Cotton Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study
The Life Cycle Assessment for Cotton is part of Textile Exchange’s series of LCA studies designed to improve the quality and robustness of environmental impact data for raw material production across the fashion, textile, and apparel industry.
Key takeaways
The study’s findings offer insights into the key drivers shaping cotton’s environmental impact across different production systems and regions.
Field emissions are the primary driver of impact
Across most systems and countries, field emissions are identified as the primary hotspot, largely driven by nitrogen balance from synthetic fertilizer use.
This supports Textile Exchange’s pathways to preferred production systems, which seek to eliminate or reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers, in alignment with organic and regenerative production principles.
Similar trends are seen in the use of crop protection inputs, such as pesticides, and their associated impacts, including ecotoxicity.
Preferred production systems show potential for long-term benefits
The LCA+ analysis indicated that practices associated with organic and regenerative systems can strengthen long-term soil resilience and reduce pressures on nature. However, more site-specific data is needed to fully understand these potential benefits.
Impacts vary significantly by region and system
The findings show that cotton’s environmental impacts vary widely based on local growing conditions and practices, making region-specific data essential and reinforcing the need for targeted data collection partnerships with cotton organizations and on-the-ground stakeholders.
Impact depends on how the whole cotton cultivation system is managed, with factors such as nitrogen-based fertilizer use, water for irrigation, and energy use all interacting rather than any single input or practice driving outcomes alone.
Recycled cotton impacts depend on energy and infrastructure
For recycled cotton, environmental impacts are dominated by electricity consumption and transport, meaning environmental performance depends on how, where, and with what energy and infrastructure recycling is carried out.
Download our short summary
This document summarizes the Textile Exchange cotton LCA study, detailing the study’s scope, key findings on cotton cultivation and recycled cotton, and insights derived from LCA+ methodology. It also presents the study’s conclusions and recommendations.
“This LCA study shows that cotton’s environmental impact hinges on where it’s grown and how it’s managed in the field. By identifying the practices that matter most in different regions—and highlighting the importance of knowing the origin and local production context—this study enables brands to make more informed sourcing decisions and target impact reductions where they will be most effective.”
Debra Guo
Lead, Cotton and Crops
Textile Exchange
Integrating the data into global databases
The cotton LCA data will be submitted to industry databases to support more accurate modeling and progress tracking of greenhouse gas emissions and other impacts. The data is primarily intended to serve as proxy data, in cases where source-specific LCA data is not available. It is designed to provide a credible, consistent foundation for understanding the impacts of cotton production and to inform data-driven decision-making.
The data for the cotton LCA will be submitted throughout 2026 to the following databases:
Read our guidance on the responsible use of LCA data
As with all LCA data, the findings from Textile Exchange’s LCA studies should be used carefully and in the appropriate context. You can find out more about the responsible use of LCA data in our dedicated report.