In an effort to create a truly sustainable global community, EDUN, a socially conscious clothing company launched in Spring 2005 by Bono’s wife Ali Hewson with New York clothing designer Rogan Gregory, has established the Conservation Cotton Initiative (CCI).

The Initiative will work towards improving the livelihoods of communities in Africa by promoting greater investment in sustainable and ethical production of conservation-friendly agricultural products.

CCI will focus in particular on cotton grown organically or through methods that are part of a transition from conventional to organic production. Another focus of CCI is to incorporate sustainable conservation agricultural practices and the protection of wildlife. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) currently works on sustainable conservation farming with farmers in Madagascar, Uganda and Zambia. WCS will advise and work with EDUN and the CCI in those countries to help farmers apply sustainable conservation methods in growing cotton.

EDUN and WCS’s endeavors to assist communities in producing and marketing “conservation cotton” are designed to improve the livelihoods of communities living in landscapes of high wildlife conservation value. In well-managed landscapes, higher incomes can be part of a broader strategy to reduce the negative impacts of people on their local natural habitats.

EDUN and WCS expect to generate funds that will go directly towards supporting sustainable natural resource management in Africa, with a focus on Madagascar, Uganda and Zambia. Such efforts include establishing farmer agreements that promote conservation and improve livelihoods, and developing local farmer outreach programs to ensure that such practices are taken up by the broader community.

“Eighty percent of Africans live directly off the land, so it is imperative that Africa’s natural resources are managed sustainably,” said Dr. James Deutsch, WCS director for Africa programs. “Working with EDUN, which has been a global leader in promoting markets in Africa, is a natural fit for the Wildlife Conservation Society, which has been working with local people to save wildlife and wild lands throughout Africa and throughout the world for more than 100 years.”

WCS will help provide technical advice and assistance in facilitating partnerships between EDUN and farmers, as well as other local organizations. WCS will also provide eyes and ears on the ground for CCI to help assure that partnerships with those communities remain strong.

The project will run from 2007 and continue over the next three years to increase production of organic cotton and farmer incomes while protecting key conservation areas. Additional partners in the project include local governments, donors, NGOs and others involved in the production and marketing of organic cotton in the focal countries.