VEJA, a brand synonymous with sustainability, fair trade, and transparency, sources its organic cotton for sneakers, laces, and insoles from Brazil and Peru, focusing on ecosystem harmony. This detailed report delves into the organic cotton industry in Brazil, particularly on Luan’s farm and fields located in Piauí, deep within Brazil. For over a century, Luan’s family has cultivated these lands, which also bore their ancestors. Alongside cotton, they plant a variety of other crops including corn, sesame, beans, and watermelon on their 7-hectare farm, favoring crop rotation over monoculture.
“Growing only cotton depletes the soil and increases issues with pests and diseases. If a single crop fails, it could devastate your income,” Luan explains. Post-harvest, animals graze the fields, plowing them naturally, and their waste serves as excellent fertilizer. Although modest by Brazilian standards, Luan’s family-run, small-scale farm is significant, with all work done by hand, including manual pest removal from each cotton boll. No chemical fertilizers or heavy machinery like tractors are used; instead, they adhere to traditional methods passed down from ancestors, blended with modern know-how.
To address pest issues, corn is planted between cotton fields to protect neighboring crops should one succumb to pests. The corn also provides food for both the family and their animals. Bees thrive on the cotton flowers during bloom, and the honey they produce is a vital source of income. The farm only uses rainwater, showcasing a perfect example of agroecology, allowing agriculture to continue in harmony with the ecosystem.
“Agroecology is one of the philosophies VEJA values,” says Valdenira, an agricultural engineer with VEJA Brazil. This movement, which began in the 1980s in Latin America, not only focuses on ecological agriculture but also aims to improve the independence of local communities, producers, and consumers who have lost autonomy due to industrialized agriculture.
Despite cotton’s ubiquity in our daily lives, its uncomfortable truths are seldom discussed. According to the World Wildlife Fund, it takes 2,700 liters of water to produce one T-shirt—about three years’ worth of drinking water for one person. Over three-quarters of the world’s cotton seeds are genetically modified to resist certain pesticides, thus sold together, leading to significant environmental and health damages. Yet, less than 1% of global cotton is organic. VEJA also deeply values fair trade, supporting sustainable agriculture and improving producers’ quality of life. By purchasing cotton directly from producers, paying half in advance, and reviewing contracts biennially, VEJA strives to ensure sustainable livelihoods for producers. In 2021, the purchase price was 18.7 R$ per kilogram of cotton, nearly double the market rate, and 20.77 R$ in 2022.
“Fashion starts upstream with agriculture,” as noted by Valkyria from her farm near UNESCO’s Serra da Capybara site. Last year, her family harvested 150 kg of organic cotton, a critical income source. While her husband runs a construction business in Sao Paulo and returns home quarterly, Valkyria handles most of the farm work. “Harvest time is the happiest period in farming, despite the hard work, it’s exhilarating to see a tiny seed grow into something beautiful,” she shares. As consumers increasingly engage in sustainable consumption, the focus might need to shift back to agriculture, the foundation of fashion. Soon, consumers may become as interested in who grew the cotton in their sneakers as they are in the brands they wear.
