Established in 1997, Pratibha Syntex produces over 60 million pieces of apparel annually for over 20 international brands. Its Vasudha Organic project spans across Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan. The project was initiated in 1999 with 500 farmers covering 4,000 acres and has grown to cover 130,000 acres. Executive director Atul Mittal gives details about the company's sustainability initiatives and speaks of the challenges of organic farming in India.
What was the biggest challenge in launching the Vasudha initiative?
Transformation of any kind always faces an inertia. What farmers had been doing from more than five decades was conventional farming. And to convince them to turn to organic practices was a challenging task. While conventional farming offers more convenience, organic demands more labour on their own farms. On top of that, there was no formally designed standardised operational procedures for organic farming. So, we initially interacted with farmers, and communicated about how conventional farming is deteriorating their health and health of their farms. Besides, we gave them training on organic practices. We prepared standard operating procedures to facilitate them. We provided seeds to the farmers and gave them techniques to develop the manure and seeds in their farms by themselves. We started with a few farmers. On observing their success story, others adopted the organic way of agriculture.
How do you see blockchain? You are one of the early adopters of blockchain in textiles. Has it helped your sustainability efforts?
With transparency taking centrestage and endusers seeking information related to farmers who grew cotton for their garment and labour, who made their clothes, there is a paradigm shift in the way industries work. Blockchain is the imminent future of the textiles industry. Blockchain assures a link between the physical goods and their digital identities. We have associated with InfiniChains for a pilot project on blockchain. It will surely support our sustainability efforts and give information to one and all about our endeavour.
What amount of fibres and yarns used for manufacturing garments at Pratibha are organic?
Pratibha produces around 8000 MT of organic fibre from its own Vasudha farming project. Almost 60 per cent of this is being used in its own processing facility to produce yarn and garments.
How many organic cotton farmers are a part of it? How many more will be added this year?
At present, we are working with 17,500 organic farmers and do not plan to increase in the near future but focus on consolidating our strength to support them and to establish a market supply chain for crops other than just cotton. To make organic farming more meaningful, we have started creating marketplaces for their non-cotton produce and results have been extremely encouraging.
What are your thoughts on organic cotton farming in India? What reforms do you suggest?
It is challenging. It is not the land which converts into organic, but the psyche of the farmers that must be changed. Transforming a person is one of the biggest challenges and requires patience and time. The approach needs to change from being just production-centric to a more holistic idea of community and environment. To expedite this change, these farmers must be paid adequately for the positive impact they are creating on the environment. Besides, policymakers must bring organic curriculum to universities, and more resources need to be allocated in the Budget for promotion of organics. There is a long way to go, but this must begin by making small changes in the way farming has been done for decades.
What innovations in terms of organic farming and products are you working on?
At the farm level, our aim is to develop selfsustaining farming communities. To make farmers self-reliant, we are spreading knowledge and resources about organic farming through trainings. Innovative ideas come from communities which we try to standardise with a scientific backup.
While in terms of innovation, we have established a non-GM seed production programme of three different hybrids and four varieties on 10 acres of land with farmers. We have democratically developed two organic agri-inputs (branded as Sudarshan and Bheem) and packaged them and sold to farmers at very competitive prices.
Sudarshan is a broad-spectrum bio-pesticide produced from leaf extracts which reduces the cost of input to 1/10th, increases productivity and has a shelf life of six months.
Bheem is a tonic/growth promoter produced from soybean, banana and drumstick extracts. Besides, we have produced biodynamic manure called Cow Pet Pit (CPP) using standardised methods. CPP is packaged and sold to farmers at a very competitive price.
What are the sustainability goals at Pratibha?
Sustainability is at the core of Pratibha's strategy. We abide by the virtues of people and planet to attain growth in the industry. Our long-term goals are to provide a conducive environment to future generations by conserving water, energy and reducing waste. Our sustainability goals to be attained till 2020 are aligned as follows:
To reduce fresh water consumption by 50 per cent, which is equivalent to the one-year requirement of 700 families;
To reduce consumption of electricity by 20 per cent;
To reduce hazardous waste generation by 40 per cent;
To reduce GHG emissions by 30 per cent;
To convert to 100 per cent sustainable material.
What is the amount invested by Pratibha so far for non-GMO seeds and organic cotton farming?
Pratibha along with its partners has been investing in seed and organic farming for the last 20 years. An average investment of $40-50 per farmer annually has been invested all these years.
What are the criteria used to classify cotton as organic internationally?
There are various criteria. To list some of them-first, cotton must come from a farm which is certified under various certification standards; it must be backed up with all the supporting documents as evidence. Second, there must be proper traceability available with a transparent chain of custody. Third, textile processing needs to be certified under GOTS to maintain this integrity, post-farm level, during processing.
Published on: 17/04/2019
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.
20230103183907.png)
