Brazil

In today's world people move from one outrage to the next with as much ease as they swipe left over to the next reel. Last year’s Brazil cotton controversy has resurfaced not only because it has been a year to the revelation, but also because Better Cotton is itself pursuing the thread. And, the loopholes in Better Cotton's damage control exercise that was pointed out by Earthsight remain yawning.

A clean chit notwithstanding, Better Cotton, in not addressing the loopholes with the standard itself, has only exposed itself to further investigation. And that’s despite the sugar-coated admissions that “we will take action to expand our due diligence process."

The recent Earthsight report on cotton farming in Brazil generated a lot of heat and dust. But there's more to the issue than meets the eye, and the trials and tribulations of farming communities everywhere remain unnoticed and unacknowledged. A compelling perspective from the ground in Mexico.

UK nonprofit Earthsight’s investigations reveal nearly a million tonnes of tainted cotton from some of the most notorious estates in Brazil to clothing manufacturers in Asia, and being supplied to fast fashion behemoths H&M and Zara.

A media toolkit for cotton targets well-meaning journalists to write stories from the ground. texfash.com talks about that and stresses on the need for cotton trade associations to be a more open source for data and stories from the ground.

A private partnership involving 40 farms in Brazil, pioneering zero-deforestation in the Amazon region, has ensured the first container of 100% traceable Brazilian leather for the European market in Italy.

The BRICS + Fashion Summit held in Moscow early last month saw business transactions to the tune of $2.7 million.

As the curtains go up today on the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference or COP28, the leather industry is pioneering a zero-deforestation livestock farming system that promotes traceability from cradle to slaughter.

Inspired by the brilliance of nature to develop materials from living and regenerable things, a Brazil based fashtech startup is harnessing the power of seaweeds to shape the future of textiles. texfash.com talks to the Founder–CEO of Phycolabs Thamires Pontes to know more.

Leading global producer of wood-based specialty fibres Lenzing has launched a recycling initiative to drive circularity in the global textiles industry. This is being done in association with its partners in Spain, Pakistan and Brazil.