To all fashion, cotton, and environmental journalists and storytellers:
With growing demand and interest in sustainable fashion, journalists and storytellers have the responsibility to look beyond the surface and explore the cotton industry through a more holistic lens.
Cotton is the world’s most produced and popular natural fiber, and has huge implications for the future of sustainability in fashion. Yet, sustainability and environmental issues are often defined with a narrow scope.
This can be a challenge when there are often resource and time constraints.
In collaboration with journalists and cotton farming communities, Cotton Diaries and A Growing Culture are launching Cotton At The Source—a series of Press Events, a Media Toolkit, and Case Studies. This initiative aims to support storytellers in going beyond the popular and often oversimplified headlines around cotton.
While cotton farmers and workers are indispensable to the global fashion industry, they are largely excluded from conversations around sustainability.
Over 24 million cotton growers and 100 million households are involved in the global cotton trade. Their stories, perspectives, and solutions are as vital to this industry as they are underreported.
To properly understand not just the fashion and textile industry, but also sustainability and equity, we have to grapple with cotton and the people who grow it.
We invite you to join us in uplifting farmers’ stories and shifting the narratives about cotton.
In this workshop we’ll: debunk the many myths about cotton, unpack the Media Toolkit we’ve created, and help equip storytellers with a deeper understanding on how to cover this topic better.
March 19th – Reimagining Cotton: Stories from Benin, Brazil and India
A Press Forum for Journalists and Storytellers
MARCH 19 – 10AM EDT / 3PM CET / 730PM IST
Hear directly from farmers who are going against the norm of conventional cotton farming, and working to regain their autonomy, culture and dignity. These communities show us what potential pathways for cotton can look like.
Speakers will include: cotton farmers and local leaders from community-centred cotton projects in India, Brazil and Benin.
SIGN UP FOR ACCESS TO RESOURCES and LEARN MORE HERE
*If you are interested in connecting with on-the-ground sources and experts for your upcoming stories, or covering community-centred cotton projects, reach out to Josh To ([email protected]) and HyoJin Park ([email protected]).
