Good Earth Cotton

A cotton field at Keytah farm / Source: Good Earth Cotton

BreathableCottonGood Earth CottonHypoallergenicLightweightLow-CarbonOceaniaRecyclableRegenerativeTextiles

WHAT WE SAY:

The debate over cotton’s sustainability credentials has been raging for a decade or more. What isn’t in doubt, however, is that like many ‘dirty’ materials, cotton can be a sustainable choice when it is produced by innovators who are laser focused on radically reducing its impact.

Good Earth Cotton is a wonderful example – carbon-sequestering cotton produced through a combination of regenerative and data-driven farming practices. It’s not perfect, but if all cotton was produced this way then the fashion industry would look very different. Bravo.

Good Earth Cotton

WHAT IS GOOD EARTH COTTON?

Good Earth Cotton claims to be the world’s first carbon-positive and fully traceable Cotton fibre.
It is produced in Australia by the Sundown Pastoral Company using regenerative farming and precision agricultural practices.
The farm reports that it has more than doubled its water efficiency in recent years.
It also reports that its cotton sequesters the equivalent of two kilograms of CO2 per pair of jeans.
Good Earth Cotton is fully traceable, using a blockchain-based system. The FiberTrace technology embeds a patented luminescent pigment in the raw fibre, which can then be tracked through the supply chain.
Good Earth Cotton is being used by fashion brands across the globe, including US denim brand Reformation, Australia’s Nobody Denim and Portuguese intimates producer Impetus.

KEY PROPERTIES:

Breathable
Hypoallergenic
Lightweight
Low-Carbon
Recyclable
Regenerative

INDUSTRY:

Textiles

AVAILABILITY:

Commercially Available

DIVE DEEPER:

Good Earth Cotton is produced on the Sundown Pastoral Company’s Keytah farm, located in New South Wales, Australia.
The farm covers 65,000 acres which produce up to 78,000 bales of cotton.
Good Earth Cotton fibres were certified as carbon-negative during the 2017-18 season by the University of Queensland, with the farm’s cotton footprint being minus 421.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per bale of cotton.
This was largely due to its soil sequestering large volumes of carbon. This is attributable to the farm’s use of modern precision agricultural processes – minimising ploughing and tillage which disturbs the soil and reduces its biodiversity.
Good Earth Cotton is also traceable thanks to its collaboration with FiberTrace (a separate company, also founded by Danielle Statham).
The core of FibreTrace’s technology is a patented luminescent pigment that is embedded in the raw fibres (or optionally at yarn spinning). This can then be scanned using a handheld FibreTrace device which identifies each fibre’s unique pigment signature. The blockchain-based system can be used to track fibres or finished garments through the supply chain.
In February 2021, FiberTrace launched its Fibre Impact Module, a benchmarking tool designed to help textile producers understand and reduce their agricultural carbon emissions.

Blue Illusion x Good Earth Cotton partnership / Source: Good Earth Cotton

Good Earth Cotton yarns / Source: Good Earth Cotton

KEY FACTS:

78,000 bales

of cotton are produced at Keytah farm, covering 65,000 acres

421.4kg

The farm’s cotton footprint is minus 421.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per bale of cotton

Key Questions to Ask:

Has the farm managed to maintain its CO2 profile?

Analysis of Good Earth Cotton’s climate positive audit highlights that – like all LCAs – the results are derived from snapshots of highly dynamic ecological systems. You should confirm whether the Sundown Pastoral Company has managed to maintain these results or, better yet, improve on them.

Can you empower consumers to ‘trust, but verify’?

The brand narrative around Good Earth Cotton is compelling. But the company also understands that sustainability stories need to be grounded in robust data in order to avoid accusations of greenwashing. The farm’s CO2 emissions were assessed by academics at the University of Queensland, while its FiberTrace verification system allows retail brands such as Reformation to educate customers on its products’ production.

How can you help consumers understand cotton’s complexity?

While often thought of as ‘thirsty’ and/or polluting, cotton’s advocates argue the fashion industry skews data to justify the continued use of synthetics to help protect its margins. Many consumers blindly trust ‘organic’ or other certification programmes despite their glaring weaknesses. However, the best you can do is educate your customers on the simplest truth – labels are less important than longevity when it comes to reducing impact.

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