Find the Replay of the conference here.

3 Key learning points from the conference

1.  Defining Regenerative Agriculture

One key takeaway was the definition of regenerative agriculture provided by Paris Good Fashion cited below.

 « Regenerative agriculture is a set of farming practices that place soil health at the heart of the cropping system. This type of agriculture aims to regenerate ecosystems, increase atmospheric carbon sequestration, and soil resilience to climatic fluctuations while bringing a positive social impact for individuals and society.

The practices resulting from this agronomic approach promote resistant, nutrient-rich crops that provide excellent resilience to diseases, pests and climatic hazards, reduce soil erosion, optimise the water cycle and increase biodiversity, thereby providing ecosystem services. »

This definition helps to contextualise regenerative agriculture in today’s world and frame the conference with a clear and concise definition.

2.  The importance of implementing regenerative agricultural strategies

The importance of regenerative agriculture was emphasised throughout the conference. One reason mentioned by WWF is that the Global South contributes minimally to the global climate crisis while bearing a disproportionate burden of its consequences. An example of this is the catastrophic flooding in Pakistan in 2022 which affected 40% of the Cotton crop in Pakistan.

Furthermore, partly due to the climate crisis, the well-being of farmers has also been suffering. PUR, an impact company which regenerates ecosystems within corporate value chains, noted a lack of financial safety nets and sufficient investments for farmers, which in turn acts as a local barrier for their company to implement regenerative practices in Turkey as farmers are sometimes reluctant to new practices.

3.  Current regenerative agriculture implementation strategies

Overall, the conference gave an insight into the work of six different companies in regenerative agriculture, contributing to a strong global view of the work currently being done in this sector.

WWF-Turkiye’s Buyuk Menderes Program aims to enhance soil health across the Soke region’s 115,000 hectares in Turkey, strengthening local cotton production resilience, reducing risks, enhancing competitiveness, and ensuring its long-term viability. They are also designing a plan to enhance water and soil management in cotton farming in the Buyuk Menderes basin, with the goal of scalability for application in diverse regions across Turkey and globally.
Bergman/Rivera’s project aims to improve soil health while working closely with farmers, allowing them to organise and take decisions on the use of their premiums, encouraging relationships between farmers of different locations to exchange experiences overall contributing to a growing interest in cotton farming in the younger generations.
PUR’s objectives are to mitigate climate change risk at the farm level by implementing 5 key points: cover the crop, reduce tillage, use organic manure/fertilizer, and integrate pest management and irrigation technology.
Materra is designing scalable solutions to grow and source climate-resilient transparent and equitable cotton for fashion, farmers and the planet. They use cutting-edge technology to restore biodiversity, reduce resource usage and raise farmer livelihoods.
Söktaş, a leading designer and producer of premium cotton fabrics in the Meander Valley in Western Turkey employ centuries-long regenerative practices, seeking to undo the negative environmental effects of industrial agriculture.
Farfarm based in Brazil is an impact company specialising in brand strategy and innovation in regenerative supply chains, through transparent and responsible communication, implementation of content and data, brand strategy and impact, feasible sourcing, and education.

The work these companies are doing provides us with key knowledge and a more positive outlook on how the fashion industry is making changes from the start of the process in the supply chain by giving us some hope for the future and inspiring us to continue working towards positive change.