Cotton

Scientists in the US are conducting experiments to regulate certain genes in the cotton plant to develop a higher-yielding, better-quality crop, resulting in more profits for growers.

The link between increasingly severe climate events and the rising suicide rate among India’s farmers, specially into cotton cultivation, has long been a concern. A new study that will resonate in many countries of the Global South and North that are struggling with a similar crisis, suggests preventative actions that could support farmers to cope with common risk factors by improving local climate resilience and mental health services.

The IOAS has lifted the ban on Control Union (CU) India for GOTS, Textile Exchange and ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation which it had imposed in March this year. 

In a significant export barrier for US cotton to Bangladesh, as well as "saving" the country’s mills time and money, Bangladesh has decided to relax its nearly-five-decade-long fumigation requirement on US cotton imports.

Better Cotton has announced a revised version of the Better Cotton Chain of Custody Guidelines, rechristening it as the Better Cotton Chain of Custody Standard. The new Chain of Custody Standard v1.0 will be introduced from October 2023.

Commodity prices have a direct bearing on farmer incomes, as do the prices that garment manufacturers are willing to pay for raw materials. Tamar Hoek, Senior Policy Director (Sustainable Fashion) at Solidaridad Network, disentangles the threads that make for these intricate relationships.

In its bid to remain an effective tool to drive continuous improvement and deliver sustainability impact at field-level, non-profit Better Cotton has revised its Principles & Criteria (P&C) to drive continuous improvement and deliver sustainability impact at field level.

Better Cotton is piloting innovative traceability technologies through India’s cotton value chain to provide end-to-end visibility. The new traceability framework will allow greater flexibility and visibility of the physical flow of cotton through supply chains as the network grows.

By developing reusable and washable antimicrobial wipes, scientists at the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are aiming to find sustainable alternatives to reduce environmental waste from the disposal of single-use antimicrobial wipes.

In a bid to help increase yields and market access for smallholder farmers, promote decent work, reduce inequality, and drive women’s empowerment in cotton production, Better Cotton has come up with four new ‘Impact Targets’.