Growing Cotton Sustainably, Today and in the Future

As experts in cotton research and sustainability, the team at Cotton Incorporated is often asked about the difference between organic and conventional cotton. The main difference between growing organic and conventional cotton comes down to the type of seeds and crop inputs, such as chemical technologies, used to grow and protect the crops.

Both organic and conventional cotton can be grown with improved sustainability outcomes when applying a common set of best management practices. Both organic and conventional cotton when produced responsibly have the ability to reduce certain environmental impacts. However, it is important to remember less than 1 percent of the world’s cotton supply qualifies as organic, according to Textile Exchange The Organic Cotton Market Report, 2021. This means the vast majority of cotton grown is through a conventional system that has a wider range of management options (e.g., synthetic crop protection products and fertilizers) that typically yield more fiber per planted acre of cotton (USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service). Currently, Cotton Incorporated has a robust research program with over 450 research projects focusing on optimizing cotton production systems, overcoming challenges, and addressing future needs of all cotton growers. Many of these projects provide results which help growers develop best practices for more sustainable production no matter the production system.

A few project examples below highlight research projects exploring organic cotton production expansion in the US, improving soil health for all production systems, and leveraging biological control options for natural pest suppression. The learning objectives from these projects can help all cotton producers, regardless of production system used.

Regional Growing

Cotton Incorporated is actively supporting research of organic cotton production expansion outside of low pest pressure regions in the United States. Organic cotton production in the U.S. primarily comes from West Texas where both insect and weed pressure is low. In 2021, we supported a project focused on growing organic cotton in the Mid-South which provided insight towards the organic production in these more dynamic and challenging ecosystems.  

Soil Heath

Improving soil health is a key lever to enhance grower profitability and sustainability regardless of the cotton production system used. Cotton Incorporated actively supports research focused on the effects of conventional, conservation, and organic cotton production practices and their influence on soil health. Our collaborative research project with Texas A&M University evaluates how different farm management decisions can influence soil health outcomes and benefit all production systems.   

Cover Crops

Leveraging the natural characteristics of plants and their growth cycles can be used as a way for all cotton growers to generate improved environmental outcomes. Cover crops offer the grower many co-benefits such as reduced soil loss (keeping nutrients on the field), improved soil water holding capacity, and natural pest suppression. Cotton Incorporated is supporting research projects that evaluate how different cover crop species and mixes offer natural pest suppression characteristics to the producer.

Throughout our learnings, one point remains clear, cotton’s versatility and efficiency make it an important crop for a growing global population striving for a more sustainable future. It’s important to share those learning not only throughout the agriculture community but across the cotton supply chain. There are several industry programs that provide brands and retailers the assurances they need for using cotton fiber as a sustainably produced ingredient to their products including the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. The program is a farm level sustainability program that brings quantifiable and verifiable goals to sustainable cotton production to drive continuous improvement towards the industry’s 10-year sustainability goals. Sustainable cotton sourcing programs like the Trust Protocol are critical to meeting a growing demand for sustainably produced cotton from brands, retailers, and consumers. 

By: Dr. Jesse Daystar – Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer, Cotton Incorporated