ChetCo began in November, 2013 at a private rooftop meeting during the Textile Exchange Conference in Istanbul, Turkey. Here, Chetna’s Director, Arun Ambutipadi, and a total of nine companies, including five pre-existing buyers of Chetna Organic, agreed to become founding members of what is now the Chetna Coalition (ChetCo).

ChetCo was formed with a shared vision to pilot a novel and highly collaborative sourcing model for ethical fashion. Our goal was to organize and align our demand as buyers and manufacturers so as to support the growth and development of Chetna’s Organic farming community.

The idea was simple. Recognizing that sustainable farming communities are the source of sustainable organic cotton, we set out to create a demand community in-where single buyers and manufacturers would make small-sized, long-term commitments. Yet, when aggregated, these small volume would add up to the full demand for the total output of Chetna’s Organic Cotton. The resulting value-chain community would continue to work together to improve the conditions of Chetna’s farmers and the value of our shared raw material.