Our Guiding Principles

Regenerative Cotton Collective follows two guiding principles to steer the direction and decision making for the company and to keep us grounded in purpose. We work for the flourishing of the planet and people - all stakeholders in the farming and textile industries. 

Planet 

There has been a growing movement of activists, consumers, brands, and organizations raising awareness of the vital role that farmers play in not only slowing, but actually reversing the negative effects of carbon on the environment. When farmers implement regenerative practices, they grow the organic matter and they store or “sequester” carbon in the soil, restoring the carbon cycle to resemble nature’s original design, and not the modern extractive patterns of farming today. In addition to restoring the carbon cycle, regenerative agriculture also restores the water cycle, helps improve water quality, increases biodiversity , and makes farms more resilient against changing weather patterns. Many of our cotton farmers are located within the Mississippi River watershed, and the changes in their practices and the expanded adoption of these practices can help to mitigate the damage done in the Gulf of Mexico’s dead zone. With more than 12 million acres of cotton being cultivated in the United States, the potential for impact is huge. Regenerative Cotton Collective works to set a high standard of regenerative cotton and create a new market that pays a premium for farmers doing the work of regeneration. 

People

 A regenerative system is not just one that works for the benefit of the environment, but it also seeks to regenerate the lives of the people living in farming communities and working in agricultural supply chains. The regenerative movement is fundamentally about regenerating relationships: relationships of organisms living in the soil, people’s relationship to the natural world, and relationships between the people and communities working within the supply chains and affected by agriculture. The regenerative cotton collective works for the people who live in cotton producing communities in the United States and around the world. The RCC recognizes that farmers who are approaching the world regeneratively will be working not only for their own good but also for the good of their communities. The current agricultural system is all too often high risk and very small reward for cotton farmers, living on loans and tiny margins.

By bringing more profits to regenerative cotton farmers, RCC works to boost local economies and stabilize farming communities. In addition to bringing more income for regenerative cotton farmers, the regenerative cotton collective recognizes  that the history of cotton farming has left cotton communities in a dire state of poverty. Knowing this, the regenerative cotton collective donates a portion of its profits each year to the Regenerative Cotton Community Fund. This fund supports farmers in need of financial help to transition, local food systems, education, and community organizations seeking  to address the issues that many rural cotton producing communities are facing today. 

We believe that we have an amazing opportunity with regenerative cotton farming to bring value to farmers, brands, investors, and ultimately the consumer via Regenerative Cotton Collective. We approach the growth of our company the way we approach the farm: through the eyes of regeneration. We seek to do business in a way that is collaborative and adds value to our customers, and does not rely on extractive relationships with people, the land, or our partners. 

As the world continues to wrestle with the realities of the textile industry’s impact on the planet, we will be ready with a solution to help brands who are ready to make a change.