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
During March, CottonConscience continues to progress through active testing, refinement, and stakeholder collaboration, moving closer to operational MVP delivery.
The team is working closely with industry partners to iterate the platform through live demonstrations. The system demonstrator has been enhanced with early AI-supported functionality, helping to refine user workflows and ensure alignment with real-world buying and decision-making processes. These developments are shaping a platform that connects commercial performance with sustainability insight in a practical and accessible way.
Technical progress continues to strengthen the platform’s foundations. Earth Observation analysis demonstrates clear differentiation between cotton and wheat crops, with vegetation index data showing variations in crop health across seasonal datasets. The successful integration of in situ field data into the analytical workflow further supports validation of the methodology and reinforces the potential of satellite-derived data to provide meaningful insights at farm level.
In parallel, ongoing work on DNA tagging is advancing understanding of practical field application, supporting the development of scalable verification methods within the CottonConscience system.
Industry engagement remains strong, with continued interest from brands, certification bodies, and supply chain partners. Recent interactions across the value chain highlight the relevance of the platform in addressing growing demands for Page 5 of 6
traceability, transparency, and sustainability reporting.
Industry engagement remains high, with participation from brands, certification bodies, and supply chain partners. The project continues to build momentum as it transitions toward MVP development in the future pilot project phase, design including product road map functionality and prioritisation and the potential expansion of capabilities through our proposed Water Quality extension.
Prime Contractor(s)
