CottonConnectCottonConnect is on a mission to bring positive change to smallholder farmers, particularly women by improving their livelihoods, and helping brands and retailers’ source sustainable cotton. We help global brands source more sustainably by creating robust, resilient, and successful raw material supply chains. Our efforts improve the sustainability of the world’s textile supply chains, enabling textile producers and raw material farmers to work more responsibly and improve their livelihoods.
CottonConnect adopts a holistic “Product, People, Planet” approach by creating sustainable and traceable goods, supporting farmers to sustain and improve livelihoods, and conserving and restoring the natural environment.
Through our innovative TraceBale platform, we help simplify and provide transparency for cotton supply chains providing visibility of the whole cotton journey, from farm group to finished product. We offer both digital traceability, where users can trace textiles through QR codes, and physical traceability with DNA marking technology.
Last year (2023-24), our teams trained 452,321 farmers in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Turkey and Egypt, helping them improve yields, reduce input costs, and boost profits. Since our inception in 2009, we have worked with over 800,000 farmers, impacting the livelihoods of 4 million farming families.
Our programmes include REEL Cotton Programme, REEL Regenerative, REEL Linen, Responsible Business for Gins, Organic Programme, and Women in Cotton. We have set key goals for REEL Cotton in environment and climate, traceability, and social impact that drive our vision for transforming supply chains. In 2024, progress was measured, showing:
800,000+ (till date) farmers engaged through trainings programmes, advancing towards reaching 1 million goal by 2030.
We are on track for reducing greenhouse gas emissions for REEL Cotton by 50% by 2030
On track for training more than 90% of REEL Cotton farmers to adopt regenerative practices by 2030
100% REEL Cotton traceability achieved through TraceBale ahead of 2025 target
270,863 (2023-24) women in Women in Cotton, progressing toward 500,000 by 2030
On-site soil testing initiated to achieve the 2030 goal of improving soil health for 100% of REEL Cotton farmers.
We were honoured twice as 'SME of the Year'—at the Reuters Sustainable Business Awards in 2024 and at the Edie Awards, the UK's largest sustainability event, in 2023. Additionally, in 2023, our partnership with Primark and SEWA won the 'Partnership of the Year' award at Reuters and the 'Partnership and Collaboration of the Year' award at the Edie.
