{"id":2773,"date":"2023-03-02T10:57:47","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T16:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cf.iisd.net\/ssi\/?p=2773"},"modified":"2023-03-25T16:11:59","modified_gmt":"2023-03-25T21:11:59","slug":"new-research-focuses-on-cultivating-sustainability-in-south-asias-cotton-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iisd.org\/ssi\/news\/new-research-focuses-on-cultivating-sustainability-in-south-asias-cotton-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"New Research Focuses on Cultivating Sustainability in South Asia\u2019s Cotton Sector"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adopting voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can address longstanding issues in South Asia\u2019s cotton sector, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iisd.org\/ssi\/publications\/voluntary-sustainability-standards-in-south-asia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new study<\/a> from the International Institute for Sustainable Development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cComplying with organic, Fairtrade, Better Cotton, and other standards can reduce agrochemical and water use and raise incomes for cotton farmers and textile workers,\u201d said Vivek Voora, senior associate with IISD\u2019s State of Sustainability Initiative project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers came to this conclusion after examining VSS criteria against important sustainability challenges in the cotton sectors of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. These nations produce 30% of the global supply of cotton lint and host many textile operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSouth Asia produces 1.6 million tonnes of VSS-compliant cotton per year. But our research shows that there is potential to more than triple that number, bringing far-reaching benefits to the region,\u201d said Voora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report also examines how VSSs interact with the policy landscape, including national and regional policies and agreements, in one of the world\u2019s least economically integrated regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCotton VSSs transcend borders in South Asia, and they have the potential to be a foundation for regional coordination, cooperation, and trade\u201d said Florencia Sarmiento, policy analyst with IISD. \u201cNational and regional policies, trade agreements, and VSSs operate in silos, but there is room for integration to promote sustainability in the cotton sector.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report includes a number of recommendations for policy-makers and VSS bodies on how to take action to support regional and national policies, address key sustainability challenges in the cotton sector, and boost intraregional cooperation and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Read the full report: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iisd.org\/ssi\/publications\/voluntary-sustainability-standards-in-south-asia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Voluntary Sustainability Standards in South Asia: A focus on the cotton sector in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka<\/em><\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Register for our <a href=\"https:\/\/iisd-elp.zoom.us\/webinar\/register\/WN_U19E7cGvQkyOmceR3XNnSw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">March 15 webinar<\/a>, where experts will present and discuss research findings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For more information or to set up an interview, contact&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:media@iisd.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">media@iisd.org<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Report examines sustainability challenges in the cotton sector of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iisd.org\/ssi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iisd.org\/ssi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iisd.org\/ssi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iisd.org\/ssi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iisd.org\/ssi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.iisd.org\/ssi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iisd.org\/ssi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iisd.org\/ssi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iisd.org\/ssi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iisd.org\/ssi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}