Agriculture

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.

Indian wheat straw has been successfully converted into lyocell fibre, yarn, and finished garments comparable to wood-based alternatives, in a proof-of-concept pilot led by Canopy and Laudes Foundation. The project has shown that agricultural residues can replace wood-based pulp in lyocell production, cutting forest pressure and reducing crop-burning pollution across northern India.

A new lifecycle assessment released today by Cotton Incorporated reframes how the fibre's environmental performance is measured and contested. The study produces a net-negative carbon footprint at the farm gate while leaving open significant questions about the methodological assumptions and farming system consistency that underpin that finding, with implications that extend well beyond the fibre itself.

Regenerative textiles have spent years making the case for better materials. The harder question—whether the systems needed to turn promising crops into functioning textile economies can actually be built—is only now being tested. A recent Scottish field lab report finds fibre flax grows well without chemical inputs or irrigation, but cannot yet be harvested, retted, or processed at commercially viable scale.

Cotton's farm-level production standard has been strengthened with a sharper regenerative agriculture focus, following BCI's release of Principles and Criteria v.3.2. The updated standard introduces targeted improvements to selected indicators, enhances auditability across diverse growing contexts, and advances BCI's broader ambition to operate as a fully regenerative standards system.

The bio-based textile economy is entering a decisive phase as technological innovation reshapes how natural fibres are harvested and processed. At the centre of this transformation is Niels Baert, Founder of Hyler, a Belgian company pioneering hybrid agricultural machinery for fibre crops. His insights reveal both the industry’s persistent challenges and the opportunities driving sustainable fibre production forward.

Europe’s hemp story has shifted from policy to performance. Farmers can now grow and process fibre, yet consistent buyers remain scarce. Between luxury weavers, mass-market converters and new industrial users, the market is searching for direction. Its future will depend on whether certification and diversification can turn enthusiasm into genuine, recurring demand.

Europe’s hemp boom has filled fields but left factories waiting. The region now grows tens of thousands of hectares of fibre crops, yet only a handful of facilities can refine them for textiles. Hemp’s challenge is no longer agronomy but engineering — how to build the machinery, skills, and scale that make a crop an industry.

Across Western Europe, fields of hemp are re-appearing beside the region’s long-trusted flax, but technical familiarity has yet to catch up with acreage. Farmers possess the land, machinery, and ambition—yet remain unsure how to turn stalks into stable income. For now, cultivation outpaces coordination, leaving Europe’s textile revival rooted more in hope than experience.

A key organisation playing a vital role in the hemp movement is Inagro, which provides research and advice in agriculture. Crop Researcher Sophie Waegebaert about the organisation's work with farmers, and the challenges facing hemp as an alternative textile fibre.