TOP STORY

Climate Pressure Forces a Reckoning Across Pakistan's Cotton Belt

Fragmented pilot projects have long defined regenerative agriculture efforts in Pakistan's cotton sector, but mounting climate and market pressures are exposing the limits of that approach. Drawing on a recent industry roundtable, Abou Bakar, Country Representative – Pakistan, CottonConnect, explains what a coordinated national framework would look like, and why farmer incentives and traceability now sit at the centre of that conversation.

Latest: Updates
Other Top Stories
 
CIRCULARITY / RECYCLING / SECONDS / WASTE

Fibre Composition Labelling and the Digital Product Passport Need Clearer Boundaries Before New Rules Are Added

Key elements of the EU's textile labelling framework have become outdated since 2011, no longer reflecting market realities, technological progress, or the broader EU policy environment. A joint call from five European trade organisations to the European Commission has identified four priority areas: fibre tolerance rules, digitalisation of labelling, internal market fragmentation, and the boundary between the TLR and the Digital Product Passport.

 
FLASHPOINT: CLIMATE
Material Innovation / Bezos Fund

Breakthrough textile materials have received $34 million in new Bezos Earth Fund grants, backing research into bacterial fibres, spider-silk-inspired biodegradable materials, coloured cotton and cotton seedbank restoration. The funding targets materials that can match rayon, silk and cotton while improving cost, performance and environmental outcomes across fashion and textile supply chains.

Climate Action / Ethiopia Project

Climate resilience, productivity and workplace safety are being advanced across Ethiopia's leather, textile and garment sector through a new ILO-Japan joint initiative. The one-year programme targets 40 factories across five cities, integrating Japanese expertise, digitalised safety tools and a women's leadership development programme to drive sustainable and inclusive industrial growth.

 
 
 
FOCUS: COTTON

Potassium Fertilisation Lifts Cotton Yields by Up to 70% in Deficient Soils, Arkansas Trials Show

Potassium fertilisation has increased cotton yields by up to 70% in deficient soils, with fibre strength and elongation identified as the quality parameters most sensitive to potassium availability. Arkansas field trials across two growing seasons have reinforced current fertilisation recommendations and introduced new tissue-testing thresholds to support in-season crop monitoring.

 
 
 
SPOTLIGHT EDITIONS: SELECT 4
 

"Quote Unquote"

Pushpa Bector
Pushpa Bector
Group Executive Director / Whole-time Director
DLF Retail / DCCDL
Over the last few years, India's retail landscape has evolved significantly. We have seen consumers become increasingly brand conscious, globally connected, and more willing to engage with premium and international brands. At the same time, the retail ecosystem itself has matured, with the emergence of world class destinations capable of delivering the scale, experience, and visibility that global brands seek for their flagship concepts.

"Quote Unquote"

Kristina Elinder Lilja
Kristina Elinder Lilja
Senior Director, Sustainable Finance and Engagement
Apparel Impact Institute
Carbon pricing would be the most structurally embedded risk and hardest to reverse. Carbon pricing is different as it sits directly on Scope 3, where 96–99% of apparel emissions occur. That means it’s embedded in Tier 2 manufacturing and upstream energy systems. Unless those systems decarbonise, cost exposure compounds year over year.
 
 
FOCUS: LEATHER

Major Reorganisation Positions Fierecongressi as a More Competitive Force in Global Exhibition Markets

A major internal reorganisation, aligned with a growth strategy and a substantial infrastructure investment programme, has reshaped Fierecongressi's operational model. The restructuring establishes a dedicated Internationalisation Area, merges two business units into a single Fairs Business Unit, and introduces a product-oriented structure to strengthen the company's competitive position in the global exhibition and congress market.