A new trial in Australia aims to see if cotton cloth can come full circle — and help new cotton grow again. It is a well-known fact that the fashion industry is extremely wasteful, however, it has been a growing trend to incorporate more sustainable methods.
Second-hand clothing has become more mainstream and accessible, with retailers such as Walmart opening resale stores to embrace circular fashion.
An Australian cotton industry trade group aims to return used cotton to the soil to help new cotton grow — closing the loop.
Farmer Sam Coulton spread two tons of cotton cloth mixed with compost on a farm in Goondiwindi, Queensland. The farmers are prepping the field for the next cotton harvest, which they will plant in October 2021. The goal is to explore if outdated cotton may improve soil health and provide a scalable solution to textile waste.
“We grow it here and we should be able to bury it here with positive environmental and economic impact on the local community,” Coulton told Farm Online.
To the opposite of synthetic fibers like fleece or spandex, cotton cloth is generally harmless and should easily decompose.
Source: freethink
