Sustainability initiatives: where are we now?

 

This time last year, it was highlighted that the ideas gaining the most traction in cotton sustainability were traceability and regenerative practices. Reflecting on the past 12 months, it appears that those ‘models’ have cemented themselves as cornerstones in the work of many initiatives that look to provide solutions and support projects across the supply chain. Traceability technologies and platforms have proliferated in recent years, likely accelerating in response to requirements laid out in rapidly evolving legislation, most notably in the EU, making the tracking of raw materials from source to final product a must-have, rather than a unique selling point for a modest proportion of goods. While the ability to trace cotton and tell the story of its journey to consumers may present an opportunity to improve awareness and demand, it has been stressed that farmers must not be unfairly burdened with the costs while brands take the credit as the final products are labelled and sold. In addition, as has been explored elsewhere in these pages, it is vital that wellmeaning legislation does not put cotton at a disadvantage versus oil-based synthetics. Meanwhile, the effects of climate change, biodiversity loss, and soil degradation continue to threaten the sustainability of cotton production, not to mention the health of the wider environment. Thus, regenerative agricultural practices have gained popularity as producers and organisations seek to minimise the negative impacts of production, while actively taking measures to improve soils and the environment. A number of initiatives have developed standards in order to verify regenerative practices and measure their impact, which could offer the potential for premium payments for producers, in addition to restoring soils and biodiversity.

It is increasingly evident that significant strides have been made in cotton sustainability since the first World Cotton Day, and this article will briefly explore how some initiatives have expanded their work over the past year. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that the challenges faced by the sector are mounting, and the good that cotton does must be promoted and celebrated more than ever

The largest sustainability initiative in terms of volume is Better Cotton (BC). BC operates in many producing countries globally, with benchmarked programmes in Brazil, Australia, Greece, and Israel. In 2023/24, output under the scheme amounted to 5.87 million tonnes, representing almost a quarter of total world production, from 1.39 million farmers licensed to sell their lint as Better Cotton. Brand Members sourced 2.6 million tonnes in that season, up three percent from the previous campaign, while in 2024/25 an additional 519 members joined.

This year, Better Cotton published a 10- year impact report detailing its work in the United States between 2014 and 2024. It was noted that across the US cotton belt, over 300 producers are licensed on average each season, accounting for over 10 percent of total US output in the past five years. The initiative also highlighted that despite issues such as volatile prices and often difficult and changeable growing conditions, producers have increasingly adopted sustainable practices, resulting in improved soil healthand biodiversity, and reduced inputs and water usage. The organisation meanwhile announced in February that it had completed its transition to become a certification scheme. The change means that growers seeking to comply with BC standards are now required to have the relevant metrics verified by accredited third parties in order to further improve impartiality. Furthermore, at its 2025 conference in June, it was announced that the initiative will be taking the final steps to become a regenerative standard within the next 12 months, to expand and verify the use of regenerative agricultural practices under the standard. Regenerative BC lint is expected to be available from the 2026/27 season. Better Cotton also reflected on a year and a half of its traceability platform, which facilitates the tracking of certified cotton through the supply chain, known as Physical Better Cotton (PBC). The initiative reported that 316,000 tonnes of traceable cotton from 13 countries have been sourced by spinners, and 1,900 suppliers are now eligible to sell PBC.

Cotton Made in Africa (CMiA) of the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is a non-profit operating primarily in ten cotton-producingcountries in Africa. This initiative focuses mainly on smallholder growers that make up the vast majority of cotton farms on the continent, working to improve social, economic and environmental sustainability. In the 2023/24 season, cotton producedand verified under the CMiA standard amounted to 630,500 tonnes, around a third of total African output, representing an increase of 24 percent from the previous campaign, but 12 percent below the quantity produced in 2021/22. As a proportion of total production in the 11 African countries in which the initiative operates, though, cotton output verified by CMiA has increased from 49 percent in 2016/17, to 63 percent in 2023/24, demonstrating growth overall despite challenges such as climate change, pests, and volatile prices. Cotton verified under the CMiA Organic standard meanwhile increased by a substantial 50 percent on the year in 2023/24. In addition, AbTF announced the successful implementation of the Regenerative Cotton Standard (RCS) in Tanzania and India in 2023, involving 25,000 farmers and 35,000 hectares of land, with production placed at 12,500 tonnes of lint, including 4,400 in Maharashtra, India. This Standard pays particular attention to the regeneration of nature and soil health, improving biodiversity, and building resilience against climate change, using farming methods such as reduced tillage, composting, and carbon sequestration. Meanwhile, as demand and legislative requirements for traceability have increased, so have solutions and systems. AbTF offers verification by independent organisations and blockchain technology and a Hard Identity Preserved (HIP) chain of custody system to track cotton through the supplychain. Since 2022, the HIP system has been implemented by approximately 350 actors from 19 countries. Furthermore, the Foundation developed its Transparency Standard in 2024, setting out requirements for buying or selling verified cotton;

  

In the United States, the US Cotton TrustProtocol (USCTP) serves its membership (comprised of growers, Mills & manufacturers, brands and retailers) by promoting, measuring and verifying sustainable practices and their outcomes. This initiative tracks several environmental metrics, including land use, soil carbon, soil conservation, water management, emissions, and energy efficiency, and reported improvements across those themes from both a 2015 and a 2020 baseline. In addition, USCTP offers its own traceability solution, the Protocol Consumption Management Solution (PCMS), providing tracking for both US cotton and USCTP-certified cotton. The proportion of US cotton under the programme has increased further, from around two percent in its pilot year (2019/20), to roughly 16 percent in 2023/24 (approximately 413,700 tonnes), up five percentage points from the previous season. In 2023, 1.7 million planted acres had been enrolled across the US cotton belt, while in 2024 that figure rose to 2.1 million, compared to an initial enrolment in 2019 of 593,000 acres. Furthermore, 560,000 acres had been enrolled in the Protocol’s Climate Smart Cotton Program, producing almost 200,000 tonnes of cotton. USCTP also announced in September that it had launched a framework for a Field Partner Program pilot to formally recognise regenerative agriculture practices and measure outcomes, in order to offer regenerative cotton options to brands. This year’s pilot aims to test and refine the program before wider implementation, and  will assess market demand and traceability prospects.

As mentioned above, regenerative agriculture has continued to gain prominence, as have standards and benchmarks to measure and verify the practices and results. Regenagri is one such initiative, focusing on supporting farmers and organisations globally in the transition to regenerative practices to improve the health of the land, while also offering opportunities for producers to benefit from additional funds through subsidies and carbon credits as well as reducing input costs. Certification and verification from the farm to the finished product meanwhile makes the cotton traceable, a selling point for brands, particularly as due diligence reporting becomes increasingly desirable and even a legal requirement. This programme announced that 2,473,500 tonnes of cotton had been produced under its standard in 2023, from 1,166,600 hectares of land, and 219,500 farms. The initiative’s latest annual report indicates that the water usage and greenhouse gas emissions of those involved in the programme had declined, while carbon stock in soils had increased.

Meanwhile, CottonConnect’s work in the 2023/24 season involved training over 450,000 farmers in sustainable practices across six countries (Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Pakistan and Turkey). The REEL Cotton Programme seeks to reduce environmental impact whileimproving growers’ incomes, and reported success across metrics in that campaign compared to a control group, including reduced chemical inputs and water usage, as well as higher yields and increased profits. CottonConnect also introduced its REEL Regenerative Code in 2021 and has been developing regenerative practices tosupport smallholder farmers. In addition, its Organic Cotton Farmer TrainingProgramme has involved producers in Pakistan and India, and those taking part reported substantially lower input costs overall, resulting in greater profits. Cotton produced under this initiative can be traced via its TraceBale tool, tracking information and data such as the locationof the farm and the inputs used during production, and the subsequent transactions as the cotton moves through the supply chain. Using the tool, almost 193,500 tonnes of lint were traced in 2023/24.

Some initiatives are focused primarily on organic cotton production and promotion, such as the Global Organic Textiles Standard (GOTS) and the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA). GOTS noted a five-percent annual increase in its certified facilities in 2024, to 15,440, across 87 countries. In order for final products to be labelled as GOTS certified, they must contain a minimum of 70 percent certified organic fibres, and operators throughout the supply chain as well as wholesalers (including exporters and importers) must undergo an on-site annual inspection cycle and hold a valid certification. GOTS has also developed a traceability system to track materials through the value chain, Global Trace-Base, which was introduced last year. Moreover, a new standard is being developed, the Global Responsible Textile Standard (GRTS),to include responsible fibres beyond organic cotton. Meanwhile, OCA reported that 100,000 farmers had signed up to its Farm Programme in the 2024/25 season, up from just over 82,000 in 2023/24, with 106,000 hectares dedicated to production. Last season, 18 brands participated in the Programme and 92 percent of the available organic cotton had been purchased, while 58 percent of in-conversion cotton was procured, with premiums paid to farmers at an average of eight percent. 

This by no means exhaustive exploration of developments in cotton sustainability over the past year demonstrates the impressive expansion of work done by initiatives, and of course producers and actors throughout the supply chain, to research, promote, measure, verify, and track sustainable practices and progress. Turning to the future, however, participants across the sector will need to increasingly collaborate and coordinate their noble efforts in advancing sustainability and promoting cotton in the face of faltering demand, mounting competition against synthetics, new legislation, climate change, and rising costs and volatility. World Cotton Day makes for the perfect reminder to celebrate the progress made already, while thinking ahead to ensure cotton continues to be the ‘Fabric of Our Lives’