cotton’s jour­ney, see →Fair­trade Germany.

Fair­trade opti­ons at Kettelhack

At Ket­tel­hack, we offer our cus­to­mers two dif­fe­rent opti­ons to imple­ment their Fair­trade commitment.

Sus­tainable sup­p­ly chains
Fur­ther artic­les on the topic

Infographic
Development of water consumption in m3

The high level of water consumption in production brings with it a corresponding volume of waste water. Compliance with the limit values from the Waste Water Ordinance is ensured by the indirect discharge permit. The daily control of the mixing and equalisation basin by our employees, as well as through the regular inspections by the responsible monitoring authorities, give us the necessary security. 

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