Sustainable Cotton or Recycled Polyester? The conscious shopper’s dilemma

The guide advises consumers to look for brands with ambitious sustainability commitments and quantified claims to avoid greenwashing in the USD 3 trillion fashion industry. It highlights that while natural fibres like cotton can have high initial environmental impacts from water and pesticide use, they are biodegradable and recyclable, whereas blending natural and synthetic fibres eliminates these benefits. The text emphasizes the role of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSSs) in mitigating the impacts of cotton production, noting that different standards have varying criteria regarding traceability and the use of genetically modified organisms.

• The global fashion industry's current trajectory could lead it to account for up to 25% of the world's carbon budget by 2050, potentially becoming the second most polluting industry after oil and gas.
• Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSSs) for cotton, including the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Organic (GOTS and OCS), and Cotton made in Africa (CmiA), accounted for at least 14.1% of global cotton production in 2016.
• Different cotton sustainability standards employ different compliance and traceability methods; for example, Organic, GOTS, and OCS use identity preservation to prevent mixing organic and conventional fibres, while BCI allows mixing after the ginning process and permits genetically modified cotton.
• Natural fibres like cotton, linen, and hemp have high environmental impacts during farming due to water and pesticide use, but are biodegradable and recyclable, unlike blended natural-synthetic fabrics which lose these properties.
• Organic cotton farming can reduce the global warming potential of the crop by 46% when compared to conventional cotton farming.

APA

Bermúdez,, S. (2020). Sustainable Cotton or Recycled Polyester? The conscious shopper’s dilemma. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/sustainable-cotton-or-recycled-polyester-conscious-shoppers-dilemma

Chicago

Bermúdez,, Steffany. Sustainable Cotton or Recycled Polyester? The conscious shopper’s dilemma. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2020. https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/sustainable-cotton-or-recycled-polyester-conscious-shoppers-dilemma.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bermúdez, |first1=Steffany |title=Sustainable Cotton or Recycled Polyester? The conscious shopper’s dilemma |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=10 August 2020 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/sustainable-cotton-or-recycled-polyester-conscious-shoppers-dilemma |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bermdez2020sustainable, author = {Bermúdez,, Steffany}, title = {{Sustainable Cotton or Recycled Polyester? The conscious shopper’s dilemma}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/sustainable-cotton-or-recycled-polyester-conscious-shoppers-dilemma}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }