Why Sustainable Cotton?

Cotton accounts for almost 40% of global textile production and the industry supports an estimated 250 million livelihoods.

Only 12% of the world’s cotton is currently classed as sustainable.

It takes about 10,000 litres of water to produce one kilogram of cotton, roughly the amount required to produce one T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

Managing reputational risk and integrating sustainability into the cotton supply chain is more important now than ever. There are many efficiencies to be gained across global supply chains, and new opportunities to engage with consumers around responsible practices.

Why should brands and retailers get involved?

  • Significant agronomic and social challenges exist across cotton communities.
  • Cotton communities are subsistence economies with limited worker protection, limited education and restrictions on women’s rights.
  • Sustainability makes perfect business sense, and securing a sustainable and transparent supply in the future is vital.

Benefits of working with CottonConnect

  • 1. Identifying risk & building resilience
    Producing risk and volume analysis; mapping supply chains; developing sustainable cotton strategies for major brands and retailers.
  • 2. Sourcing more sustainable cotton
    Building capacity and creating fibre for 500 million more sustainable cotton garments, working with 135,000 farmers in India, Pakistan, China and Peru; collaborating to build connections to cotton fibre through brands’ supply chains.
  • 3. Developing trust and traceability
    Coordinating supply chain meetings and employee engagement meetings for brands. Using our own traceability system to trace cotton fibre from farmer to spinner.

Meeting Sustainable Development Goals

We work towards UN SDG goals including poverty eradication, zero hunger, good health and wellbeing, gender equality and decent work.

  • CottonConnect offers greater transparency and traceability across the supply chain to connect you to farmers and support livelihoods.
  • Farmer training programmes and support for organic farming helps the environment and addresses climate action, life on land and water management.
  • Partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society, working together with a shared goal of sustainability across the global textile industry.