By Jenny Ringland

There’s a new benchmark in sustainable fashion being pioneered by Australian designers that was unimaginable only three years ago. No longer is it enough to spruik garments partially made using recycled materials, the new status quo demands operating in harmony with the natural world.

“Regenerative agriculture represents a way of growing food and fibre that goes beyond sustainability and instead restores, repairs, and regenerates the environment,” explains Maggie Hewitt, founder and designer of New Zealand cult fashion label Maggie Marilyn.

Regenerative practices include implementing zero to minimum tillage with permanent bedding structures, crop rotation, precision planting, nature corridors for natural pest management, native vegetation protection and growth, use of organic amendments and renewable energy transitions.

Good Earth Cotton, which owns the patented technology of Fibre Trace, an indestructible pigment that bonds to raw fibres, allowing a garment to be tracked from fibre to retail, is helping brands like Maggie Marilyn minimise their global footprint on a journey towards carbon positive.

Maggie recently sat down with Good Earth Cotton’s Kara Hurry to talk regenerative farming, the role of technology in fashion and the innovative cotton practices happening right here in Australia.

Good Earth Cotton’s Kara Hurry

Maggie: 

What motivated the creation of Good Earth Cotton, and how do you see its work contributing to the future of the fashion and textile industry? 

Kara: 

Our goal is to enhance the role cotton farmers play in the global textile industry – reducing climate impact through modern regenerative farming practices and continual high level primary data collection, audits, review, and assessment. Studies we have been involved in showcase that 30 – 40 per cent of the impact is made at raw material level – we are passionate about environmental preservation, and building a program that can truly positively impact livelihoods.

Maggie: 

What role do you see regenerative agriculture practices playing in the future of cotton farming, and how do you integrate these practices into Good Earth Cotton? 

Kara:

We see regenerative agriculture as the only way forward. Regenerative agriculture is the new sustainability buzz word – it’s important that beyond the check box of implementing some regenerative techniques, that farmers and producers take the additional step of providing scientific and third party audited reports each year to showcase improvement and change. Our advice is always look for the ISO14064 1/2, it’s a global best practice standard, at Good Earth Cotton we are proud of our transparency, annual scientific review and sharing of data with our partners.

Maggie:

How does Good Earth Cotton prioritise sustainability and ethical production in your supply chain, and what challenges have you faced in doing so? 

Kara:

When we formally achieved climate positive status, we invested in traceability technology FibreTrace. This technology allows a brand to trace our fibre from farm all the way through the global supply chain, and for suppliers across the entire value chain to submit certifications, data and additional information to ensure corporate social responsibility frameworks are upheld. Ensuring sustainable and ethical production is not easy, continued monitoring and really close relationships with suppliers is essential. As much as it’s not easy, it’s worth it.

Maggie:

Can you speak to the unique qualities and benefits of cotton grown using regenerative agriculture practices, and how these differ from conventionally grown cotton? 

Kara: 

Since implementing the Good Earth Cotton program across our properties in Australia, we have seen an increase in yield, which means we get more bales per hectare, with less input. We have also managed to ensure we sequester more carbon than we emit throughout the entire growth and ginning cycle of the cotton production, and reduced our water use by almost 200 per cent. The environmental impact is the key significant difference.

Maggie: 

How do you work with fashion brands and designers to integrate Good Earth Cotton into their collections, and what have been some of your favourite collaborations so far? 

Kara: 

We have broken the norm in establishing relationships with farm to brands direct in the cotton supply chain, which is exciting and the feedback we receive from brand partners such as yourself Maggie, continues to push us further forward. 

It goes without saying one of our favourite collaborations is with you, seeing the fibre crafted into all varieties of garments from denim, to fine dresses is phenomenal. When our team is able to buy products they know are made from the fibre they put so much heart and soul into, it’s really wonderful.

We are very grateful to have established relationships with Reformation, R.M.Williams, Country Road, 7 For All Mankind, and there are a lot more to come over the next 12 months which is exciting.

Good Earth Cotton co-founder Danielle Statham and Maggie Hewitt

UNDERSTANDING CARBON EMISSIONS IN FASHION 

Maggie:

Can you speak to the carbon footprint of cotton farming, and how regenerative agriculture practices can reduce this impact? 

Kara:

It took us from the early 2000’s to 2017 to map out the practice changes necessary to reduce our impact, and move to sequester more carbon than we emit – but now we have turned the Good Earth Cotton program into a guidebook for farmers to accelerate the regenerative change, there are 6 additional farms in Australia now, and we started with almost 2,000 farmers in India early last year to start to adapt the program for a different environment and farming structure. We believe pastoral agriculture has an integral role to play in solving the climate crisis.

Maggie:

How do you prioritise carbon reduction and sustainability in the production and distribution of Good Earth Cotton products, and what steps do you take to ensure these values are upheld throughout the supply chain? 

Kara: 

We are only able to take accountability for our farming and ginning operations, so from farm to shipping port. We have been entering into multiple partnership agreements with global greenhouse gas accountants, auditors, technology providers all of who can then support a brand in assessing their entire value chain – this is a pretty new arena, and it will take time for whole-of-supply chain assessments for textiles to be possible and commercially viable. We can see it being done today for fruit and vegetables, which have a less convoluted supply chain, but it’s promising to see Australia leading the way, and our partner Carbon Friendly is at the helm of this.

The most important thing today is that we form partnerships with brands and suppliers who uphold similar values to ourselves, and share the passion of protecting our environment, like yourself Maggie, we know the Maggie Marilyn business goes the extra mile in assessing our reports, visiting our properties, visiting and assessing your suppliers, and working together to upload best practice and continue positive change.

Maggie:

What are some of the biggest challenges facing the fashion industry in terms of reducing carbon emissions, and how do you see these challenges being addressed in the future? 

Kara:

This is such a big question. I’m biased, but I believe traceability is the first and most important challenge for the industry to tackle. We can’t change what we can’t see, track, report on and understand.

The fashion industry relies on resource intensive materials,  and as I shared earlier – raw fibre often make up 30-40 per cent of the impact, so sourcing low-impact materials such as Good Earth Cotton, recycled polyester and wool grown on regenerative farms is key.

Another significant factor is waste management and recycling – looking at ways we can effectively collect, recycle and reuse is key. Even on farm we take all our gin trash and reutilise it across the operation.

Finally it would be energy use, a big factor for carbon emissions. At Keytah, the first Good Earth Cotton farm, we have just started a huge project installing 8 hectares of solar, which will not only take our operation off-grid but also generate hydrogen allowing us to displace diesel use in machinery and transport, and create green urea – a key fertiliser utilised in pastoral agriculture.

Maggie: 

How can consumers make more informed purchasing decisions that prioritise carbon reduction and sustainability in the fashion industry?

Kara:

Knowledge is power – as a consumer if you see the word ‘regenerative’ take the time to look into the farm and see if they are transparent with their data and methodology approach, or make sure you see the ISO14064 integration, or tick of approval.

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