Marks & Spencers use cotton from Gujarat farmers

UK-based retail major, Marks and Spencers (M&S), has launched socks and t-shirts made from cotton produced by Gujarat farmers across its 36 stores in Britain.

The company, in return, has guaranteed the farmers a fair price, said a statement of Shell foundation, an independent charity registered in Britain.

Agrocel, an agricultural service provider, would initially procure the fairtrade cotton from the farmers of Bhuj district for supplying it to Marks and Spencers value chain, but later on it plans to procure the cotton from the other areas of Gujarat.

"By bringing together the farmers, agrocel and M&S in this innovative partnership we have delivered a sustainable solution to these problems," Shell Foundation Programme Manager Sharna Jarvis said.

Marks and Spencers made this announcement during fairtrade fortnight, a global campaign that aims to highlight plight of farmers in developing countries who are subjected to exploition by middlemen and get an unfair price for their produce.

Shell Foundation, the charity arm of the oil company, has helped to remove barriers in supply-chain by working closely with M&S and the cotton farmers, and by providing some initial financial and logistics support.

Explaining how it helped eliminating obstacles in supply chain, the foundation said it has helped Agrocel, who earlier could not ensure cotton supply to the UK-based retailing giant, in building a stockpile- called a 'Yarn Bank'.

The foundation has also provided consultants to help Agrocel to streamline other elements of the supply-chain.