Cotton news and archive

Textile Exchange introduces first LCA study on cotton's environmental impact

Textile Exchange has released the first in a new series of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies, aimed at improving the quality and consistency of environmental impact data across the fashion and textile industry. The initial report focuses on cotton, providing updated data across key producing countries and covering a range of systems including...

Culture

Exhibition: “The art of trademark in Indo-British textile trade” sheds light on the forgotten art of textile labels

The first thing you notice is the heat; it is all around, almost palpable. Then there are the sounds, deafening, each vendor trying to shout louder than the next. “Madam, here, here, Kashmiri silk, you won’t find anywhere.” “Come to my stall, please, I will show you the widest range.” Then there are the smells of course, some pleasant like the...

Fashion

H&M Foundation announces Global Change Award 2026 finalists

The H&M Foundation has announced its top 20 finalists for the 2026 Global Change Award (GCA). Selected from 450 ideas submitted from 81 countries across six continents, the innovations from the 20 early-stage finalists are set to be reviewed by the GCA Expert Panel together with the H&M Foundation team. From the 20 finalists, the panel and team...

Fashion

Marks & Spencer launches cotton programme in bid to strengthen biodiverse farming practices

British department store Marks & Spencer has established a new partnership with sustainability innovator Pilio to launch the Affordable Clean Environment (ACE) cotton programme. The initiative intends to broaden access to clean energy and strengthen biodiverse farming practices within Indian cotton-growing communities. Developed as part of Marks...

Member

Business

China eases tariffs on certain textile and leather products

The Chinese government has introduced a reduction to tariffs on certain raw materials, including strategic inputs for textiles and leather, as it looks to bolster its position as a key sourcing hub. The new plan, which came into effect January 1, 2026, was approved by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council and published by China’s...

FeaturedMember

Business

Could Egypt be the next garment producing hub by 2035?

In the first four months of 2025, Egypt’s readymade garment (RMG) exports reached the milestone of crossing the 1 billion US dollar mark. After food and beverages, the textile and garment industry is the second-largest industrial sector in Egypt today. In 2024, the country’s textile exports grew by almost one fifth (18 percent) to 2.84 billion...

Member

Business

US Cotton Trust Protocol reports “measurable” environmental gains in 2025

The US Cotton Trust Protocol, the voluntary sustainability programme for US cotton growers and the traceability platform for all US Cotton, has released its 2024/25 annual sustainability report, which reveals that more than 1,500 grower members have achieved “meaningful gains” across all six of its sustainability metrics against a 2015 baseline....

FeaturedMember

Business

Better Cotton Initiative rebrands and introduces new traceability label

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) marked World Cotton Day with a comprehensive rebrand and the launch of a new traceability label, underscoring the organisation’s efforts to enhance transparency and accountability across the cotton supply chain. The move includes a redesigned logo, website, and the reinstatement of its original full name, fter...

Member

Business

Hemp denim: Fashion for Good aims to scale up sustainable alternative

Hemp has been praised in the denim industry for years, yet it has not been scaled up. Fashion for Good has announced a new project to investigate this issue. The project involves innovative start-ups and commercial partners such as Bestseller, C&A, Reformation, PDS Limited and Target. Two denim producers, Bossa from Turkey and Nice Denim from...

Member

Business

Good on You report: Are brands really using certified cotton?

Researchers from Good On You (GOY) have found that brands often communicate extensively about their use of sustainable cotton, while their assortments in practice rely heavily on synthetic fabrics. This is the main conclusion from the new Cotton Rankings Report, which GOY helped compile for the charity Solidaridad. The 2025 Cotton Rankings...

FeaturedMember

Business|Background

The difficulty of correctly assessing the sustainability of cotton

Cotton has been the world's most popular clothing fibre for years. Surveys confirm this time and again. However, cotton is no longer the most produced clothing fibre. Its market share in the total fibre market is now only around 20 percent. This was not always the case. In the 1960s, its share was about 70 percent, and at the end of the 1980s it...

FeaturedMember

Business

NGOs crack down on alleged human rights violations within Australia’s fashion industry

Organisations in Australia are cracking down on local fashion brands suspected of carrying out systemic labour rights violations. A new report by Oxfam Australia, backed by the Human Rights Law Centre, has outlined evidence of exploitation and child labour specifically across Bangladesh’s garment supply chain, with potential links to Australian...