NATURAL COTTON

We first travelled to South America in 2004 in search of the finest fibres in the world. This was the starting point of our flagship Alpaca and Vicuña collections. In 2019, fifteen years later, we discovered that the original source of what we know as Pima cotton today also originated from Peru. Indigenous communities grew Pima and other species of cotton widely throughout South America. The first clear sign of domestication of these cotton species dates back to 4200 BCE.

Conventional cotton is the most polluting crop in the world, it uses around 16% of the world's insecticides and 6% of all pesticides. These chemicals lose their efficiency every 5-6 years as the soil becomes barren and insects develop immunity forcing big agricultural producers to develop more powerful and toxic chemicals. Many of these have been identified as cancer-causing chemicals endangering the lives of farmers and their families, as well as all the humans that use cotton products, as most of these toxins are never fully eliminated.

Organic cotton has the advantage of being produced in soil free of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and defoliants; opposite from conventional cotton. The result is an expression that an alternative more symbiotic supply of cotton is possible.

Our cotton supply partner in Peru is producing organic cotton under strict organic textile standards. It has strict environmental criteria through the entire supply chain including compliance with social responsibility. This standard not only guarantees the traceability of the organic cotton that is used, but also the standard of fair treatment to every person involved in the production chain.

Only through drastic agricultural changes, which are very difficult to establish, the movement for organically produced cotton can become a reality. Together with our partners in Peru and their efforts in encouraging more farmers to become organic the movement is truly underway..