Cotton
Organic cotton, the raw material of the future?
The organic cotton we use at VEJA is grown by farmer's associations in Brazil and Peru who harvest it with respect for people and the environment.
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NOVA High Top launched in January 2020, with canvas and lining made entirely from agroecological and organic cotton, respecting fair trade principles.
© Studio VEJA
VEJA buys organic cotton directly, respecting fair trade principles before weaving it into the canvas, laces, and uppers used in most of our VEJA styles.
More than 1191 tons of ecological and agroecological cotton purchased between 2004 and the end of 2022 in Brazil and Peru.
Since the launch of the VEJA project in 2004, we have purchased nearly 1191 tons of organic, agroecological, and fair-trade cotton directly from producer associations located in various regions of Brazil and on the Peruvian coast.
VEJA's organic cotton production
Droughts are frequent in Brazil. Between 2012 and 2017, the northeast of Brazil suffered the longest drought in its history. In the northeast of Brazil, there is a 60% chance of drought every season.
In 2021, we used 40% cotton from Brazil and 60% from Peru due to another drought.
In 2022, we purchased over 345 tons of cotton produced by 1,035 families in Brazil and Peru. VEJA paid up to 50% in advance to the associations.
It's been 19 years since VEJA has been directly purchasing organic cotton from farming families.
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Organic cotton during harvesting
2018
© Charlotte Lapalus
Organic cotton bought by VEJA
(kg per year)
Evolution of the organic cotton price
(R$/KG per year)
Working directly with producers in Brazil
What sets VEJA apart is working directly with organic cotton producers and buying their cotton at a market uncorrelated price.
ADEC (Associação de Desenvolvimento Educacional e Cultural de Tauá) is one of our producer associations with which we have been working for over 18 years in the Northeast region of Brazil.
The price of cotton is mutually agreed upon in advance with the families. That way, ADEC farmers already know how much they will make per kilo.
We set up a 2-year contract at the beginning of the year, guaranteeing that we will buy their cotton. Thereafter, we set the price at the beginning of each year.
This price covers the agroecological cotton production costs and allows producers to earn a decent income.
VEJA pays 50% of the harvest to support the communities in advance.
Even with the COVID19 pandemic, we have ensured the families that we will be purchasing the whole harvest signed in the contract.
Organic cotton stocked at ADEC
© Charlotte Lapalus
Dealing directly with ADEC allows us to cut out the middleman and thus increase producer income.
In 2022, VEJA paid 20.77 R$ per kilo of cotton, which is nearly 50% more than the market price.
In 2021, we had paid 18.72 R$ per kilo of cotton and 17.94 R$ in 2020.
The price of organic cotton is determined in advance with the producers. VEJA establishes a two-year contract, guaranteeing the purchase of their organic cotton at a predetermined price. This allows them to have visibility for the next 2 or 3 harvests and to avoid one of the major problems in global agriculture: when a producer plants a cotton seed, they don't know how much they will sell the kilo of cotton produced from that seed for.
These prices include a premium for the producers and associations to implement more agroecological and regenerative practices.
The certifications of our organic cotton
All cotton used by VEJA is certified. Cotton produced in Peru is certified organic according to European and American standards in addition to GOTS certification.
The cotton produced in Brazil is part of the Brazilian participatory guarantee system: a government-approved method in which small producers certify each other.
Pedro Jorge
Esplar founder, agro-ecology pioneer in Brazil since the 1970s
© Cédric Amiot
In order to improve our social and environmental impact, VEJA works with NGOs that provide support to cotton producers.
ESPLAR is a Brazilian NGO founded in 1974 based in Fortaleza, Ceará State.
ESPLAR agricultural engineers provide technical support to organic cotton producers and give them advice in the field to help them adopt agroecology and protect their harvests.
By introducing neem trees, for example, they created natural protection for cotton plants. The oil extracted from neem fruits provides a natural repellent against insects that attack cotton.
Diaconia is a Brazilian NGO founded in 1967. Diaconia works in several urban and rural areas to improve social and ecological conditions in the country. They provide technical support to associations, visiting the farms and instructing them on prices and methods to grow organic cotton.
Organic cotton during harvesting
2018
© Charlotte Lapalus
When VEJA purchases cotton, they typically deliver it in the form of large bales of cotton.
It is then shipped to a Brazilian factory for weaving.
The cotton purchased by VEJA is organic, but the dyes used for the canvas are not. However, VEJA uses conventional dyes that comply with safety regulations.
After transformation, this cotton is found in the majority of the VEJA styles.
For example, the canvas of our Nova-High style is made of 100% organic cotton.
Peru
Biological cotton during harvest
Peru, 2018
© Arthur Wollenweber
Since 2017 we work with the farmers from Bergman Rivera located in the Chincha region, Peru.
Bergman Rivera was founded in 1986 as a pioneering company in organic agriculture. Today, they collaborate with over 160 families who cultivate organic cotton using water from the Andes mountains.
Chincha province provides cotton with a minimum environmental impact as it is handpicked and does not use any chemical fertilizers or toxic pesticides.
Cotton from Peru is GOTS certified, which guarantees its traceability. It is also certified organic according to American and European standards.
Why use organic cotton?
VEJA uses fair trade organic cotton since most of the cotton produced every year worldwide comes from intensive monoculture crops.
Because of the heavy use of irrigation practices and massive quantities of pollutants, the environmental impact of this kind of industrial farming is disastrous.
Ceará landscape, 2016
© Ludovic Carème
What is regenerative agriculture?
The main objective of Regenerative Agriculture is to improve the soil and the natural landscape. It is based on traditional methods that improve biodiversity, sequester carbon into the soil, and optimize the water cycle.
These practices are based on traditional methods that enhance biodiversity, sequester carbon in the soil, and optimize the water cycle. They are similar to those of agroecology: both help preserves the soil while making it more fertile.
Cotton is organic, but the way it is grown goes even further.
Unlike intensive cotton farms, agroecological cotton is harvested in the same field as subsistence crops, without chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
It is cultivated with corn, sesame, rice, beans, pumpkins, and other crops. Each crop brings different natural inputs to the soil, which enriches it.
In Peru, farmers cultivate certified organic and regenerative cotton. They receive support in their certification process and benefit from technical and financial assistance to enhance their production. In 2022, 5% of the organic cotton purchased by VEJA in Peru is Regenerative Organic Certified® cotton.
The ROC (Regenerative Organic Certified®) is a standard specific to cotton, aiming to promote regenerative agricultural practices while ensuring animal welfare and equity for workers, surpassing the requirements of traditional organic farming.
Maria Valdenira Rodrigues
VEJA agricultural engineer
2018
© Charlotte Lapalus
Maria Valdenira Rodrigues
and Sr Chiquinho, former ADEC treasurer
Ceará, 2016
© Studio VEJA
Maria Valdenira was born in a small village 180 km away from Fortaleza. The daughter of two farmers with limited means (her father could neither read nor write). She discovered agroecology when she was 27 during her agronomy studies.
In 2007, during the first organic cotton fair in the Northeast region of Brazil, she met Ghislain and Sébastien who one year later asked her to supervise the "organic cotton" certification of their cotton.
Today, Val has her own team that helps her support around 1200 organic cotton farming families in Brazil and Peru.
Field diary
Ceará, 2016
This journal has been written by the cotton farmers themselves. In it, they write down their daily activity as well as the different multi-cropping systems they use to allow them to certify their cotton as organic and agroecological.
