#Raw Materials

2025-03-27

Better Cotton renews Standard Recognition Agreement in Brazil

Better Cotton has announced the renewal of its standard recognition agreement with ABRAPA, the Brazilian Cotton Growers’ Association.

Cotton flower at Samambaia Farm, GMS Group, Luziania District, Goias, Brazi © 2025 Better Cotton / Carlos Rudiney

The agreement comes into effect retroactively from October 2024 to October 2025 and will automatically renew for an additional three years should all requirements be met.

Since 2014, ABRAPA’s Responsible Brazilian Cotton (ABR) Programme has been recognised as equivalent to the Better Cotton Standards System (BCSS), enabling domestic farmers to sell their cotton as ‘Better Cotton’ in national and international markets.

In the 2023/24 cotton season, the 440 Brazilian farms who were awarded ABR certification produced more than three million metric tonnes of Better Cotton. This means that ABR/Better Cotton-certified cotton represents more than 83% of Brazil’s total cotton production.

Better Cotton requires Strategic Partners to periodically reassess and, where necessary, realign their standards with the BCSS to maintain standard equivalence. This ensures that both standards evolve to continually support cotton farmers in meeting market demand for more sustainable cotton.??

The new standard recognition agreement reflects a continued alignment of the Better Cotton Standards System and the ABR Programme.

ICAC announces 84th Plenary Meeting in Egypt with focus on cotton industry resilience

Registration is now open for the International Cotton Advisory Committee’s 84th Plenary Meeting, which will take place from 24 to 26 March 2027 in Alexandria, Egypt. The conference will address climate resilience, technological developments, sustainability and competitiveness across the global cotton and textile value chain.

New Cotton Review examines competitiveness, market risk, and opportunities

From moving record volumes of Brazilian cotton to market, to managing price volatility, unlocking Ethiopia’s production potential, and strengthening African textile trade, the latest edition of Cotton: Review of the World Situation examines some of the most consequential opportunities and challenges facing the global cotton industry.

Kraig Labs ships first commercial spider silk yarn

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (OTCQB: KBLB) (“the Company”, “Kraig Labs”, or “Kraig’s”), a world leader in spider silk technology*, today announced the shipment of its first commercial order of recombinant spider silk yarn. The custom-engineered yarn was produced to fulfill a purchase commitment from a globally recognized performance sports brand and is slated for development into a first-of-its-kind performance textile.

ALLIED expands down traceability with lot-level carbon footprint data

ALLIED Feather + Down has expanded its TrackMyDown traceability platform to include validated cradle-to-gate carbon footprint data linked to individual down lots. The initiative is designed to provide brands and consumers with more detailed environmental information on the materials used in finished products and could also support future data requirements associated with Digital Product Passports.

Georg Stausberg, a veteran of the textile machinery industry, takes over as Rieter Group CEO

Georg Stausberg, one of the most experienced executives in the international textile machinery industry, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Rieter Group with immediate effect from 4 November 2026. With more than three decades of industry experience and a long-standing leadership career at Barmag, Stausberg brings extensive technological expertise, international market knowledge and an established network across the global textile industry to his new position.

Jeanologia and BCome connect factory data with Life Cycle Assessment and Digital Product Passports

A new white paper by EIM by Jeanologia and BCome demonstrates how primary environmental data from denim finishing processes can be integrated into a garment's Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and prepared for use in a Digital Product Passport (DPP). A comparative case study highlights significant improvements at the production stage while also showing how these translate into the environmental performance of the finished garment.

Inside the Making connects denim and sportswear supply chains at Ecomondo 2026

Six European companies are joining forces at Ecomondo 2026 in Rimini to demonstrate how different stages of denim and sportswear production are interconnected. The new initiative, Inside the Making, highlights the importance of cooperation across the textile supply chain in addressing sustainability challenges, from reducing resource consumption to improving transparency and the reliability of environmental claims.

EDANA welcomes definitive EU anti-dumping measures on Chinese PET spunbond

EDANA, the international association serving the nonwovens and related industries, has welcomed the European Commission's decision to impose definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of PET spunbond originating in China. The association considers the measures an important step towards restoring fair competition and safeguarding European industrial capacity.