Organisation Zameen Organic Country India Product...

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c o n n e c t i n g p r o d u c e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s

Organisation

Country

Product

Best practice

Zameen Organic

India

Cotton and textiles

Marketing and value chain coordination

The story of Zameen Organic:

Strengthening capacity to access global markets

This document has been realised with support from Progreso Network and Solidaridad Netherlands

Visit for more information the website www.progresonetwork.org

2 Z a m e e n O r g a n i c - I n d i a

Table of conTenT

� Summary

1 Zameen’s real i t y

2 How i t a l l star ted

3 On the way!

4 What was achieved

5 Useful lessons

3

5

6

8

13

17


� Country: India

� Organisation: Zameen Organic

� Contact details for more information: www.zameen.org

� Product: Cotton and textiles

� Best practice: Marketing and value chain coordination

� Organisation Model: Farmer company

This report lays out the steps in the process of value chain building along with pointers and pitfalls for other producer

organisations. We did our best to document our experience but we do not claim it is a tried and tested model that

can be copy-pasted into different regions.

The reality of Zameen Organic

Zameen Organic is an Indian farmer owned marketing company that aims to build platforms to connect small

farmers to big brands in global markets.

The areas of Vidarbha and Telangana in South India are known for farmer suicides and have a large percentage of

indigenous people. Due to the high risk environment and high cost of credit, agriculture systems with expensive

inputs are not viable and the dominance of such systems has been one of the major causes for the spate of suicides

(170,000 deaths between 1997 and 2007).

Zameen is a trading company of which 50% of the shares are blocked for small farmer organisations. Currently the

membership consists of 4,000 families. Besides selling cotton the company sells processed textiles and is starting a

food division shortly as well as input supply.

How it all started

The people behind Zameen come from different backgrounds like: development, agriculture, academics and

commerce. The development sector was represented by an NGO called Agriculture and Organic Farming Group

(AOFG), the organic agriculture and quality control expertise was brought in by Ashoka fellow Gijs Spoor, and the

commercial expertise was brought in by long time textile enterprensue Satish Chukkupalli. Together they founded

the company in 2006 with support from Stichting het Groene Woudt and Cordaid Netherlands. Aim was to combine

the best of these worlds and offer an alternative development model: an example that could inspire change to the

system that keeps creating poverty in rural India.

On the way

The team of promoters liaised with local government departments to find willing groups of small farmers and used

their professional networks to rope in textile companies. This was a complex process because few brands go deep

enough into their supply base to facilitate smooth interaction between trading partners (i.e. spinners, fabric mills

and garment factories). In the textiles industry, agents and middle men often form a part of the problem rather than

the solution because it is part of their business model to prevent direct contact.

Zameen pioneered a model for fairtrade supply chain coordination and co-branding with a large textile mill called

ALOK Industries –uniquely positioned to shorten the chain because it is 100% vertically integrated.

Summary


Meanwhile, in Europe a network of supply chain ambassadors was set up, directly representing the farmers and

factories to generate business.

What was achieved

Zameen managed to build a value chain that generates power and money for small marginalised farmers. Critical

elements are a well oiled network of organic certified small farmers organisations, long term partnerships with

textile factories including funds to roll out joint marketing campaigns, and a model to make farmers voices heard

among buyers through direct presentation in Europe.

Various long term trading relations have been developed and the model is being documented to prepare for

replication in value chains based on other commodities such as coffee, rubber, fruits and grains.

Useful lessons

In the process the team discovered that what they were going through can be summarised in five steps in the

process, defined as:

1. consolidating production of fairtrade, pesticide free cotton

2. building an ethical Indian supply chain in India

3. recruiting supply chain representatives in Europe

4. generating initial orders from brands in Europe

5. deepening the relationship with the brands for the future

The first step of consolidating production of fairtrade, pesticide free cotton is a “regular” rural development process

including organisation development, technical assistance and internal quality control to enable international

certification. Zameen grew from 200 farmers to 4,000 in three years.

The second step of building an ethical Indian supply chain in India is less common in development and even in

mainstream business. It requires heavy investment in relationship building.

The third step - to find partners to help with sales support- implies intensive networking within the ethical textile

sector, combining both social and commercial expertise.

The fourth step of bringing in trial orders with brands is the real test of the supply chain and the relationships.

Zameen is still perfecting this part of the process – among other ways through establishing a systematic Customer

Relationship Management tool.

The fifth and final step of deepening relations with brands to secure long term visibility for the farmers is the most

innovative and potentially the most lucrative. There are many of opportunities to generate value through long term

relationships but very few companies have experience with this type of trade and are therefore quite resistant and

lack confidence to experiment.

Finally, the Zameen team realised it could grow because it was able to generate support from all sections of society: the

market, the government and civil society. Keeping the cross cultural sensitivity required to attract people from these

different spheres while growing into a more structured business is one of the biggest challenges the company faces today.


The organisation is situated in Southern India with farmers spread over the two states

of Andhra Pradesh and Maharastra. This is an area known for farmer suicides and has

a large percentage of indigenous people. The population consists mainly of dryland

farmers growing small grains (millet, sorghum) pulses (soya, lentils) and cotton.

People live of a single season called kharif (July-February) and increasingly look

for off farm work in the summer (March-May). Their main problems are unreliable

rainfall, bad soil fertility and lack of basic services such as education, healthcare,

credit and information to make informed decisions.

Due to the high risk environment and high cost of credit, agriculture systems with

expensive inputs are not viable and the dominance of such systems has been one of

the major causes for the spate of suicides.

In India cotton is mainly produced by small dryland farmers (only 30% of the cotton is irrigated). Zameen is a

federation of a large number of groups representing more than 4000 families. After harvest they usually sell to

the same trader that provides credit and inputs and dominates the informal economy. Many members have been

developing alternatives for high cost chemical farming using local inputs.

A group of farmers decided some 3 years ago to join forces and register a company to get access to the most

powerful players in the value chain namely Indian textile industry and international fashion brands. This is the story

of that journey from the Indian village to the catwalks and high street shops of Paris, London and New York

Zameen’S realiTy

1

Field visit by ALOK staff withUS sportswear company


Challenging context

The challenges that the members of Zameen were facing when they started building the organisation in 2006 were

plenty. There are high levels of distrust in rural India as well as in the textile industry, with many factions competing

for power and money. International trade is also a quagmire of distrust exacerbated by people making a living from

the lack of interaction –so called middlemen that do not add value (also called “smokescreens”).

Back homeChallenges in the villages itself were mainly around transparent leadership, accountability and governance. Who is a

good farmer leader? What are the responsibilities of members when holding the leadership to account? What should

members do themselves and for which tasks do they employ staff? How to involve women, illiterate members and

landless labourers?

The starting point, was that nobody collaborated with anybody else and all were competing for favours from

powerful people such as traders and government officials. Zameen had to tread a fine line between ensuring short

term benefits, to keep up motivation and long term vision, to ensure the company stayed on track. In three years the

organisations grew from 200 farmers to over 4,000.

At Zameen headquartersZameen was promoted by three people: Mr Koshy, Mr Spoor and Mr Chukkupalli. Mr Koshy represented the promoting

NGO called Agriculture & Organic Farming Group India (AOFG), Mr Spoor is a social enterpreneur while Ashoka Fellow

and Mr Chukkupalli are textile entrepreneur’s. They formed the board that interacted intensely with the farmer

leadership and the outside world. The challenge was to bring various cultures together into a single operational

structure: Asian & European, rural and urban, agri-based and industry based, commercial and non profit.

The situation at the outset was that all three had their own agendas, networks, values and identities and did not

want to give these up without clear benefit from the synergy. It was hard to recruit likeminded professionals who

were willing to stay in remote areas and earn less than their peers in corporate jobs or with international donor

funded projects. Zameen had to survive during hard years with very little support. Though farmer representation at

board level was an ambition from the start it was realised that strategic decision making required intensive training

for which the promoters had no time. Hence till date there are no farmer directors.

Within the value chainZameen started working with small fairtrade factories in India that were FLO certified, but were all protecting their

clients and networks. Despite being a pioneer sector there was little or no sharing of knowledge which held back

learning and allowed larger players to catch up and sometimes out-compete the pioneers.

At the begining people did not know each other and did not want to know. The value chain looks complex and

daunting and when there is a deadline or target to meet one does not prioritise building a new relationship with

someone who’s not directly involved in your core business. Zameen had to forge new relationships and build a lot of

trust amongst all of the value chain partners.

How iT all STarTed

22.1


Main steps in the process

There were many parallel developments over the past three years, including structuring of operations, improving

corporate governance, developing a model for rural service delivery, etc. but in the process of generating access to

international markets there were 5 main steps:

1. consolidating production of fairtrade, pesticide free cotton

2. building an ethical Indian supply chain in India

3. recruiting supply chain representatives in Europe

4. generating initial orders from brands in Europe

5. deepening the relationship with the brands for the future

The table below lists the expectations from various stakeholders involved in the process:

Background Expectations/ Hopes Fears

Farmers History of exploitation and

resigning tofate. History of

infighting and lack of solidarity:

cooperatives have failed and

politics mired in corruption

Market access means recognition

and respect as well as reduced

risk and stability for farm

planning

Risk of bad rains omnipresent

means aim is always to maximise

income – fear is that others get

higher price. Also fear is being

exploited as usual”

Farmer leaders Leadership means corruption and

selfishness

In line with the past leaders

expect personal benefits

Fear is loss of face –e.g. if

organisation does not deliver

AOFG (NGO) staff Service to farmers in government

mode: give them what they ask

for

Staff hope for long term security

within farmer organisation

Relationship with farmers

damaged in case of bad sales

Zameen board Very different backgrounds for

each member

Hope is to reach a common goal

that allows each member to

realise their dreams

Farmers not being reasonable

about price and quality

Zameen investors Commercial returns from

ventures are the norm

Zameen may generate a model

that can be replicated in other

value chains

Experimentation is always risky:

will it succeed commercially?

Supply chain partners incl ALOK

Industries

Bulk fabric sales to large brands

and retailers, compete with

Cheap China.

Did not know where cotton

came from and could not answer

buyers if they asked.

Felt bad about suicides in their

own region and sector.

Always looking for opportunities

and thinking in terms of

solutions.

Increase market share in Europe

by good PR.

Adoption of project by strong

retailer / brand to take over

leading role within 3 years.

Lack of market support for real

change leading to loss making

investment in Zameen stock.

International Zameen

ambassadors

Various, mainly small ethical

brands

Power to reach mainstream

with strong back end support,

allowing them to focus on sales

Being left in the lurch by the

Indian team, loss of reputation

Brands Building and defending

reputation among consumers

Reliable supply of goods that

allow them to focus on sales

Good stuff will be too expensive

Consumer Everything is always available No worries about history of

products they buy

Complex stories are confusing:

are they doing the right thing?

2.2


This section will present the “5 easy steps Zameen took to conquer the world”. As mentioned in

the previous section they are: farmer mobilisation, supply chain building, sales rep recruitment, trial orders and

deepening of brand relations. How easy were these steps actually? What had to happen to achieve the end goal of

farmers faces on the shelves in Europe? Which partners were taken on board on the way and what roles did they

play?

Let us start by stating the vision and mission the initial Zameen team had defined:

MissionZameen’s mission is to build profitable supply-demand partnerships between strong organizations of small

farmers in India and ethical brands worldwide.

VisionZameen’s vision is to create a different kind of market where the promise of organic farming and

fairtrade can be realized. A market where farmers are known and celebrated, where innovative

design, social equity and stewardship of the land go hand in hand, and where fair returns are shared by all

partners in the value supply chain.

As you can see the aim of the company is to link farmers and brands as well as generate wider change within the

sector. These are objectives beyond the direct reach of the farmers and their professional management. This is a

typical feature of value chain initiatives: they are cross border, interdisciplinary, complex and holistic in nature. To

simplify analysis we broke down the overall process in five separate steps / phases. In actual reality all phases

happen simultaneously and chain integration only emerges if all actors are identified and willing to commit.

Consolidating production of fairtrade pesticide free cotton

The project started with 200 farmers mobilised by Mr Koshy’s NGO AOFG and funded by Stichting Het Groene Woud

(SHGW) and Cordaid, from the Netherlands. The project team had strong networks in technical support as well as

voluntary labels –one of which was the Ford Foundation funded network run by Centre for Sustainable Agriculture

(CSA) in Hyderabad which functioned as a hub for Non Pesticide Management (NPM) –from where they recently

launched a separate NPM label called ZERO. Other networks were the local liaison officers from the Fairtrade

Labelling Organisation (FLO) and their National Initiatives (the sales people from European fairtrade organisations

who maintain relationships with brands and label license holders). Finally, visits to and from textile factories and

brands were crucial to build confidence in market potential.

The local government played an important role in introducing the Zameen team to fledgling farmer organisations

and rural grassroots organisations. The district administrations actively promoted contract farmer schemes and

supported farmers with subsidies on organic inputs which made it less risky to experiment with NPM cultivation

techniques.

on THe way!

3

3.1


Finally, the international volunteer network with hubs such as Intellecap – a Hyderabad based microfinance

consultancy- was critical in providing initial manpower to run field operations.

The structure of the farmer organisations has four tiers:

� Groups (less than 20 members) federate into

� Clusters (around 200 members) each with their own registration, board and monthly meetings, which

federate into

� Regional associations –again with separate registration, board and monthly meetings.

� Finally, at apex level there are two bodies representing clusters for different purposes:

a. The Producer Executive Body (PEB) is registered as a society and coordinates fairtarde premium

collection and investments.

b. The Mutual benefit trust (MBT) looks after communication with the Zameen board –preparing

board meetings, collecting member views, etc.- , investment of shares into the company by

members and distribution of dividend.

Building an ethical Indian supply chain

Again, networking was the key –with Organic Exchange being an important platform to get to know factories

and their management. Besides, there is a very active visiting circuit wherein brands, researchers, donors, and

certification inspectors see factories at work and exchange observations. They play a very important role as cross

pollinators – the bees of the value chain!

Various supply chains were explored, all with their own distinct intricacies and dynamics.

One partnership between a brand and a factory that used Zameen cotton was KSI Textilestation India. German baby

wear company Sense Organics and Mr Chukkupalli formed an Indo-German joint venture with high stakes from both

sides. The promoters had very strong technical backing, but could not manage both the Indian supply chain as well as

the European sales and hence had to separate again and focus as two companies: the brand and he factory. Zameen

continues to work closely and successfully with both.

An almost successful supply chain…The first factory Zameen started working with was PREMAS Exports who were supplying EPONA in the

UK: the promoter had invested in an integrated value chain in cluster form – he had expanded his garment

factory with a knitting and dyeing unit and even bought a second hand semi mechanised spinning machine

all on the basis of orders from a single customer.

Unfortunately he did not manage to control social practices in this quickly built empire and once he lost his

FLO certification the game was over…

3.2


The biggest and most talked about partnership is with ALOK Industries. Zameen signed a 3 year MoU covering both

raw cotton sales and joint promotion in the international market. This was never done before anywhere in the world

and it shows the potential for innovation in India. Zameen organised a workshop at ALOK’s Mumbai offices to train

mainstream industry professionals on fairtrade and stimulate management involvement. A dedicated staff member

was appointed to coordinate Zameen enquiries and orders with ALOK’s marketing department which is made up if

300 (!!) merchandisers.

Zameen included ALOK in its 2009 “triple bottom line” report -planting a seed for value chain wide ambitions on

social and ecological value creation. Frequent exchange visits between factory and field helped to consolidate the

relationship and joint presentations were made at international trade fairs in Paris, London, Mumbai and Frankfurt.

It is a very heavy task to ensure a happy marriage between a midget and a giant, but initial experience is positive

and the opportunities are amazing. Imagine farmers with less than a dollar a day being represented directly among

global corporate leaders: if that is not inclusive growth ?…

Recruiting representatives in Europe

With investment from two social impact venture capital funds Aavishkaar and Rianta Capital Zameen was able to

create confidence among potential sales representatives in Europe.

The investment was raised through a series of business plan competitions facilitated by New Ventures India1 and BID

(Business In Development2) that offered highly useful business plan formats and coaching support. A great help was

Zameen’s CFO at the time: Mr Leeder, an ex Wall street investment banker who turned idealist and decided to use

his corporate skills to make a difference in peoples lives rather than on paper.

This trend of professionals making otherwise unreachable skills accessible for Small Farmer Organisations is rapidly

growing and Zameen profited immensely from friends in business, banking, accounting and law. For more information

on professional services for social enterprises see the resources section in Annex 1.

Frankfurt 2008: the birth of Zameen Europe“To be in the same room with a group of dedicated fairtrade supporters and two of the most powerful

people in one of Asia’s leading textile industries was exhilarating: we were walking the talk!

Many people talk about value chain integration and multi-stakeholder platforms but we were actually

building one. Everyone was excited to be part of this unique process.”

- Gijs Spoor, founder director Zameen Organic

1 New Ventures India: http://www.newventuresindia.org/nvi/newdesign/index.jsp

2 Business In Development: http://www.bidnetwork.org/

3.3


The European sales team started taking form through a meeting in Frankfurt hosted by Sense Organics. ALOK CEO

Mr Jiwrajka attended along with his Vice President Mr Lerner and there was a genuine excitement. ALOK agreed to

charge no extra fees for processing Zameen cotton which meant that fabrics were available at affordable prices for

those who could meet ALOK’s minimum volumes. And textile professionals from France, Netherlands, Gemany and

the UK offered to open up their networks and pitch on behalf of the supply chain to generate large scale business.

A textile designer from UK who had spent 6 months with Zameen setting up a fibre sales system- was supported by

ALOK to run a European secretariat for the international Zameen consortium. This proved too expensive however and

orders took longer to materialise so the model was changed.

Renerating initial orders from brands in Europe

With the sales force in place to start generating orders the real challenge started: convincing brands to place their

purchasing power behind the Zameen story.

The first major order came from ALOK’s sister concern: a retail chain called Store21 (because you feel like 21 years

old when you leave the store). They were in the process of revamping their brand and rolling out new outlets across

the UK and this idea came just in time. The company joined the Ethical Trading Initiative3 and the staff underwent

a training on fairtrade concepts. The marketing department worked closely with Zameen sales representatives

in the UK to get the collection in store in time and on target, along with all the labelling requirements from the

Fairtrade Foundation – each communication where a brand uses the Fairtrade mark needs to be authorised by FLO.

The collection sold well and even had a special swing tag featuring the Zameen farmers story (more about this in

section 3.5).

A second order came from France for carry bags for a major grocery stores chain. It took over 12 months of

presentations and follow up to confirm this order due to frequent changes in management and general slow pace

of decisions in large companies.

A third positive experience was an order for sleeping bag liners from a Dutch outdoor company. The buyer even

visited the farmers and the factory and took a professional photographer along to create marketing material featuring

the producers.

There were also some bad experiences – for example with a major UK retail chain where the road seemed to turn

into a dead end with the garment factories in Sri Lanka – an element in the marketing strategy that Zameen and

ALOK had planned to include but never came round to.

Another major European fashion chain decided not to use the Fairtrade mark as it is not recognised evenly across

Europe – besides the UK, France and Netherlands not many markets have a strong preference for FLO certified

products.

3 Ethical Trading Initiative : http://www.ethicaltrade.org/

3.4


Deepening the relationship with the brands for the future

The “Store21” collection swingtag (see image) looks simple, but was the product

of a radical thinking process. If farmers get recognition – “a face”- in the market,

consumers are stimulated to question the brand about their suppliers. Once a brand

starts communicating about its suppliers it is very hard to stop. It becomes part of

the brand identity and the associated shopping experience. You don’t just buy an

anonymous interchangeable commodity anymore, rather you buy a product from

someone with a life story.

“Pants to Poverty”, is a very special brand that takes consumer producers linkages

to yet another level. Their marketing campaigns including photo shoots prominently

feature the value chain.

Consumers are invited to become brand ambassadors through a network marketing

scheme and they can win a trip to meet the cotton farmers to celebrate traditional

Indian festivals that again generate novel branding images. Cutting edge viral media

campaigns also involve the farming community –as can be seen from this farmer

in a “Panteater sighting”4 video posted on Youtube and a life size puppet acting as

panteater on a festival in the UK.

4 Ethical Trading Initiative : http://www.ethicaltrade.org/

3.5


At production level

The first and foremost performance metric is income of the members. Though not all farmers are surveyed every

year, a study done in 2009 showed that most farmers experienced small increases. Some outlier cases demonstrate

up to 300% increase in income through a multiplier effect of lower input cost, less debt, higher yield and higher

farmgate prices. To assess whether farmers are actually better off it will be important to set up a more elaborate

impact monitoring system.

The farmer organisation grew from 200 members to a size varying between 4000 and 6000 members. The exact

number changes based on varying interest in joint trading and is a sign of instability at the base of the groups. But

participation in monthly meetings and elections is regular. An internal control system (ICS) catering to international

certifications for organic and fair-trade as well as for domestic certifications for NPM, organic and fairtrade.

Volume of production increased from 200 tons of lint to 1500 in 3 years time. Side selling remains a challenge with

the company able to buy only 30 – 60 % of the members harvest. This is the result of mutual interdependence in the

system: if sales are slow so is procurement and vice versa.5

Contracts are signed every year for procurement outlining the division of responsibilities for each step in the process

of collection, transport, processing and quality control between groups, clusters, regions and company staff. Not

everybody understands these contracts and the importance of written agreements and dealing with the large

amount of required paperwork to run a complex enterprise remains a challenge.

Responsibilities can not be handed over too fast nor too slowly making the model extra sensitive to senior

management assessments. Such an experimental adventure is not possible without strong Business Development

Services and Zameen relies heavily on AOFG backing. A process of organisational assessment at regular intervals to

make the handing over decisions more transparent and systematic has started but this is still in its nascent stages.

Communication materials and channels have been set up to enable engagement with the wider world of trading,

branding and value chain integration: the website carries a short video about the history of the company and its

supply chain, and is currently being expanded to include E-commerce functionalities; a blog was started but regular

content generation is still a challenge; a Facebook page and a Flickr site are also up and running showcasing the

farmers’ story to social networks online.

At Indian supply chain level

As mentioned earlier the PREMAS supply chain was a dead end. The Textilestation supply chain is still operational

and caters to niche markets of high value low volumes designer brands. The coordination with spinners and fabric

mills is rudimentary but this is inherent to the small volumes. You can not dictate terms if your orders represent less

than 10% of someone’s business.

The ALOK supply chain offers immense opportunities for true value chain integration. However, the complexity

is vast and without hard commitment from big buyers Zameen will not be able to focus on anything more than

business as usual and compliance with basic standards (i.e. organic and fairtrade).

5 In 2008-09, the company had actually taken more risk than the farmers by investing in stock, paying premiums upfront and having to sell at a

loss. In 2009-10 conventional prices were so high that there was hardly an incentive to sell to Zameen.

wHaT waS acHieved

44.1

4.2


The video showcased on the Zameen website and the joint Zameen-ALOK marketing pack was a success. It took

intense communication to get the two organisations on one page but the result was satisfying for both. Finally,

buyers visits are the cement that keeps the partnership alive. ALOK do not have an internal belief in the ethical

market so their scepticism can only be overcome through experience of an actual trend in buyers making ethics a

core factor in their buying decisions. Until they do the supply chain integration is doomed to smoulder as pilot light

without catching fire.

At level of representatives in Europe

UK The Pants to Poverty team supported Zameen-ALOK with design of case studies and a very attractive marketing

pack to bring across the human element of Zameen’s story and the hard core industry credentials of ALOK. They also

brought in a world leading advertising company to re-design the Zameen logo from an agriculture image to a value

chain concept.

On the sales side there have been serious outputs in the form of market research in home textiles and high level

pitches and introductions. One buyer became a voluntary rep himself and is spreading the word in the sector about

Zameen’s industry friendly model. The UK team has a large collection of swatches (fabric samples) to allow buyers

to touch and feel the end product.

FRThe experience with the first order in France taught that focusing on a specific market segment is crucial if the sales

representative has limited time. In this case carry bags were the entry point.

NLThe Dutch rep had also mapped the market in great detail and generated sales within a few months after joining,

through sharp focus on a small target segment. A second rep showed interest to turn her studio in Amsterdam into

a showroom for Zameen fabrics.

AmericaA potential rep at a Canadian University is setting up a system to generate sales within the education sector. The ex

CFO who helped secure commercial funding for the company was so inspired by Zameen that he decided to start

a fairtrade fashion brand –one of the first in the USA. Orders have been slow partly due to the absence of fairtrade

labeling on textiles in the USA till date.

At level of brands in Europe

UKBesides the direct procurement for its own brand the Pants to Poverty team launched a charity called the Pi

Foundation to invest in value chain projects that are too risky, too innovative to generate mainstream funding and

too textile specific for conventional donors to initiate. The charity trustees are recruited from within the textile

industry and social enterprise sector and bring vast networks to multiply the lessons learnt from working with value

chains like Zameen’s.

4.3

4.4


There are plans to register yet another associated entity to be called Pi Fashion

which will focus on the role of supply chain ambassador for Zameen and associated

production networks along with a physical showroom for customers to “touch and

feel” the fabrics. The branding team aims to share equity in this company with the

farmers and factory workers indicating the passion underlying their work and the

potential depth of the relationships.

Finally they launched a radical campaign involving the entire value chain to ban

the use of carcinogenic pesticides such as Endosulfan. Many more such cross chain

events could be envisioned in the future, unleashing a new power – a hybrid of

private and NGO sector.

FRIn France the grocery stores piloted direct reporting on fairtrade projects to end

users of their carry bags creating a link between farmers and consumers that never

existed before. Zameen had to change its administration of premium projects to

make it 100% transparent and allow brands to follow the entire process from project

selection to monitoring and evaluation.

NL

In Holland the Zameen ambassadors are drafting the Value Chain Community

Manifesto – a set of key values that aims to keep everyone’s eyes on the prize while

trading together. A special wholesale unit catering to small scale fabric orders for

fashion colleges and young designers is being launched. And finally a flagship brand

with Zameen cotton, processed with herbal dyes is being developed, to have its own

retail location in Amsterdam.Zameen staff and farmers (up) as part of a consumer facing branding campaign (below)


AmericaThe Canada Zameen rep is directly investing time to develop a Fairtrade PLUS supply chain with earmarked gender

projects, while the business model of the ex CFO in the USA includes direct profit sharing of up to 25% between the

brand and the farmers – again a radical and unique model.

Zameen as part of the wider strategy of underwear brand Pants to Poverty referred to as “Trading Co” in the graphic


Do’s an don’ts for the 5 steps in the Zameen model

Step in the process DO’s DONT’s

Production Include frequent member services such as

weekly Farmer Field Schools or SMS subscription

to relevant agricultural data.

Go too fast. It raises expectations to unrealistic

levels and creates space for corruption which –once

initiated is impossible to wipe out.

Supply chain development Build personal relationships with manufacturers.

Learn what their issues are and address these

when dealing with brands who are often more

open to farmers than factories. Help keep up

inspiration and motivation among likeminded

processors –they are a very rare asset!

Intrude too much on internal social issues. There may

be many gaps in the working conditions but scope for

excellence is limited in the manufacturing industry

until buyers put their money where their mouth is

Challenge factory owners to be more proactive

in dealing with buyers. Brands may be arrogant

but they need to be told that ethical chains

require investment and discussions on trading

terms are often held with factories, not farmers.

Assume that technical details are too hard to

grasp. All manufacturing is man made so can be

understood, but insiders prefer to mystify technology

to boost their sense of importance.

International sales reps Raise money to pay for professional marketing

materials. This is the basic service any sales

rep will need to sell your product. Involve your

networks in the target market in the design and

copy writing because these are very culturally

sensitive.

Leave unclarity on remuneration. People need to

have cash backup to act as agent (travel, tradefairs,

etc) and it can take a long time before sales generate

cashflow (up to 12 months!)

Combine both ethical skills and knowledge with

technical and commercial. You need both

Forget to inspire and motivate your reps. You owe

it to them

Brand / buyer relations Use the human element of your fairtrade / rural

development story. Gandhi gave the world a

moral talisman with words: judge your action

by the impact it leaves on the poorest person

you have seen. You can help brands do what is

right and that is worth a lot!

Get sentimental. Issues that may be top of your mind

have to compete with local issues in the mind of the

buyers. If they do not understand it’s their loss. It

does not help to get angry at them…

Produce samples that showcase the skills of

your supply chain. It is a team building exercise

as well as a good sales tool.

Spread yourself too thin. The world market is so big

it’s easy to get lost. Focus on well researched buyers

Invest in a strong CRM system. Reliability and

confidence are key to build and maintain trust.

Trade is a social process and partners needs

constant re-assurance.

Accept delays from your supply chain/ sales reps.

Keep an eye on the enquiries to make sure you don’t

miss any opportunity for your farmers

uSeful leSSonS

55.1


General recommendations

Key factors to take into account when implementing international marketing initiatives:

� Promoters from different backgrounds ensured Zameen could balance various aspects of the hybrid

business model. Businesses depend heavily on the people at the top –their character, their ambition, their

personal interest, but especially their networks and culture can make or break the company. For companies

operating across sectors and continents the diversity in leadership is crucial.

� As was seen with the question “to hire or not to hire” regarding a full time rep in Europe: it is a continuing

journey to find the right balance between risk and returns. One year after she was fired, again a full time

staff is being proposed to set up shop in the UK and Zameen is looking at showrooms where buyers can

touch and feel the end product and complain when they are unhappy. To achieve synergy investment is

required whereas returns are shared by all partners. It is crucial to be flexible in trying out different ways

to finance innovation and ensure interests are aligned.

� It is simply not enough to have a supplier in far away India –or Africa or Latin America for that matter.

People want to be able to pick up the phone and talk to someone in their own language. This is the key to

the entire process: translation of supply and demand in services and product – across vast cultural gaps and

under heavy pressure to deliver trade goods on time and as good as the competition. This means that any

model for global market access needs to have a component of local sector specialists in the target markets.

What the Zameen team would do different if they would do it again?

� Focus on small segment of the market to start with, in stead of a single strategy across segments that

involves too many people and areas of expertise. The fashion industry and the home textiles industry have

their own buyers, trade fairs and networks and if you want to cater with a single raw material (cotton) to

all of these you need very heavy investment in manpower. Other projects started with simple knitwear

(T-shirts, hoodies, yoga wear) and maybe it was too ambitious trying to aim for new products (woven

fabrics) in a new market;

� Maybe work with two /more parallel companies to generate internal competition and keep the sales teams

on their toes? When asked, Zameen staff were not sure if that would work in such early stage innovations

but it’s worth to consider when setting up a similar project;

� Include organic inputs and credit in the farmer services portfolio. Farmer members have been continuously

asking for this, but the Zameen team were just too busy looking for markets. If you broaden the basis for the

relationship with the farmers you can take more risks without fear of losing member support along the way;

� Start with a stronger gender policy. The non profit manager says: “We had too much on our plate to begin

with so could not juggle the extra demands posed by positive discrimination. But inserting it half way also

takes a lot of energy…”

� Structure the business development services (BDS) in a company format so that the trainers are more easily

held accountable to the trading company and the members. Currently it is organised as an NGO which is an

inherently unaccountable structure.

5.2

Organisation Zameen Organic Country India Product...

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