Textile Exchange launches Regenerative Agriculture Landscape Analysis

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Textile Exchange has developed and launched a landmark framework for the fashion and textile industry to understand, communicate, and invest in regenerative agriculture.

They believe that a transition to regenerative agriculture is fundamental to the long-term health of the fashion and textile industry, playing a key role in helping farmers develop more resilient systems. But with interest in regenerative agriculture fast gaining momentum, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and the concept is nuanced.  

Sponsored by Kering, J.Crew and Madewell, and CottonConnect, the Regenerative Agriculture Landscape Analysis is the first report that gives the fashion and textile industry a framework and toolkit to credibly understand, implement and describe the benefits of work in this space. It emphasises regenerative agriculture’s roots in Indigenous and Native practices and promotes a holistic approach that puts humans and ecosystems at the centre.  

Key takeaways:

• A transition to regenerative agriculture is fundamental for the fashion and textile industry. The long-term health of the sector will depend on how it is able to work with farmers to develop more resilient systems, and regenerative practices offer immense social and environmental benefits too.

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• Regenerative agriculture can’t be defined in a single statement or set of practices. It is contextual and nuanced, and instead calls for a fundamentally holistic systems approach that puts humans and ecosystems at its core. 

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• Programs should be rooted in justice, equity, and livelihoods. Indigenous advocates call for an acknowledgement of the Indigenous roots of regenerative agriculture and of past and current racial injustice to underpin future work.

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• Regenerative agriculture is about much more than increasing soil carbon levels. While evolving soil science is calling into question exactly how long-term soil carbon sequestration works, holistic regenerative systems have documented interdependent co-benefits related to biodiversity, water availability and quality, climate resilience, and livelihoods too.

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• We need to move out of silos to speed up the transition. To advance the field of regenerative agriculture overall, apparel, textile, and footwear companies should also increase information-sharing with the food and beverage sector, ensuring that apparel brands influence the latest policy developments, financing models, and research initiatives.

You can find the full report here:  https://textileexchange.org/regenerative-agriculture-landscape-analysis/

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