Gallant International launches world’s largest regenerative organic cotton project

Gallant International, an LA-based company, and its factory partners collaborated on the project with organic cotton co-op Chetna Organic, resulting in more than 3,500 acres of land being Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC), making it one of the largest ROC projects in cotton globally.

The Regenerative Organic Alliance, a California-based non-profit created by US outdoor clothing company Patagonia, Dr. Bronner’s, and the Rodale Institute, is spearheading the Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) accreditation.

The certification program, which began in 2018, requires agricultural communities to achieve a set of standards that prioritize soil health, animal care, and the social well-being of farmers and farmworkers. Intercropping, fostering biodiversity, employing organic inputs (preferably from within the farm’s ecosystem), little or no tilling, and crop rotation to keep soils covered year-round are all examples of regenerative farming methods. Furthermore, the agricultural systems are fair-trade certified. Following these principles increases organic matter in the soil and enhances overall soil health while providing farmers and employees with fair and decent working conditions.

The certification program, which was launched in 2018, requires agricultural communities to achieve a set of standards that prioritize soil health, animal care, and the social well-being of farmers and farmworkers. Intercropping, fostering biodiversity, employing organic inputs (preferably from within the farm’s ecosystem), little or no tilling, and crop rotation to keep soils covered year-round are all examples of regenerative farming methods. Furthermore, the agricultural systems are fair-trade certified. Following these principles increases organic matter in the soil and enhances overall soil health while providing farmers and employees with fair and decent working conditions.

Gallant and its partners believe that the new certification will drive a shift in how organic cotton is grown across the subcontinent, as well as provide more scrutiny to a supply chain that they claim are expanding in demand but lacking in true transparency.

Vikrant Giri, founder of Gallant International, and its sister company, Terra Thread, said that they’ve been utilizing organic cotton for nearly a decade, and they’re overjoyed to take it to the next level with this certification. Farmers will now not only be engaged in the most regenerative techniques conceivable, but they will also be helping to repair the world while earning extra money from organic, fairtrade premiums, and rotational crops. This certification is much more than a checkbox exercise. They’re aiming to build a more holistic supply chain that considers everyone involved, not just the buyer.

Gallant, a California-based B Corp, collaborates with businesses and non-profits to create branded clothes, bags, and accessories made entirely of organic cotton using fairtrade principles. It has been producing organic cotton bags and accessories in collaboration with its factory partners and Chetna Organic, one of India’s organic cotton co-ops, to manufacture organic cotton bags and accessories.

Chetna is well-known for its pioneering organic cotton growing practices, as well as its work throughout India to make cotton production more environmentally friendly, traceable, and profitable for growers.

Arun Ambatipudi, executive director of Chetna, a 100% farmer-owned organization, said that with climate change a fact and both agriculture areas and forest cover dwindling, experts all over the world are advocating for agroecological and regenerative agricultural approaches. It’s critical for them to encourage a more holistic approach to farming, particularly among its smallholder cotton farming communities living in forest corridors.