Introduces Provisional Partnership Program in India, Inviting 10 Spinners to Join Direct-to-GrowerTM Programme
[Amsterdam, 05.09.2023] – Sourcery today introduces “best in class” Direct-to-GrowerTM Programme Partners that include four (4) leading farm groups, gin and merchant organisations in India. These organisations include Amiha Agro, Delight Group, Basil Commodities and OM Organic, who each have made a multi-year commitment to ‘transforming trade for good’ that includes driving forward commercial and environmental excellence across their operations, programmes and in the production and sale of cotton fibre through Sourcery’s Direct-to-GrowerTM Programme.
Through Sourcery’s engagement with these organisations and the deployment of its farm-level interventions with over 10,000 individual growers, Sourcery anticipates an estimated 10,000 MT (60,600 Indian cotton bales) of cotton will be available for purchase for this coming season. As an industry first, much of this cotton will include primary verified data that captures the grower identity and household information, farm type and location, qualified agronomic practice details, transaction payment verification and traceability of raw fibre volumes from the grower farms to the gins owned by the four Grower Partners. This data will be available for purchase under licence separately from the cotton fibre itself directly from the Grower Partners at the time of transacting fibre or through Sourcery (purchasing data requires membership).
“Already these organisations are trusted market leaders in Indian cotton,” said Crispin Argento, Managing Director of Sourcery. “Through Direct-to-GrowerTM, they are redefining what sustainability means when it comes to quality, integrity, transparency, and social and environmental impact in cotton. They are rewriting the rules of trade.”
As best-in-class Grower Partner organisations, more than 100,000 MT (600,000 bales) of fibre will be made available this season through Sourcery in total. Although this fibre does not include the verified primary data attributes as the volumes above, it will come from growers that will likely be enrolled in the programme in the near future.
“We are inclusive of all growers, everywhere. Many of these growers are already growing preferred fibre under organic, regenerative and Better Cotton agronomy”, said Ruchita Chhabra, Grower Engagement Director of Sourcery. “They are already leaders in cotton sustainability and they too deserve to be recognised and rewarded for their commitment to commercial and environmental excellence.”
Through its trade facilitation services, Sourcery will promote this fibre to spinners, fabric mills, assembly and brands and retailers around the world who believe in building a better future for the cotton trade that is more transparent, fair, efficient, whereby performance attributes and claims around quality, integrity, social and environmental impact are more meaningful, more measurable and fully verified.
Provisional Partnership Programme
To support these Grower Partners and the growers behind them, Sourcery will introduce its Provisional Partner Programme, inviting up to 10 spinners or vertical manufacturers to join Sourcery under a deferred membership payment scheme.
Provisional Partners will get to experience the benefits that come with transparency, fairness, and efficiency in trade through Direct-to-GrowerTM without an upfront financial commitment.
They will be able to demonstrate their shared commitment to transforming trade for good by driving demand together and procuring a minimum volume of fibre from these Grower Partners this season before becoming full members early next year.
Sourcery will launch its next phase of Direct-to-GrowerTM, which includes releasing its free Sourcery Connect app to the public. It is the first of its planned digital transformation to become a digital trade and community platform for the world’s leading growers, manufacturers, traders and brands who are committed to transforming trade for good.
About Amiha: Amiha, a privately owned trading company in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, and helmed by veteran promoters of sustainable agriculture business products of different standards. Amiha’s core belief is promoting and practising FAIR PRICE TO ALL in order to equally benefit all the concerned stakeholders in the supply chain from “Farm to Users”. Since its establishment, it has effectively cultivated and fortified strong partnerships with numerous farmers’ groups, specifically concentrating on Integrated Crop Management Systems and Producer Units, across India.
About Delight Group: Delight Group produces and sources organic and sustainable raw and processed ingredients from across the globe with a mission to work with the utmost respect for people and the planet. Delight Group is a specialised trader, but also known as an expert in sustainable global sourcing projects to offer a wide range of certified raw products under various standards such as NPOP, NOP, COR, SAS, Regenagri, Good Earth Cotton, Fair Trade, Oeko-Tex, BCI, etc. with assured integrity and the highest product quality.
About OM Organic: Om Organic is a private limited company specialising in cotton manufacturing, based in the Kantabanji region of Bolangir district, Odisha, since 2008. Om is committed to sustainability and eco-friendly practices, partnering with a dedicated group of local farmers who employ organic and sustainable agricultural methods. This ensures that their cotton is of the highest quality, meeting global standards for both excellence and environmental responsibility.
About Basil Commodities Pvt. Ltd.: Basil Commodities were established with the aim of contributing to the sustainable development of the Cotton industry. Together, the companies form the Basil Group, which is primarily engaged in Farming, Cotton Ginning, Trading and Raw Cotton Exports, with a deep understanding of the international market. With quality as its guiding compass, the Group takes utmost care right from the selection of the seed cotton, with the intention of producing the highest grade and contamination-controlled cotton.
About Sourcery: Sourcery is a member-driven global sourcing solution, connecting brands, manufacturers and growers who are committed to advancing commercial and environmental excellence. With their transformative approach to sourcing, called Direct-to-GrowerTM, Sourcery aims to transform trade for good through transparent, fair and efficient transactions from growers to consumers.
