There is a plethora of sustainable cotton standards and programs in the market. One very legit question is why a new standard is needed? The answer is simple. Existing cotton standards are focused on a particular area for improvement e.g. in best management practices or at the farm level. There are none that views cotton supply chain as a whole ecosystem and proposes interventions based on the complex inter-relationships of all supply chain players. Milliner Cotton intends to do just that.

Mr. Omer Ahmed

CEO, Artistic Milliners

To ensure complete traceability and transparency, we have initiated the digitalization of our value chain. We partnered with retraced – a supply chain solution firm based out of Germany. Using the blockchain technology, the traceability solution being implemented by retraced will guarantee that data remains immutable after it enters the system. The solution is further integrated with our ERP for greater transparency at each stage of the production process. Together, Artistic Milliners and retraced have created a one of its kind, farm to fashion traceability solution that is likely to redefine our value chain’s credibility of ethically sourced cotton and responsible denim and jeans production.

Our MCI farms in Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab are all set for a major digital transformation. While searching for science-based technology that will allow better management of cotton crop and sustainable farming, we came across Crop2x. A Pakistan based tech firm, offering a full portfolio of data driven crop monitoring solution had all the ingredients we needed to help our farmers adapt the latest technology in the agriculture space. With the support of Crop2x, our farmers will have access to the field data, weather updates and satellite imagery through sensors to monitor and control soil nutrients, water level and health and, pest attack prediction, water resource management and fertilizer usage. The trend analysis from data monitoring will allow farmers to save resources while significantly improving the yield and quality of the cotton crop.

Small land holding farmers have to depend on a broker for in-kind loans which can unfortunately be low quality seeds and adulterated fertilizers at a high cost. Milliner Cotton Initiative plans to give quality farm inputs to farmers at subsidized rates; and also provide Best Management Training to farmers to minimize farming cost and maximize farm yield.

Small land holding farmers have to depend on a broker for in-kind loans which can unfortunately be low quality seeds and adulterated fertilizers at a high cost. Milliner Cotton Initiative plans to give quality farm inputs to farmers at subsidized rates; and also provide Best Management Training to farmers to minimize farming cost and maximize farm yield.

Milliner Organic is our Organic Cotton project that is running parallel to MCI. The project aims to develop a future standard of premium and certified Organic Cotton in Pakistan. We chose Kohlu - a remote village in Balochistan with fertile land, for our organic cotton farming. Our entire Organic Cotton process, from seed to weave, is GOTS certified. Through regenerative farming practices in Kohlu, we are protecting the soil health and the biodiversity of the region. We are working closely with the Department of Agriculture Extension, Government of Balochistan and WWF Pakistan for the successful implementation.

To ensure the complete transparency of our premium organic cotton, we are working with Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) as our strategic counsel for organic cotton farming. Our organic cotton project is support by our long-standing brand partner BESTSELLER. Together, we are growing the purest organic cotton in Pakistan. As the project progresses, we will invest in the community development and wellbeing of the farmer community in Kohlu with the necessary interventions like clean drinking water, electricity and education.