On this episode we’re taking a look at cotton value chains in the Indian context with Rajeev Baruah, who has worked in cotton for decades. Though his background is originally in agriculture and tea, his cotton journey started with a spinning facility back in the 90s on a mission to work with organic cotton farmers – something that, at the time, was unheard of. In the years since, he’s gone on to work in a number of different roles with different stakeholders across the value chain. Rajeev gives Kim an in-depth look at the steps that go into growing, harvesting, ginning, and spinning cotton, who the commercial actors are, and what their incentives might be within the Indian context.
MANUFACTURED
a podcast about sustainability and the making of fashion
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We’ve been lucky to have front row seats to the fashion supply chain, and we want to bring this insider perspective to you. Join us in our quest to illuminate the fashion supply chain and change the industry we love for the better.
Recent episodes
91. How it’s made: On Garment Finishing with Rita Castro & Dionísia Portela
On this episode we’re exploring one of the final stages of production in apparel manufacturing with Rita Castro & Dionísia Portela from Confetil, a Portuguese garment manufacturer that has been supplying brands all over the world since 1960. Dionísia is Sustainability Manager and Rita is Sales and Commercial Manager for four of Confetil’s customers. They tell us more about the processes that give our clothes the final look and feel that brands aim for, from solid T-shirts to those with graphic patterns or vintage looks, different types of dyes and dyeing processes, and the sustainability of these finishing processes.
90. How it’s made: On Silk with Hilmond Hui
To understand the process, benefits and barriers within regenerative sericulture, we go back to Kim’s conversation from November 2021 with Hilmond Hui, Vice President of international clothing enterprise PFG and its subset Bombyx. Hilmond tells us more about Bombyx, which was formed in 2018 with a focus on regenerative silk production and transforming the way silk is produced, traded and consumed. Their Nanchong Ka Fung (NCKF) facility is located in the northeast of China’s Sichuan province, and they’re on a mission to do everything from dirt to fabric and beyond.
Our first live event with Transformers Foundation!
When: April 13th at 11am EST / 5pm CET / 6pm Istanbul / 8pm PKT / 8:30pm IST
Duration: One hourVertical Integration & The Sustainable Fashion Agenda
As supply chains came to a screeching halt last year, consolidation and vertical integration became the latest buzzwords. But, these ambiguous terms can mean many different things. How and why do suppliers at various tiers decide which parts of the production process they’re going to do? And how does this shape approaches to sustainability?
About us
Co-founder Jessie Li – Working for diverse parties across the fashion supply chain in both China and Cambodia has shaped Jessie’s conviction that supply chain relationships are complex, and the people within them often misunderstood. She’s a thinker, and reflects deeply about why people behave the way that they do. You can also talk to her about environmental conservation, long distance hiking and her cats.

Jessie Li

Kim van der Weerd
Co-founder & host Kim van der Weerd – Kim moved to Cambodia armed with a background in human rights and a desire to better understand the fashion supply chain. Managing production facilities challenged all of her assumptions about what sustainable fashion requires, made her a firm advocate of equal partnership, and instilled a deep respect for the exhausting and difficult work of making clothes. She too, likes to talk about cats.