Certifications in agriculture, like organic and Fair Trade, set valuable standards but often fall short of driving real change, especially in the cotton industry. Become, a manufacturer in Peru, is addressing this by engaging farmers and brands in shared responsibility.
Certifications have traditionally been seen as a measure of sustainability in agriculture, but they often fall short in driving real change. Too often, they become a box-checking exercise that overlooks deeper systemic issues and the real challenges farmers face.
In the cotton industry, this limitation is especially clear. Although demand for sustainable cotton is rising, certified organic or regenerative cotton makes up less than 1% of global production. The gap between demand and supply is enormous, and traditional approaches, including certifications, aren't scaling fast enough to meet the needs of brands and consumers. Research indicates that up to 70% of sustainability investments fail to deliver measurable impact due to misaligned incentives, lack of collaboration, and ineffective data use.
This is where Become, a manufacturer based in Lima, Peru, stands out. Their approach goes beyond data collection and certification, focusing instead on creating shared ownership of sustainability. By directly engaging with farmers, Become ensures that all stakeholders—including brands—share responsibility for the shift to regenerative cotton farming. This collective accountability is essential for achieving meaningful and lasting change in a fragmented supply chain.
Become is certified GOTS, OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100, and is in the process of certifying for Fair Trade, Social compliance (BSCI) and OEKO TEX Organic Cotton. In 2024, they began to look at moving beyond organic to regenerative through the Regen Agri framework. However, they recognized that to make more significant strides in regenerative agriculture, they needed to understand how to best work with farmers. On average, transitioning to regenerative agriculture can cost $355 per hectare annually, depending on the region and practices implemented.
Targeted insight-driven approaches have been proven to save up to 30-50% in resource allocation, as they help identify and act on high-impact areas that generate the best results in less time. These insights reduce wasted spending, leading to smarter investments that drive tangible outcomes.
ABLE worked closely with Become to design and implement a system that tracks environmental and social data on a weekly basis, creating a fluid understanding of farm ecosystems over time.
Our approach focused on asking ongoing, non-leading questions that were designed to capture real activities and farmer opinions rather than just "correct" answers. By removing the pressure of right or wrong answers, we encouraged transparency and more accurate data sharing, leading to a deeper understanding of challenges and progress.
We also built an incentive structure, paying farmers each time they engaged in the program. This incentive was tied to the act of sharing data, versus outcomes, grounding answers in the principle of social desirability bias—a tendency for people to respond in a way that they think is socially acceptable. By designing the questions to focus on activities and opinions instead of right/wrong answers, we reduced the potential for this bias and enabled more authentic responses.
A robust data collection system that not only helps us track progress but also empowers farmers to feel invested in the process, ensuring that their voices are heard and that their feedback leads to real-world change.
Use certifications as an entry point for continuous engagement, not as a final goal. This helps shift focus to meaningful, ongoing improvement and cost-effective interventions that benefit both farmers and brands.
