Cotton

New research is examining whether recycled cotton fibres can replace wood-based pulp used in viscose manufacturing. By comparing cotton waste pulp with conventional wood feedstock during early stages of the viscose process, the study explores whether textile waste could become a viable raw material for producing regenerated cellulosic fibres within existing industrial systems.

The environmental case for natural textiles rests heavily on biodegradability—the idea that cotton and wool, unlike polyester, return cleanly to the environment. A team of UK researchers has tested that premise against physical evidence from lake sediments in Staffordshire, recovering natural fibres from deposits spanning more than a century.

The Global Organic Textile Standard has released Version 8.0, expanding environmental, governance and product safety requirements across certified organic textile supply chains. The revision strengthens rules on chemicals, emissions and waste while introducing circularity provisions, microfibre monitoring and enhanced due diligence obligations designed to align certification practices with evolving regulatory and sustainability expectations.

Recycled cotton has become one of fashion's most prominent sustainability credentials—and one of its least verifiable. No independent method has existed to confirm how much mechanically recycled cotton a garment actually contains, or whether it derives from post-consumer waste. Researchers are now proposing a laboratory-based toolbox that could, for the first time, provide that confirmation from the fibres themselves.

The single largest cotton trading company and a public sector undertaking under the Union Ministry of Textiles, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), established in 1970, undertakes price support and commercial purchase operations to safeguard the economic interest of farmers in the cotton growing regions and to ensure its smooth supply to the textile industry. A Q&A with its Chairman-Cum-Managing Director, Lalit Kumar Gupta.

India’s cotton story is fraying. Once the world’s largest producer, it now harvests less from more. Fields are shrinking, farmers are quitting, and seeds have stood still. The crop that once wove India’s textile strength now risks unravelling under policy paralysis, poor yields, and disjointed priorities from farm to factory.

Cascale has unveiled version 3.11 of its Higg MS), introducing fresh cotton datasets and new home furnishing material categories. The update advances data accuracy, improves comparability and supports evidence-driven choices across the consumer goods sector.

Ethiopia’s cotton sector, once a pillar of African textile production, is being re-energised through renewed coordination between farmers, industry, and policymakers. At the centre of these efforts is Tsegaye Abebe, Executive Director of the Ethiopian Cotton Association (ECA), who outlines how the country can convert its vast but underutilised cotton potential into a sustainable and competitive national asset.

A coalition including Better Cotton, Cotton Incorporated, Cotton Australia, and the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol has issued new guidance on responsible life-cycle assessment use. The publication From Data to Impact: How to Get Cotton LCAs Right calls for LCAs to be applied alongside verified field data to deliver credible, transparent, and farmer-informed sustainability progress.

The Better Cotton Initiative has introduced a traceable product label, launched on World Cotton Day, aimed at helping retailers and brands communicate verified sustainability claims. The label coincides with a refreshed identity and annual report that underscores measurable progress in farmer incomes, pesticide reduction, and women’s empowerment across global cotton-producing communities.