# Cotton: Emissions

How organic cotton nearly halves the carbon cost

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/emissions/

What this tab covers The greenhouse-gas footprint of the commodity at a global level, split by lifecycle phase: extraction (or farming), refining and processing, movement, usage, and recycling or end of life. Intensities are per unit of product; the global total combines intensity with world output. Also covers other environmental impacts and the main levers to cut emissions. Emission intensity 1.80 t CO2e per t range about 1.0 (organic) to 1.8 (conventional global average) · conventional global average 1,808 kg CO2e per t of fibre; organic 978 kg in a comparable study Global emissions per year 44.0 Mt CO2e per year 2023 · 24.7 Mt of lint x 1.8 t CO2e/t (calculated, indicative); cottonseed shares some farm emissions under mass or economic allocation

Per t of ginned cotton lint at gin gate (cradle-to-gate). Intensity: Cotton Incorporated 2012 LCA and Textile Exchange / PE International 2014 organic cotton LCA (indicative). Global total: FAOSTAT 2023; Cotton Incorporated 2012.

#### Footprint by lifecycle phase

| Phase | Intensity | Share | Main sources of emissions | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Extraction** | most of the 1.8 t CO2e/t | – | nitrogen fertiliser manufacture and field N2O, diesel for tillage and picking, irrigation pumping, pesticides | Low-yield rainfed systems spread fixed inputs over less lint; flood irrigation with diesel pumps raises the figure. A split by phase was not available from the summary used. | Cotton Incorporated 2012 (indicative) |
| **Refining / processing** | ginning is a small share at gin gate | – | electricity for gins, drying and pressing | Spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing, outside this boundary, emit far more than ginning, especially on coal-based power. | qualitative (indicative) |
| **Movement** | about 0.2-0.4 t CO2/t Houston to Shanghai by container (calculated, indicative) | – | container shipping of bales | About 20,000 km at 10-20 g CO2 per t-km. Not in the gin-gate total. | calculated; IMO 2020 order of magnitude (indicative) |
| **Usage** | can be large for clothing | – | washing, tumble drying and ironing | Consumer care can rival fibre production in a garment's life cycle, depending on how often and how hot it is washed (indicative). | qualitative (indicative) |
| **Recycling / end of life** | recycling small | – | landfill (methane from cellulose), incineration, mechanical recycling | Less than 1% of material used for clothing is recycled into new clothing. | Ellen MacArthur Foundation, A New Textiles Economy, 2017 |

#### Other environmental impacts

Cotton is water-intensive where irrigated (the Aral Sea is the classic case) and uses a large share of world insecticides. Forced-labour concerns in Xinjiang restrict trade into the US.

#### Levers to cut emissions

- Precision nitrogen and slow-release fertilisers to cut field N2O
- Drip irrigation and solar pumps instead of flood irrigation with diesel
- Organic or regenerative systems: about 46% lower GWP per tonne in one comparison (978 vs 1,808 kg CO2e/t, indicative)
- Raise yields in low-yield regions, which cuts emissions per tonne
- Fibre-to-fibre recycling, now under 1% of clothing

#### India

Indian cotton is largely rainfed and hand-picked with low yields (1,310 kg/ha seed cotton in 2024), so emissions per tonne depend heavily on how much urea is applied relative to yield (FAOSTAT 2024). Burning cotton stalks after harvest adds local air pollution (indicative).
 Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/characteristics/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/links/index.md)