Planet under Pressure

At Inditex, we focus on our clients and
look toward the excellence of our products,
which protect human rights and
create social value, while ensuring that
all of our items meet the strictest health,
safety, and environmental sustainability
standards. OCA’s FED program aligns
with our goals and enables us to take
steps forward in our sustainability journey.
We are committed to the protection of
biodiversity through the responsible
and sustainable management of natural
resources as we reflect on our Biodiversity
Strategy, which is based on the principles
of the United Nations Convention on
Biological Diversity.
payment of a premium over the market
price, which, in combination with lower
production costs, ensures that farmers
receive a competitive and higher net
annual income from organic cotton
when compared to conventional
cotton farming under similar conditions.
Production costs can be reduced because
farmers are trained to produce their
own natural fertilizers and pesticides.
This creates the possibility for farmers
to generate extra income if they can
sell their surplus production locally to
other farmers. In due course, this could
potentially reduce their credit dependency
and help them achieve financial
solvency as well as reduce their exposure
on the open market.
In summary, the FED program offers
several benefits for organic cotton smallholder
farmers and the environment.
In terms of livelihoods, organic cotton
improves farmers’ incomes, which are
based on a premium and involve cost
reductions; decreases credit dependency;
and encourages capacity-building on the
ground, thereby generating new local
opportunities for farmers as producers
of natural pesticides and fertilizers.
Organic farming also produces benefits
for the environment, enhancing the use
of local seed diversity, which enables
improved soil health and biodiversity.
When organic farming principles are
followed, the land has improved soil
health, retaining more nutrients, which
enables increased moisture retention.
Organic farming can also help fight climate
change due to using less energy
and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
associated with growth.
Farmers in the FED program recognize
that following organic farming principles
improves the quality of the soil they
cultivate and increases their incomes,
meaning less dependency on financial
institutions.
By 2025, all cotton to be used in our
products will come from sustainable
sources (i.e., it will be organic, BCI cotton,
or recycled).
“
Sustainability is a
never-ending task
in which everyone
here at Inditex
is involved and in
which we are
successfully
engaging all of our
suppliers; we aspire
to playing a
transformational
role in the industry.
Pablo Isla, Executive Chairman
of Inditex, Annual General Meeting
of Shareholders, July 2019
Global Goals Yearbook 2020 105