A few days after World Cotton Day, the Transformers Foundation has issued a number of essential reminders in its latest report about the obsession with water, pesticide and fertiliser consumption data associated with the sector, and refocuses the debate on farmers.
While the organisation recognises the importance of having fair and credible data to guide responsible sourcing decisions and strategies of stakeholders, it stresses in particular:
◾ That the data put forward does not always reflect actual usage (particularly on pesticides)
◾ That it is therefore essential to contextualise them and understand local realities
◾ And that this cannot be done without putting producers back at the heart of discussions and including them in decisions, in a bottom-up approach.
And you, how do you calculate the environmental impact linked to your sourcing?
