Could Lab Grown Cotton Be Coming To An H&M Near You?

The fast fashion behemoth invested in a lab grown cotton start-up. Will it mean organic cotton shirts grown in a lab are next?

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Your favorite material is about to get a makeover. Cotton, a mainstay in closets is also a mainstay of the fashion industry’s negative impacts. From water scarcity and pollution to chemical exposure, organizations, farmers, and brands alike are looking for solutions. Organic, regenerative, and recycled cotton all address various issues and help mitigate the negative impacts of one of the world’s most polluting crops. But, recently a new innovation has been added to the list of sustainable-cotton alternatives- lab-grown. And, it’s catching the attention of fast fashion brands.

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As the name suggests, lab grown cotton is grown in a lab versus farmed. Much like lab-grown diamonds, lab-grown cotton has the potential to have a smaller environmental impact due to the fact that it doesn’t require water, land, or chemicals. The Boston-based startup Galy recently secured $65 million to accelerate its mission of growing cotton in a lab to eliminate the crop’s water consumption. One of the investors is the H&M Group, which has some environmentalists and fashion enthusiasts speculating about what’s next for the fast fashion retailer.

Why Cotton Needs An Overhaul

Growing cotton uses a ton of water, fertilizer, and insecticides and emits an estimated 220 million tons of CO2 annually. To date, cotton farming accounts for 2.5% pf the world’s arable land, contributes to deforestation, and in some regions like Brazil, land grabbing, corruption, and violence against indigenous communities. While organic cotton is considered a more sustainable option since it’s grown without the use of fertilizers and insecticides and requires less water, it still requires vast amounts of land, so it doesn’t alleviate all of the negative impacts.

Buzzword Breakdown: What Makes Organic Cotton So Good For The Earth?

Lab grown cotton addresses the issues of water, land, and chemical use, by condensing the growing process into a lab where cotton is grown via a ‘cellular agriculture‘ model. It begins with extracting the cells from a cotton plant, then feeding them with sugar to multiply and grow into fibers in a vat. The web site even states that the end result can be organic cotton shirts if needed. The innovative technology has already garnered interest from H&M who stopped buying cotton from China’s Xinjiang region in early 2021 due to forced labor allegations.

What’s Next For Lab Grown Cotton?

Similar to other technologies that address environmental concerns- plant-based leathers or lab grown diamonds, the ability to scale will be a determining factor about whether or not customers will see the items in stores or only read about it in headlines. But, with heavyweights like Inditex (the parent company of Zara) and H&M Group it looks like Galy CEO Luciano Bueno is poised for success. And, success, is a must for the founder. ” Soon, the world will face increased volatility in conventional agriculture as extreme weather conditions become more frequent,” Luciano said in a statement. And when that time comes, companies like Galy will be “ready, better equipping our economy to withstand these shocks.”

Until the comes that lab grown organic cotton shirts hit shelves, brands and consumers must move away from conventional cotton and its negative impacts on the environment. Recycled and organic cotton are two alternatives widely available that ensure that contribute as little as possible to water pollution, land degradation, and workers’ exploitation.