Currently, transparency is limited in the selling of cotton for textile goods because cotton is usually collected from numerous farms of regions nearby a supplier. The cotton is then separated and categorized by grade and made into bails for sale. This process is necessary for scale and reliable sale of goods. However, this means that cotton farmed from land grab regions is mixed into the 'fair' cotton. Thus, making it near impossible to answer what farm the cotton defiantly came from.
One way to improve this situation is to produce policies and systems to mark fair cotton similar to what is used to mark organic cotton. Although the definition of ‘land grab- free’ may not fully encompass what it means to be conflict-free cotton, it is a step in the right direction to bring awareness to the situation.
Despite the effort of retailers becoming more responsible, the global garment supply chain still lacks an enormous amount of transparency. Such that when research was collected, post 2014 after H&M pull funding from areas guilty of land grabbing. H&M could not guarantee that the cotton in its clothes does not come from areas subject to land grabbing.
If H&M and other companies want to be truly responsible both environmentally and socially, they will need to start asking suppliers where their materials are coming from. As well as follow up and be sure the areas that they are relying on comply by the same human rights, work conditions and, environmental impact as all other parts of the supply chain.
Designers and brands must not rely exclusively on suppliers to ensure their products are conflict free without helping supplier know what to look for and how to address the situation. Without direct help to suppliers, companies are adding more pressure on suppliers who are already spread thin. If there is no help for large corporations, suppliers are likely to find ways of covering up where the cotton came from just as garment manufactures have covered up shadow factories.
Active work in corporate compliance and working with governments to change policies, is needed to improve conditions and increase supply chain transparent (Soderpalm, Ringstrom, 2014).
References:
References:
Barrie, L. (2014). H&M disputes Ethiopia cotton land-grabbing claims. Retrieved from https://www.farmlandgrab.org/post/view/24220
H&M Group. (2019). Cotton - Sustainability. Retrieved from https://about.hm.com/en/sustainability/sustainable-fashion/materials/cotton.html
Soderpalm, H., & Ringstrom, A. (2014). H&M says seeks to ensure cotton does not come from disputed land. Retrieved from https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-h-m-landgrabbing/hm-says-seeks-to-ensure-cotton-does-not-come-from-disputed-land-idUKKCN0IV28920141111