World Cotton Day: History, Significance, Facts, Challenges; All You Need To Know

Every year World Cotton Day is celebrated on October 7 to honour and highlight the importance of cotton in playing a significant role in creating jobs and maintaining economic stability among cotton producing nations, by particularly laying emphasis on least developed countries. The day aims to maintain sustainable trade policies, thereby enabling developing countries to benefit from every step of the cotton value chain via their participation.

World Cotton Day: History and Significance

Following a proposal submitted by countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali, a United Nations General Assembly decision on August 30, 2021 officially recognised World Cotton Day on October 7. The UN resolution plays a significant role in acknowledging social as well as economic implication of the commodity, as it generates employment to millions of people around the world.

Facts About Cotton

1.Role of women in cotton farming

About 43% of farmers engaged in the production of cotton are women, thereby acting as major source of income to support their families

2.Banknotes are made of cotton

Most countries use cotton for printing their currency notes. In fact, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prints Indian currency notes using 100% cotton

3.India: Second largest producer of cotton

India is the second largest producer of cotton contributing close to 23.83% of the global cotton production

4.Cotton plant bores fruit

Following pollination, the cotton plant produces a fruit called boll. The boll is a hard capsule that consists of fiber and seeds. Once, the fruit ripens it splits, thereby revealing fluffy stuff known as cotton

Cotton is one of the most sought after commodities in the world playing a key role in various industries. Being the second largest producer of cotton on a global scale, India is playing a significant role in the global cotton supply chain. Now, let’s try to understand the overview about this industry in the country

Cotton industry in India: An Overview

India is currently the second largest producer of cotton in the world accounting for almost 23% of the global cotton production, which totals to 5.84 million metric tonnes. The industry gives employment to close to 6 million cotton farmers and about 40-50 million people who are engaged in cotton processing and trade. Also known as “White Gold”, owing to its economic importance in the country, the commodity is widely grown in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana. Interestingly, India is the only country in the world that grows all four species of cotton namely, Asian cotton, Egyptian cotton and American Upland cotton.

Now that we have understood the interesting facts about cotton and India’s role in contributing towards the supply chain, let's delve deeper into how investors can cash in from this opportunity.

To give you a heads up, India’s textile market is one of the largest in the world contributing up to 4% of the global textile trade. Notably, it’s a major player in the production of cotton, jute and silk.

Top Textile stocks in India

Page Industries, KPR Mill, Manyavar- Vedant Fashions Limited, Swan Energy and Trident

Comfortable, affordable, sustainable are some adjectives that perfectly describe cotton. Who would have known that this pale white fluffy stuff carries so much weight in itself. However, the reality is exactly opposite and as major consumers of this product we must know both sides of the same coin. So, let's have a look at major challenges in the cotton industry.

Challenges in the cotton industry

1.Could lead to water shortage

Predominantly grown in arid regions, cotton requires a lot of water as compared to other crops. In fact, as per World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates, a single cotton t-shirt consumes about 2,700 litres in its making, which could sustain a human being for up to two and a half years – leading to environmental stress. The Aral Sea, which was once the fourth largest lake in the world, dried up on account of a cotton irrigation project initiated by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. Sadly, in the 2000s, the water body lost 90% of its volume leading to a slew of ecological and social issues including loss of fisheries and occurrence of diseases among the local population. The fast fashion culture which involves mass production of low-cost, stylish clothing is also contributing aggressively towards water shortage.

2.Pollution via usage of pesticide

The overreliance on cotton is taking a massive toll on the environment, as it is a commodity which is produced by using humongous amounts of pesticides. As per a report published by Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), cotton accounts for 6% of the global pesticide use and 16% of the insecticide use, thereby occupying 2.4% of the cultivated land. In fact, long-term exposure to pesticides can often lead to a variety of health concerns including hormonal disruption, developmental disorders and fertility issues.

3.Climate Change

Climate change has become one of the most pressing issues in the world impacting almost every sector in the supply chain and the cotton industry is not an exception. In fact, incessant rains, extreme heat and untimely droughts can dampen the prospects of healthier cotton produce.

The Way forward…

In a bid to promote sustainable production and curtail the damage caused to freshwater systems, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is working with farmers, government agencies, buyers and investors to promote ethically sound cotton. Interestingly, Better cotton Initiative, a multistakeholder governance group founded by WWF has played an instrumental role in putting forth better standards of cotton farming and practices.

Here are few of the steps adopted by farmers associated with Better Cotton Initiative:

1.Minimise the harmful impact of crop protection practices

2.Care for the health of the soil

3.Conserve natural habitats

Currently, accounting for 22% of the global cotton production, Better Cotton Initiative helped farmers reduce pesticides by 47% and chemical fertiliser by 39% spreading across 300 hectares in 2012.