Cotton sector issues new guidelines to improve lifecycle assessment use

A coalition of multistakeholder initiatives, including the Better Cotton Initiative, Cotton Incorporated, Cotton Australia, and the US Cotton Trust Protocol, has issued new guidelines on the use of Lifecycle Assessments (LCAs) to help the fashion and textile industries apply them more effectively and reliably alongside complementary sustainability methodologies.

The guidelines, outlined in the report From Data to Impact: How to Get Cotton LCAs Right, emphasise that LCAs should be paired with primary data collection methods to generate more accurate field-level insights and support comprehensive, data-driven sustainability communications.

Lars van Doremalen, Director of Impact at the Better Cotton Initiative, stated that with stronger methodological discipline and clearer communication, the cotton sector can ensure that sustainability claims are “science-based, data-backed, and farmer-informed.” He added that progress requires coordinated action among companies, initiatives, and policymakers, grounded in scientific integrity, awareness of limitations, and practical applicability.

The report, which also received support from Cascale, Textile Exchange, and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation, notes that LCAs are frequently misapplied in the apparel sector. It warns that incorrect usage—such as inappropriate comparisons, limited contextualisation, or ignoring methodological boundaries—can undermine trust in sustainability claims, compromise data integrity, and misdirect investments or interventions.

Jesse Daystar, Chief Sustainability Officer at Cotton Incorporated, observed that LCAs provide only a partial view, comparing their use to “looking through a keyhole” where one sees some information but never the complete picture.

While LCAs can aid in identifying environmental priorities, tracking long-term trends, and supporting regulatory compliance, the report stresses that they do not capture social indicators or short-term changes in farming practices, offering only a simplified view of farm-level realities.

Allan Williams, Executive Director at Australia’s Cotton Research & Development Corporation, commented that LCAs currently do not deliver direct benefits to farmers. He highlighted the importance of investing in fundamental research to identify the practices with the most significant environmental impact, rather than collecting data solely for LCA purposes.

The report’s authors called for greater industry alignment, both among standard-setting bodies to define key data metrics, and among brands and retailers to ensure LCAs are applied appropriately and contribute to meaningful, farm-level sustainability outcomes. They emphasised the need for new primary data collection, training on LCA literacy, and investment in tangible impacts within supply chains.