Solidaridad Network

The future of cotton in fashion is at a crossroads, threatened by weak transparency, limited certification impact, and the growing dominance of synthetics. In this interview, Tamar Hoek, Senior Policy Director (Sustainable Fashion), and Annemiek Smits, Corporate Engagement Manager for Fashion at Solidaridad, share why brands must prioritise fairer procurement, stronger accountability, and investment in farmers.

A new assessment of 100 top fashion brands reveals limited momentum in sustainable cotton adoption, widespread failures in transparency, and rising dependence on fossil-derived fibres. The Cotton Rankings 2025, developed by Solidaridad and Good on You, expose stark contrasts between industry rhetoric and practice, highlighting how sourcing decisions shape cotton’s uncertain role in fashion..

WWF-India and Solidaridad have entered a strategic alliance aimed at transforming India’s cotton and palm oil sectors through regenerative agriculture. The partnership focuses on building climate resilience, improving transparency, and fostering responsible sourcing. Joint activities will include pilot projects, policy advocacy, market reforms, and research to embed sustainability principles into agricultural production systems.

Cotton farming spans millions of hectares worldwide, posing major risks to biodiversity. A new paper from Solidaridad and Organic Cotton Accelerator details how agrochemical use, monocultures, poor water management and land conversion harm ecosystems.

The subject of cotton farmers keeps raising its head time and again, though in the context of broader discussions about cotton, but invariably the disconcerting issues facing them often languish on the periphery. An analysis of a Solidaridad paper that spotlights on the plight of farmers.

Solidaridad has just published a paper on the interplay between cotton and climate change, which shows that in the near future almost every cotton producing country will be negatively affected by climate change. The paper’s author, Tamar Hoek, Senior Policy Director (Sustainable Fashion), responds to questions related to the paper.

In the foreseeable future, almost all cotton producing regions around the world will be negatively impacted by climate change, and if brands/retailers don't do their bit about their relationships with cotton farmers and value chains, the damage to livelihoods and production could be irreversible.

It is disappointing to see that a lot of companies still do not see the urgency of how important it is to source sustainable cotton. There is still so much fear around transparency of where the cotton comes from, the volume and certifications used. The just-released 2023 Cotton Ranking report by Solidaridad Network and Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) shows that the gap between frontrunners and laggards is getting bigger.

Jargon-laden and flowery sustainability reports by a majority of top brands and retailers would come across as a heap of gobbledygook if their actual performance is taken into account. Well, certainly for the cotton sector. As many as 89% are still non-transparent, unsustainable and show little progress towards improving labour conditions, says the 2023 Cotton Ranking just published by Solidaridad Europe and the Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK).