Swedish furniture retailer Ikea is sourcing over 35 per cent of its cotton requirement from Indian farmers. Cotton is an important raw material for the world’s largest furniture maker, which uses about one per cent of the global production of cotton every year. In 2014-15, it sourced 50,000 tons of cotton from India. Ikea is working with over 50,000 farmers across Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telengana and is expected to increase procurement over the next few years.
The company plans to bring industry players to start working with farmers to produce cotton. It wants to bring the entire textile industry together — from ginning, weaving to spinning. Ikea is trying to provide better working conditions for cotton farm owners and workers, improve soil quality, and make industry start working with farmers. Since 2005, when it started working in Andhra Pradesh, it has been trying to empower farmers by providing them technical knowhow.
The target is to work with over two million farmers and induce them to use less pesticides, less chemical fertilizers and less water. Farmers working with Ikea have recorded 26 per cent higher gross margins than conventional farmers.
The company plans to open several stores in Delhi/NCR, Hyderabad, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
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