LCA Studies on Regenerative Agriculture and Regenerative Textiles: Two Routes of Regenerative Cotton

In the current climate of concerns about global warming, the apparel and textile sectors are leading the way as the fastest-growing contributors of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Three different kinds of textile fibres include natural, man-made, and synthetic. Natural fibres come from plants and animals, while man-made fibres are manufactured from polymers generated from crude oil. Regenerative textiles are increasingly becoming popular with the aim to reduce the life cycle impacts of the textile products. Regenerative textiles can be obtained from the chemical recycling of the waste textiles, or by reusing and repairing the discarded textiles, and another way is through the use of regenerative agriculture techniques at the cultivation stage to enhance the overall environment friendliness of the textiles. Cotton is the fibre that is utilized the most in the textile industry, hence it is sometimes referred to as the “monarch” of the world's textile industries. The cultivation stage of cotton requires a significant amount of water for the plant’s continued growth and is one of the most significant blue water consumers. Additionally, the production of cotton apparel results in the emission of high amounts of greenhouse gases, through its life cycle, which includes processes such as fibre ginning, yarn manufacturing, fabric production, colouring, printing, and the final assembly of clothing. Cotton production is undergoing a transition from conventional to organic and organic to recycled cotton. This change, which has been found to decrease some consequences on the environment, began with conventional cotton production. Because of recent advancements in the field of life cycle assessment (LCA), the analyst's job has become increasingly simpler, and estimating the environment impacts, using LCA tool, is now much less difficult. Recent research studies on cotton, aimed at identifying its environmental impacts, have led to various changes in the cultivation phase, which, in turn, have contributed to a lower consumption of traditional fertilizers. The newly discovered sustainable cotton fibre known as regenerative organic cotton was determined to have less of an impact on the environment than either conventional or organic cotton. Although there are negligible studies found in the open literature, on cotton obtained through regenerative agricultural route at the moment, research in this field is becoming increasingly popular. The purpose of this chapter is to conduct a review of regenerative LCA studies and their future prospects.