Buy African cotton!

An interview with Christian Barthel, Global Sourcing Manager, Cotton made in Africa

You have been with the Otto Group since 1987. What were the career stages that led you to Global Sourcing with Cotton Made in Africa?
I was initially a procurement manager in purchasing at Otto, where it was my responsibility to source textiles globally with the aim of timely, high quality delivery to Otto customers. I subsequently transferred to Turkey, where I monitored Otto's textile producers to ensure that products fulfilled our specifications. I later became the head of an Otto subsidiary consulting firm, also in Turkey, whose task was the enhancement of productivity in the textile value-added chain to make it more reliable. In my current function as Sourcing Manager, I can draw on a full 21 years of professional experience.

Can you describe how cotton fibers from a field in Benin make it to the end of the value-added chain as T-shirts in a German retail store?
The farmers trained by Cotton made in Africa turn their harvest over to cotton dealers and are paid immediately. The dealer, in turn, markets the cotton on world markets to our partner spinning mills. Our close cooperation with the dealers provides transparency with regard to the movement of the project's cotton. We always know which mill has purchased how much cotton from which project region. The spinning mills then deliver the yarns to the manufacturers producing T-shirts, sweaters, or bedsheets. Post delivery of the products to retailers, we are informed of the quantities so that we can monitor project cotton consumption via a computerized tracking system.

What future do you see for Cotton Made in Africa on world markets where cheap, subsidized cotton is the standard?
African cotton is an important supplementary resource for world markets trying to meet constantly rising demand for the raw material. An additional motivating factor is the endeavor to publicly promote retail buying of products made from cotton grown by African small farmers. The project produces very high quality cotton that can be incorporated into a broad range of products. There is virtually no textile production in Africa anymore, so that Africans are obliged to export their cotton. But major manufacturing countries such as China or India have long since started to produce their own cotton. So the problematic issue we face is not just subsidized cotton, but also competition from local growers in China and India.

What potential do you see for the new project region South Africa?
South Africa is interesting to us in two regards – for one, as a country where we can manufacture finished products from Cotton made in Africa cotton, and for two, as a demand country where we can get products made from African cotton into local companies' retail outlets, most significantly in the home textile market. That would give us the potential to keep the entire value-added chain inside Africa.

Interview: Peter Felixberger