Sundown Pastoral

The Keytah farm / Source: Sundown Pastoral

CottonEuropeGood Earth CottonNorth AmericaOceaniaTextiles

WHAT WE SAY:

Cotton is often known as a thirsty and dirty crop, but you would struggle to apply that label to the Sundown Pastoral Company’s Good Earth Cotton.

The Australian producer uses technology and regenerative agriculture to produce some of the world’s most water efficient and climate-positive cotton, and is a vocal advocate for educating end consumers around where their cotton comes from and its story.

The team in a cotton field / Source: Sundown Pastoral

ABOUT SUNDOWN PASTORAL

Good Earth Cotton claims it is the first carbon-positive, traceable Cotton in the world.
It is produced by the Sundown Pastoral Company, an agricultural company run by Danielle Statham and her husband David in Moree, Australia.
The company leverages data and modern precision agricultural techniques to achieve regenerative outcomes, with regards to biodiversity and soil health.
The farm reports that its soil carbon score showed that 420 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent was sequestered per 227 kilogram bale of cotton in 2017-2018. This occurs because young plants sequester carbon – drawing down more CO2 from the air than they use to grow, with the excess being retained in the soil.
The farm’s Good Earth Cotton is also marketed as uniquely traceable, thanks to its Fibretrace technology (a separate company, also founded by Danielle).
Fibretrace embeds luminescent pigments on the fibre at the spinning mill. The pigment binds to the raw fibre and can then be tracked throughout the supply chain via a dedicated handheld reader. All scans are recorded on the blockchain, enabling a secure audit trail of a garment’s provenance.
Fibretrace won the 'Best Use of Technology for Good' category at the Drapers Sustainable Fashion Awards for two years running.
Good Earth Cotton’s retail customers include US denim brand Reformation, which publishes details of its global supply chain on its consumer-facing website, as well as Australian brand Nobody Denim and Portuguese fashion brand Impetus for a lingerie line.
Danielle was recently named in the Sourcing Journal / Rivet's 'Top 50 Most Influential Figures In Denim.'