Organic color cotton
The organic color cotton is exclusively produced on a purchase guaranteed system by the Natural Cotton Color Group – NCC Ecobrands. The plantation is the result of the support from Embrapa Cotton and the work carried out by the Margarida Maria Alves settlement in the city of Juarez Távora (PB). The plantation takes up 18 hectares of land in a rainfed agriculture system, without any synthetic fertilizer or pesticide.
The cotton is processed in the settlement itself. A machine separates the seed of the fiber. The seed stays in the settlement for the next planting season and also for animal feed, and the fiber goes to the spinning industry in Campina Grande and Joao Pessoa. After the harvest, cattle and goats (another source of income for cotton producers) eat the remains of plants, and what is left is removed by the farmers, leaving the field clean for planting in the following year.
The Biodynamic Institute – IBD certifies the color cotton produced in Juarez Távora as an organic product. To issue the certificate, IBD checks, among other details, the basic requirements for organic production and if the planting of the cotton follows the Brazilian Forest Code and the Labor Laws. The IBD certification has international credibility and is monitored by institutions such as the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM – England); DAR (Germany); USDA (United States); JAS (Japan) and Demeter International.