Gallant International Goes Regenerative
Gallant International
(
Private sector
)
#SDGAction53956
Description
Gallant International has been working to pioneer a new movement in regenerative organic cotton in India. In 2022, Gallant helped over 700 farmers across 3500 acres transition to Regenerative Organic Certified® making it one of the largest ROC projects in cotton globally.
We hope this achievement will inspire other brands to join our mission to lead a transformation in organic cotton farming, and give consumers better, more planet-friendly choices for everyday essentials.
While we’ve been sourcing organic cotton for the past decade, we wanted to transition to regenerative organic. Given that Gallant has been able to achieve this benchmark, we’re now working to incorporate ROC cotton in Terra Thread products.
We’re keen on supporting farmers in India as we’ve seen the challenges they face: changing weather patterns, increased periods of drought, and a volatile economy that can affect their bottom line. So we hope to go down this regenerative path to ensure that organic cotton growers in India are able to diversify their incomes, build in additional sources of income, regenerate and strengthen soils to reckon with changing weather patterns and help cultivate a new seed bank for organic cotton seeds.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that cotton averages about 25 percent of the total fiber used worldwide, making it one of the most important textile fibers in the world. However, the environmental impact of conventional cotton is huge: in places like Central Asia, we’ve seen the Aral Sea deplete down to 10% of its original volume, due to cotton production. According to Fairtrade International, around 100 million rural households are engaged in cotton production in more than 75 countries around the globe. Yet how are they benefiting from this production of cotton? Many farmers often turn to Genetically Modified Seeds (GMOs), in hopes of increasing yields — though that comes with its own challenges of having to buy seeds every year, and then the exposure to chemicals in growing those seeds into plants.
This is why we have chosen to make our products from ORGANIC and FAIRTRADE cotton grown by family farmers in India. The organic cotton used in our products is grown without using GMOs, and harmful and toxic inputs such as fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. It means a healthy life for farmers, workers and consumers as they are not exposed to toxicity and runoff, which also contaminates food systems and waterways.
In addition to using organic ingredients, our products are made at a Fair Trade Certified facility. The Fair Trade Certification ensures that all workers receive:
Legal wages and benefits.
Improved livelihoods.
Safe and healthy workplaces.
Gender equality.
Women’s rights.
A responsible workplace throughout the entire supply chain
Gallant International works in tandem with the ROA requirements to ensure that we’re meeting regenerative organic standards, as well as testing on our own to track progress at the soil level.
We are looking to collect data that can be shared and serve as a proof point. Our hope is that other brands will want to join us on this journey. In fact, that is the goal: to share our findings, our process, and inspire industry-wide change.
To be certified Regenerative Organic, environmental AND social standards have to be met along the entire supply chain. It’s the first certification of its kind that focuses on combining both environmental projects and social projects under one roof.
Thus, we use GOTS-certified organic cotton which is also Fairtrade certified. Then it’s taken to Fairtrade factories where it's turned into bags, garments, and accessories.
To be considered regenerative, our farmers are incorporating intercropping, rotating crops when feasible, and focusing on soil health. We’ve recently brought on Amol Nirban who has a doctorate in agricultural systems and has worked with EcoCert, one of the leading organic certification organizations in the world, for over a decade to oversee our regenerative efforts in India. He will be not only monitoring farms but also checking for soil health improvements so that we can provide data to our partners and to other brands who may want to source ROC cotton.
We will be following ROA guidelines and annual assessments. In addition, our operations will be monitored by our on-the-ground specialist Mr. Nirban who has been working as an auditor in the organic space for years; he’s well-versed in the farming practices that need to be followed to ensure that we have positive outcomes.
Regenerative Organic Alliance + Organic Cotton Farmers in India
SDGS & Targets
Goal 8
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
8.1
8.1.1
Annual growth rate of real GDP per capita
8.2
Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors
8.2.1
Annual growth rate of real GDP per employed person
8.3
Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
8.3.1
Proportion of informal employment in total employment, by sector and sex
8.4
Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, with developed countries taking the lead
8.4.1
Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP
8.4.2
Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP
8.5
8.5.1
Average hourly earnings of female and male employees, by occupation, age and persons with disabilities
8.5.2
Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities
8.6
8.6.1
Proportion of youth (aged 15-24 years) not in education, employment or training
8.7
Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms
8.7.1
Proportion and number of children aged 5‑17 years engaged in child labour, by sex and age
8.8
Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment
8.8.1
Fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers, by sex and migrant status
8.8.2
Level of national compliance with labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining) based on International Labour Organization (ILO) textual sources and national legislation, by sex and migrant status
8.9
By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
8.9.1
Tourism direct GDP as a proportion of total GDP and in growth rate
8.10
Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all
8.10.1
(a) Number of commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults and (b) number of automated teller machines (ATMs) per 100,000 adults
8.10.2
Proportion of adults (15 years and older) with an account at a bank or other financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider
8.a
8.a.1
Aid for Trade commitments and disbursements
8.b
By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization
8.b.1
Existence of a developed and operationalized national strategy for youth employment, as a distinct strategy or as part of a national employment strategy
Goal 12
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
12.1
Implement the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries
12.1.1
Number of countries developing, adopting or implementing policy instruments aimed at supporting the shift to sustainable consumption and production
12.2
By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
12.2.1
Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP
12.2.2
Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP
12.3
By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses
12.3.1
(a) Food loss index and (b) food waste index
12.4
By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment
12.4.1
12.4.2
(a) Hazardous waste generated per capita; and (b) proportion of hazardous waste treated, by type of treatment
12.5
By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse
12.5.1
National recycling rate, tons of material recycled
12.6
Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle
12.6.1
12.7
Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities
12.7.1
Number of countries implementing sustainable public procurement policies and action plans
12.8
By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature
12.8.1
Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment
12.a
Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production
12.a.1
Installed renewable energy-generating capacity in developing countries (in watts per capita)
12.b
Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
12.b.1
Implementation of standard accounting tools to monitor the economic and environmental aspects of tourism sustainability
12.c
Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities
12.c.1
Amount of fossil-fuel subsidies (production and consumption) per unit of GDP
Goal 13
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
13.1
Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
13.1.1
Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
13.1.2
Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030
13.1.3
Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies
13.2
Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
13.2.1
Number of countries with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
13.2.2
Total greenhouse gas emissions per year
13.3
Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
13.3.1
Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment
13.a
Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
13.a.1
Amounts provided and mobilized in United States dollars per year in relation to the continued existing collective mobilization goal of the $100 billion commitment through to 2025
13.b
Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities
13.b.1
Number of least developed countries and small island developing States with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
SDG 14 targets covered
Deliverables & Timeline
Resources mobilized
Partnership Progress
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Timeline
Entity
Region
- Asia and Pacific
Geographical coverage
Other beneficiaries
Currently, we have certified over 3500 acres and more than 700 farmers. We’re actively working on adding to this acreage, and including more farmers on the regenerative organic journey.
More information
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