Cotton news and archive

"Let Them Be Naked" documentary lifts veil on chemical risks in clothing

As pressure mounts on the fashion industry to confront its environmental and health impacts, designer Jeff Garner is offering a personal—and urgent—call to action. His award-winning documentary Let Them Be Naked will stream globally for the first time this Mother’s Day weekend (8–11 May), in memory of his mother, Peggy Lynn Garner, whose death...

People

Avalo names chief commercial officer to introduce its low-input cotton

American AI-powered crop-evolution company Avalo has named textile-innovation veteran Tricia Carey as its chief commercial officer to bring its new low-input cotton to market. In a statement, Avalo said that Carey, who has decades of experience in industry-changing technologies such as introducing cutting-edge fibres like Tencel and pushing...

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Business

Regenerative Cotton Standard records promising results after first harvest in India

The Regenerative Cotton Standard by the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), which was launched in Tanzania at the end of November 2023 and expanded to India in July last year, has delivered promising results in the Indian state of Maharashtra after the first harvest: higher crop yields, lower costs and increased awareness of regenerative agriculture...

Fashion

Spanx launches debut shapewear collection with Supima cotton

Women's lifestyle and shapewear brand Spanx has launched its first shapewear collection made from Supima cotton. Created in response to customer demand, the collection includes a curated assortment of Spanx's best-selling shapewear styles made from Supima cotton. Characterized by its extra-long fibers, which create softer, smoother, and more...

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Better Cotton shifts to certification model

Better Cotton has announced its official transition into becoming a certification scheme, contributing to efforts of boosting “impartiality and independence” among its business. Farm-level certification decisions will now be outsourced to independent third parties. Tom Owen, head of certification at the non-profit organisation, dedicated to...

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Aid by Trade Foundation introduces new transparency standard for cotton

The Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), known for cotton standards like Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) and Cotton made in Africa Organic, announced today the introduction of its new transparency standard in the first quarter of 2025. Only in November last year, the foundation joined the transparency initiative Make the Label Count to ensure that...

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Shein bans cotton from unapproved regions for US

Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein has introduced new rules for sourcing cotton in products destined for the US market, Reuters reports. The company announced that cotton will now only be sourced from approved regions, such as the US, India, Brazil and Australia. Pressure is mounting for Shein to be more transparent about its supply chain,...

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Business|Opinion

Cotton vs. polyester - why the recent cotton ban rumour managed to create such ripples

The text that probably triggered the rumours of an alleged EU-wide cotton ban by 2030 was a partner article. The article stressed that cotton was still an ‘environmental problem’, with the conclusion suggesting that an EU ban on cotton was in the offing if the fashion industry itself did not take action because European regulations made it so....

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Business

Why an EU-wide cotton ban would not make sense

The New Year is just a few days old and an interesting debate already ensued – a supposed ban on cotton that the EU wants to enforce by 2030. One might indeed think April Fool’s Day had fallen on January 1st this year, because an EU-wide ban on cotton is neither feasible nor advisable. “There is no EU legislation banning cotton, and there are no...

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New report unveils child labour concerns at Indian cotton farms

A new report by Transparentem has brought forth worrying allegations of child labour, abusive working conditions and wage violations at Indian cotton farms linked to 60 global brands. The organisation’s initial investigation began in 2022 and ran until March 2023, with the report further underlining companies’ efforts to remediate the issues as...

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Business

Uniqlo boss says brand does not use Xinjiang cotton

Fast Retailing’s chief executive, Tadashi Yanai, has claimed that the company’s core brand, Uniqlo, does not use cotton sourced from China’s Xinjiang region in its products. Yanai addressed the concern to the BBC, to which he confirmed that the company was not utilising cotton from this district, before stating: “It gets too political if I say...

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Business|Report

Textile Exchange: Fashion still relying on virgin, fossil-based synthetic fibres

Data from non-profit Textile Exchange’s latest Materials Market Report shows that the market share of virgin, fossil-based synthetics continued to increase in 2023, while that of cotton and recycled fibres declined. These findings correspond to those of a survey among 50 major fashion brands by NGO Changing Markets Foundation: The brands...