Paper Titles

Use of Rosa Canina Extractions for Ecofriendly Textile Finishing
p.3

Ecological Approaches in Yarn Dyeing
p.15

Influence of Laccase Enzyme on the Biodegradability of Indigo Blue Dyed 100% Cotton Fabrics
p.23

A Standard Terminology for the Description of Fibrous Microplastics from Textiles
p.33

Australian Cotton and the Global Apparel Supply Chain: Sustainability Issues in Context
p.39

Developing Training from Industrial Design to Innovative Design in Vietnam
p.49

The Presence and Effectiveness of Training Centres in the Apparel Industry
p.61

Disruptions and Adaptations: Covid-19's Impact on Textile Supply Chain Management
p.67

The Development of a Base Layer for a Sensorimotor Countermeasure Skinsuit: Garment Comfort and Mobility
p.79

HomeAdvances in Science and TechnologyAdvances in Science and Technology Vol. 146Australian Cotton and the Global Apparel Supply...

Australian Cotton and the Global Apparel Supply Chain: Sustainability Issues in Context

Article Preview

Abstract:

Cotton dominates the natural fibre market worldwide, as evidenced by its 24% market share. Australia is a major exporter of cotton, following China, India and the United States. The industry is significant for Australia, generating $2 billion dollars in exports per annum and employing approximately 10,000 people across the industry. However, sustainability concerns associated with cotton production, as well as evolving consumer awareness and an increase in sustainability initiatives and regulation, have brought sustainability to the forefront of the Australian cotton industry's agenda. The paper will provide a contextual review of the various sustainability aspects of cotton, such as genetically modified and non-genetically modified cotton, credible claims around environmental impacts, chain of custody and circularity approaches. This paper draws on publicly available information including industry reports, news articles, and certification websites. The paper provides valuable insights into the sustainability challenges for the Australian cotton industry, which can inform policymakers, industry stakeholders and consumers.

You might also be interested in these eBooks

22nd AUTEX World Textile Conference

22nd AUTEX World Textile Conference

Info:

Periodical:

Advances in Science and Technology (Volume 146)

Pages:

39-48

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4028/p-To4Y7T

Citation:

Cite this paper

Online since:

March 2024

Authors:

Zoe Mellick*, Alice Payne

Keywords:

Australian Cotton, Chain of Custody, Circularity, Sustainability, Sustainability Claims

Export:

RIS, BibTeX

Price:

Permissions:

Request Permissions

* - Corresponding Author

[1] Textile Exchange. (2021). Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021. Web site: https://textileexchange.org/textile-exchange-preferred-fiber-and-materials-market-report-2021/.

[2] International Cotton Advisory Committee and Food and Agriculture Organization. (2015). Measuring Sustainability in Cotton Farming Systems: Towards a Guidance Framework. Retrieved September 26, 2017. Web site: https://www.fao.org/3/i4170e/i4170e.pdf.

[3] Cotton Australia and Cotton Research and Development Corporation. (2014). Australian Grown Cotton Sustainability Report. Retrieved April 4, 2020. Web site: http://crdc.com.au/sites/default/files/pdf/Cotton%20Sustainability%20Report_Exec%20Summary.pdf.

[4] Australian Cotton Shippers Association. (2022). Australian Cotton Markets. Retrieved August 2, 2022. Web site: https://austcottonshippers.com.au/crop-reports.

[5] Cotton Australia. (2020). Where is cotton grown? Retrieved April 4, 2020. Web site: https://cottonaustralia.com.au/where-is-cotton-grown.

[6] Radhakrishnan S. (2017). 2 - Sustainable cotton production. In: Muthu SS, Ed. Sustainable Fibres and Textiles. Woodhead Publishing

[7] Pesnel S., Payet J. (2019). Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) T-shirts. Retrieved October 2, 2021. Web site: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/smgp/ pdf/PEFCR_tshirt.pdf.

[8] Payne A., Mellick Z., Simpson A., Devitt K., Perez T. (2017). Value Chain State of Knowledge Report. Brisbane: Institute for Future Environments, Queensland University of Technology.

[9] Observatory of Economic Complexity. (2022) Cotton in Australia. Retrieved August 27, 2022. Web site: https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-product/cotton/reporter/aus.

[10] Payne A., Mellick Z., Peterson E. E. (2017). Upstream, downstream: Sustainability issues along the cotton value chain. Brisbane: Institute for Future Environments, Queensland University of Technology.

[11] Rani L., Thapa K., Kanojia N., Sharma N., Singh S., Grewal A. S., et al. (2021). An extensive review on the consequences of chemical pesticides on human health and environment. Journal of Cleaner Production, 283, 124657.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124657

[12] Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. (2020). China: 83 major brands implicated in report on forced labour of ethnic minorities from Xinjiang assigned to factories across provinces; Includes company responses. Retrieved August 19, 2021. Web site: https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/china-83-major-brands-implicated-in-report-on-forced-labour-of-ethnic-minorities-from-xinjiang-assigned-to-factories-across-provinces-includes-company-responses/.

[13] Chua J. M. (2021). Uniqlo Failed to Convince CBP its Cotton Shirts Weren't Made with Forced Labor. Sourcing Journal. Retrieved August 19, 2021. Web site: https://sourcingjournal.com/topics/labor/uniqlo-cotton-shirts-detained-customs-cbp-forced-labor-xinjiang-china-280663/

[14] Friedman V., Paton E. (2021). What is going on with China, cotton and all of these clothing brands? The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2023. Web site: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/29/style/china-cotton-uyghur-hm-nike.html.

[15] Kelly A. (2020). 'Virtually entire' fashion industry complicit in Uighur forced labour, say rights groups. The Guardian. Retrieved May 15, 2023. Web site: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jul/23/virtually-entire-fashion-industry-complicit-in-uighur-forced-labour-say-rights-groups-china.

[16] Williams R. (2020). Are These Fashions Linked to Forced Labour? Brands Can't Confidently Say No. Business of Fashion. Retrieved May 15, 2023. Web site: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/sustainability/are-these-fashions-linked-to-forced-labour-brands-cant-confidently-say-no

[17] GOTS. (2017). Global Organic Cotton Standard (GOTS) Position on GM Contamination in Textiles made from Organic Cotton Fibres. Retrieved 6 October 2017. Web site: http://www.global-standard.org/images/stories/GOTS_position_paper_-_GM_Cotton_-_Aug_2017.pdf.

DOI: 10.5040/9781501365287.1233

[18] Rieple A., Singh R. (2010). A value chain analysis of the organic cotton industry: The case of UK retailers and Indian suppliers. Ecological Economics, 69 (2010), 2292-302.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2010.06.025

[19] Textile Exchange. (2020). Organic Cotton Market Report 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2023. Web site: https://textileexchange.org/app/uploads/2021/05/Textile-Exchange_Organic-Cotton-Market-Report_2020-20200810.pdf.

[20] Prince of Wales's International Sustainability Unit. (2017). Sustainable Cotton. Retrieved July 5 2017. Web site: http://www.pcfisu.org/sustainable-cotton/.

[21] Fletcher K. (2014). Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys. 2nd ed ed. Routledge (Abingdon, Oxon).

[22] Fletcher K., Grose L. (2012). Fashion and sustainability: design for change. Laurence King (London).

[23] Cotton Australia. (2021). Crop Protection. Retrieved December 21, 2021. Web site: https://cottonaustralia.com.au/crop-protection.

[24] Eyupoglu S. (2019). Organic Cotton and Environmental Impacts. In: Gardetti MA, Muthu SS, Eds. Organic Cotton: Is it a Sustainable Solution? Springer Singapore (Singapore).

[25] Creswell J., Creswell D. (2018). Research design: qualitative, quantitative & mixed methods approaches. SAGE (Los Angeles).

[26] Radhakrishnan S. (2014). The Sustainable Apparel Coalition and the Higg Index. In: Muthu SS, Ed. Roadmap to Sustainable Textiles and Clothing - Regulatory Aspects and Sustainability Standards of Textiles and the Clothing Supply Chain. Springer Science & Business Media (Singapore).

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-287-164-0_2

[27] Global Fashion Agenda and Boston Consulting Group. (2018). Pulse of the Fashion Industry. Retrieved May 15, 2023. Web site: https://globalfashionagenda.org/product/pulse-of-the-fashion-industry-2018/.

[28] Laitala K., Klepp I. G., Henry B. (2018). Does Use Matter? Comparison of Environmental Impacts of Clothing Based on Fiber Type. Sustainability, 10 (7).

DOI: 10.3390/su10072524

[29] Global Fashion Agenda and Boston Consulting Group. (2017). Pulse of the Fashion Industry. Retrieved May 15, 2019. Web site: https://globalfashionagenda.org/product/pulse-of-the-fashion-industry-2017/.

[30] BCI. (2018). BCI Factsheet. Retrieved June 30, 2019. Web site: https://bettercotton.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BCI-Fact-Sheet-2018-1.pdf

[31] McClay A. (2019). Procs and Cons of Mass Balance. Retrieved October 7, 2021. Web site: https://www.icac.org/Content/EventDocuments/PdfFiles04a584bd_a73d_413d_920c_71ecff42eb22/1OS_Alan%20McClay.pdf.

[32] Laitala K., Boks C. (2012). Sustainable clothing design: use matters. Journal of design research, 10 (1/2), 121-39.

DOI: 10.1504/jdr.2012.046142

[33] De Falco F., Di Pace E., Cocca M., Avella M. (2019). The contribution of washing processes of synthetic clothes to microplastic pollution. Scientific Reports, 9 (1), 6633.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-43023-x

[34] Rahman A., Sarkar A., Yadav O. P., Achari G., Slobodnik J. (2021). Potential human health risks due to environmental exposure to nano- and microplastics and knowledge gaps: A scoping review. Science of The Total Environment, 757, 143872.

DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143872

[35] Prata J. C., da Costa J. P., Lopes I., Andrady A. L., Duarte A. C., Rocha-Santos T. (2021). A One Health perspective of the impacts of microplastics on animal, human and environmental health. Science of The Total Environment, 777, 146094.

DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146094

[36] Sustainable Apparel Coalition. (2022). Statement from the SAC Regarding the Norwegian Consumer Authority and Environmental Claims. Retrieved July 1, 2022. Web site: https://apparelcoalition.org/blog/statement-from-the-sac-regarding-the-norwegian-consumer-authority-and-environmental-claims/.

[37] Better Cotton. (2020). 2020 Annual Report. Retrieved June 30, 2021. Web site: https://bettercotton.org/about-bci/bci-reports/.

[38] World Wildlife Fund (WWF). (2014). The Impact of a Cotton T-Shirt. Retrieved September 27, 2017. Web site: https://www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/spring-2014/articles/handle-with-care.

[39] Textile Exchange. (2014). The Life Cycle Assessment of Organic Cotton Fibre - A Global Average Summary of Findings. https://store.textileexchange.org/wp-content/uploads/woocommerce_uploads/2019/04/LCA_of_Organic_Cotton-Fiber-Full_Report.pdf.

[40] Kassatly V. B. (2019). Sustainable Cotton: Myths versus Reality. Apparel Insider. November 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2023. Web site: Apparel Insider. https://apparelinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/organic-cotton-cover.pdf.

[41] Transformers Foundation. (2021). Cotton: A Case Study In Misinformation. Retrieved October 12, 2021. Web site: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5efdeb17898fb81c1491fb04/t/615e06bfe1c0673ad2ae61c5/1633552067271/CottonPaper_071021_TransformersFoundation_.pdf.

[42] Kent S. (2019). Exactly How Bad Is Fashion for the Planet? We Still Don't Know For Sure. Business of Fashion. Retrieved May 15, 2023. Web site: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/professional/exactly-how-bad-is-fashion-for-the-planet-we-still-dont-know-for-sure.

[43] Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2020). Enabling a Circular Economy for Chemicals with the Mass Balance Approach. Retrieved May 15, 2023. Web site: https://emf.thirdlight.com/link/f1phopemqs36-8xgjzx/@/preview/1?o.

[44] Glover S. (2019). BCI changes 'misleading' product logos. EcoTextile. Retrieved May 15, 2023. Web site: https://www.ecotextile.com/2019112525324/materials-production-news/bci-changes-misleading-product-logos.html.

[45] Moodie A. (2016). Those luxury Egyptian cotton sheets you own may not be luxurious – or Egyptian. The Guardian. Retrieved May 15, 2023. Web site: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/nov/19/egyptian-cotton-sheets-luxury-controversy-target-walmart.

[46] Textile Exchange. (2021). Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report. Retrieved March 19, 2023. Web site: https://textileexchange.org/app/uploads/2022/10/Textile-Exchange_PFMR_2022.pdf.

[47] Statista. (2023). Production of textile fibers worldwide from 1975 to 2020, with a forecast for 2025 and 2030. Retrieved March 19, 2023. Web site: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1250985/global-textile-fiber-production/.

[48] Niinimäki K., Peters G., Dahlbo H., Perry P., Rissanen T., Gwilt A. (2020). The environmental price of fast fashion. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1, 189-200.

DOI: 10.1038/s43017-020-0039-9

[49] Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2017). A new textiles economy: Redesigning fashion's future. Retrieved March 19, 2019. Web site: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/publications/A-New-Textiles-Economy_Full-Report_Updated_1-12-17.pdf.

[50] Heikkilä P., Fontell P., Määttänen M., Harlin A. (2018). Review of Textile Recycling Ecosystems and Case of Cotton. In: Niinimäki K, Ed. Sustainable Fashion in a Circular Economy. Aalto ARTS Books.

[51] Cotton Research and Development Corporation. (2021). Expression of Interest EOI 2022-23. Retrieved October 7, 2021. Web site: https://www.crdc.com.au/sites/default/files/2223EOI0333.pdf.

[52] Australian Fashion Council. (2023). National Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme. Retrieved May 19, 2023. Web site: https://ausfashioncouncil.com/product-stewardship-old/.

[53] Zink T., Geyer R. (2017). Circular Economy Rebound. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 21 (3), 593-602.

DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12545