Objectives of the service
Cotton is a vital crop, but today’s global cotton supply chains are complex and opaque. Fashion brands are currently unable to trace the very first stages of cotton production (field – gin – mill) to verify whether it was grown sustainably, and if water resources were used responsibly. This lack of transparency makes it difficult to back up sustainability claims, putting brands at risk of reputational damage and regulatory fines.
By combining satellite data, DNA tagging, and water systems insights, CottonConscience traces cotton from farm to gin – giving fashion and textile brands transparent, verifiable data to support water wise decision making, and prove sustainability claims, promoting better water use, healthier soils, and stronger communities.
Users and their needs
Targeted user groups include:
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Fashion retailers and brands (UK, Europe)
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Supply chain partners (India, UK)
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Cotton farmers (India, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt)
User needs and challenges:
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Clear and credible proof of cotton origin.
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Independent verification of environmental impacts, especially water use.
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Practical tools for integrating farmer data with satellite and laboratory evidence.
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Simple reporting formats suitable for retailers and regulators.
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Building trust across a complex, fragmented supply chain.
Service/ system concept
CottonConscience uses data from EO Satellites, DNA Tags and known water sources to create an impact assessment of the cotton at field-level. This assessment is presented to the user (Fashion Buyer) via an integrated platform within their buying system helping ensure their buying decisions align with their company values, ESG targets and sustainability KPIs.
Space Added Value
CottonConscience uses Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, combined with tooling from OpenEO.
Unlike traditional audits or paper-based tracking, satellite data covers wide areas consistently and cannot easily be altered. This improves traceability and allows retailers to respond quickly to risks such as drought, water overuse, or illegal farmland expansion, offering a solution that can grow with the industry and support brands in meeting the highest data integrity, and sustainability standards.
Current Status
The CottonConscience project launched with a Kick-Off meeting in August 2025. Early activities have focused on stakeholder engagement and research design. Three engagement streams are now underway:
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A fashion survey targeting buying, sourcing, and sustainability teams across six retail brands (available privately)
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Interviews for senior brand executives including CFOs and CSOs
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A farming questionnaire distributed to six suppliers and cooperatives in Gujarat, India.
The Science Team has written a comprehensive literature review covering sustainability practices in cotton, with emphasis on water stewardship, regenerative farming, isotopes measuring, and biochemical markers, plus a paper challenging Mass Balance and volume tracking, offering an aspirational approach for transparency in the fashion industry. This is being prepared for publication.
Prime Contractor(s)
