Cotton

The Australian cotton industry has made remarkable progress in the last 25 years, with its water consumption dropping by half.  The last year also witnessed a record harvest of 5.6 million bales valued at a record $4.6 billion.

CottonConnect has developed a Responsible Business for Gins Code of Conduct in consultation with multiple industry stakeholders and independent verification bodies.

The just released Australian Cotton Sustainability Update 2022 has revealed some critical findings and suggests the way ahead on how it can cotton on to better sustainable ways and profitability with people and planet at centrestage.

The US Cotton Trust Protocol has launched a five-year project which seeks to measure and improve the carbon footprint of the US cotton industry.

Computer scientists have reconstructed one of the most complete genomes of a top cotton species, which now give scientists a more complete picture of how wild cotton was domesticated over time and may help to strengthen and protect the crop for farmers.

The Denim Deal Monitor 2022 says there is a positive development in the increase in application of post-consumer recycled cotton in denim garments and jeans, with 7 of the 8 participating brands and retailers aiming for higher targets than the 5%-PCR-content in the coming years.

A tripartite agreement between the ILO, IFC and the Uzbek government will help the country’s cotton, textile, and garment industry to promote labour standards and competitiveness through compliance assessments, training and advisory services.

A labour watchdog has provided first-hand evidence of forced labour in the 2022 cotton harvest in Turkmenistan and called for comprehensive reforms to end forced labour and create a broader enabling environment for labour rights.

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).