Number of tonnes of sustainable cotton produced per year

The number of tonnes of sustainable cotton increased by 15% in 2018. While other areas met their targets of organic cotton production, lack of availability of seeds in Pakistan led to lower than planned production. However, Pakistan did produce its first ever organic certified bale, totalling approximately 500 MT of organic certified cotton.

Number of hectares under sustainable cotton cultivation 

We saw a steady rise in the number of hectares under production to 56,896, an increase of 30% from last year. We added 9,382 hectares of organic cotton in Tanzania. In India, almost 80% of this land has completed the conversion period and is fully organic certified. In Pakistan, 770 hectares of land was certified as organic.

Percentage increase in net farming income by geography: India  

In India, the net income from cotton is 26% when our target was 20%. We achieved more than our target due to a reduction in input costs and better prices for organic farmers through stronger market links between brands and farm groups, facilitated by C&A Foundation and OCA.

Percentage increase in net farming income by geography: Tanzania

In Tanzania, the net income from cotton for programme farmers is 7% less than conventional farmers. Given this is the first year of the programme in Tanzania, the conversion to organic has led to a decline in yield, impacting the overall income. The price of raw cotton is also skewed towards conventional farmers due to input policies in the country. As soil health improves and yield increases, the net income from cotton for programme farmers is likely to increase in future.

Number of workers benefiting from improved working conditions and wages

In 2018, the number of workers that benefited from improved working conditions and wages through Wage Indicator, Transparentem and Awaj Foundation initiatives surpassed the target we set by 142%. We expect our influence in this crucial space to grow as the initiatives are refined and scaled.

Number of disclosure and transparency mechanisms used by the industry

There has been a marked shift in industry attitudes towards transparency, from initial scepticism five years ago to transparency becoming essential for a licence to operate – the steady rise in the number of disclosure and transparency mechanisms reflect this. Recent achievements include the first country-specific Fashion Transparency Index in Brazil, and the Wage Indicator data disclosure work which has improved the conditions of at least 26,000 workers in Indonesia.

Number of collective bargaining agreements

Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) require months of extensive negotiations between workers and union representatives. Every factory is unique and the process requires patience, commitment and compromise. The steady rise in the number of successfully negotiated CBAs is a hopeful sign that our partners, Awaj Foundation, Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity and Wage Indicator can serve as a model for others to learn from as they continue to build on their knowledge and experience in this space.

Number of female and male survivors trained and employed with viable livelihoods

In our efforts to create systemic change in the industry, we have focused on initiatives that drive policy change, build transparency and strengthen the field. As a result, our investment in specific services towards training female and male survivors have been re-directed. The number of labour inspections in Brazil has decreased which means there is also a decrease in the identification of survivors.

Number of survivors and at-risk children enrolled at school

As our strategy evolved, we chose to invest less in direct services (rehabilitation and remediation) and more in policy advocacy, transparency and field building – to focus more on systemic, long-term change. While we are below the interim target, we had a 20% increase from 2017 and, in partnership with Save the Children and GoodWeave, we are working to more than double the number of children moving from the cotton fields to schools in India by 2019. We are also advocating to create better policies and state guidelines to give scale to their initiatives.

Number of brands collaborating on initiatives to improve the protection of workers

Brand collaborations have decreased to due political instabilities and disagreements around the best method to combat industry challenges such as forced labour in Brazil. As mentioned in the lessons section, there is a need for organisations to prioritize their commonalities rather than their difference.

Number of employees participating in IW per year

Every year, we work with our corporate partner C&A to engage all employees. This year, the global campaign Inspiring World encourages C&A employees all over the world to engage with the company’s sustainability goals and raise funds to support local communities. Lessons from the evaluation and close work with the C&A sustainability team allowed us to engage a high number of employees. We set ourselves the target to increase our reach last year and were able to meet this, seeing 32,615 employees participate in IW in 2018. We hope to maintain a high level of engagement as we move forward.

Number of employees volunteering per year

After launching the Strengthening Communities Theory of Change, we revisited the methodology used to collect data. Starting in 2018, we now count only those C&A employees who carried out volunteer activities in the community, rather than everyone registered on the volunteer platform. Although this shift in how we measure employee volunteering has resulted in what looks like a dip against our target, we believe this will provide a much more accurate reflection of how well we are contributing to our communities.

Number of people reached/saved through humanitarian assistance per year

Save the Children was able to effectively leverage the initial seed funding from C&A Foundation to harness the power of our global humanitarian relief partnership. In 2018, response efforts to the drought in the Horn of Africa and Ethiopia reached over 4.4 and 1.8 million people respectively.

Number of women in farm leadership roles

In 2018 we supported 2,572 women farm leaders with leadership training and capacity building. These women have shown their leadership as members of farm unions and companies.

Number of women leading efforts to improve working conditions

Alongside our on-the-ground partners, we are working to increase women leadership across the supply chain. With the help of organisations such as Breakthrough and Awaj Foundation, female workers are standing up to address issues such as gender-based violence at their workplace and negotiate better wages and advocate for policy change.

Number of female workers in rights and empowerment programmes

Many of our partners, such as Freedom Fund, Semillas and CAMI, are implementing initiatives to empower female workers, including forced and child labour survivors. These initiatives give them the leadership skills and the information needed to demand their rights, fight for social justice, and decrease gender-based violence in their communities and workplace.