Ensuring Integrity in the Use of Life Cycle Assessment Data is a comprehensive position paper from Textile Exchange outlining best practice for the responsible use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data in the fashion, textile, and apparel industry.

The paper provides guidance on how to use LCA data, and—equally importantly—how it should not be used. It is intended for anyone looking to develop a greater understanding of the use of LCA studies and LCA data in the textile industry—particularly for brands using LCA data directly or those who rely on it for their impact modeling or progress tracking.

Ensuring Integrity in the Use of Life Cycle Assessment Data forms part of Textile Exchange’s commitment to convening actors across the supply chain to improve the impact data available for the industry. It includes a call for industry-wide integrity in the use of LCA data, listing key recommendations.

READ

Read the full paper

Ensuring Integrity in the Use of Life Cycle Assessment Data includes a call for industry-wide integrity in the use of LCA data, with key recommendations, such as only using LCA data when there is a full understanding of the key assumptions, methods, and use cases.

Download the full paper

TAKEAWAYS

Discover some of the key recommendations

• Only use LCA data when there is a clear understanding of the underlying assumptions, methodologies, and intended use. To help, all assumptions, methodological choices, limitations, and source datasets should be fully documented in studies.

• Avoid comparing LCA data between different fiber or material categories (e.g., natural vs. synthetic).

• Avoid comparing LCA data between separate LCA studies or within a study, unless it is designed as a comparative LCA study.

• Avoid comparing LCA data between different industry databases, which collect and store LCA data, as each of these databases applies differing methodologies and assumptions.

• Consider adopting an “LCA+” approach that includes impact areas such as biodiversity, soil health, animal welfare, and livelihoods.

EXPLORE

In the paper you’ll also find

• An introduction to Life Cycle Assessment, including a definition of what it is, why it’s used, and the steps to follow to conduct an LCA study.

• The challenges and limitations of using LCA in the textile industry.

• Textile Exchange’s work with LCA studies.

The post Ensuring Integrity in the Use of Life Cycle Assessment Data appeared first on Textile Exchange.

A Guide to Credible Regenerative Agriculture Claims is designed to help brands, producers, and other stakeholders make effective and credible claims about their work supporting regenerative agriculture. 

Regenerative agriculture is place-based and context-specific, which means it doesn’t have a single “one-size-fits-all’ definition. This can make it challenging to communicate claims accurately and effectively and as such there is rising concern that the promise of regenerative is being diluted.  

To help address this and to protect and elevate the work of those that are committed to regenerative outcomes, Textile Exchange has created A Guide to Credible Regenerative Agriculture Claims. It help brands overcome such challenges and sets out the key principles to follow to make claims clear, accurate, and relevant, and supported by transparent and robust systems. 

Download the guide

A Guide to Credible Regenerative Agriculture Claims includes sections on the different types of regenerative agriculture claims, how they should be managed and reported, and how to avoid issues such as greenwashing and greenhushing.  

Download the full paper

Why the guidance is needed

In recent years, interest in regenerative agriculture has grown among brands and customers, driven by increasing awareness of the impact the fashion, textile, and apparel industry has on the environment. Making credible, verifiable claims not only builds customer trust but also enhances brand value, promotes the beneficial impact regenerative agriculture can have, and helps drive the meaningful change we need to see across the industry. 

By following this guide, which aligns with best practices such as the ISEAL Credibility Principles and UN Principles for Sustainable Fashion Communication, brands can avoid reputational risks, enhance customer confidence, and help increase awareness of effective regenerative systems.  

What’s included in the guide

The guide has been created primarily for brands, while also addressing the needs of producers and other stakeholders. It has been designed to be easy to use, with clearly defined sections including: 

• Six takeaways for brands to follow when creating credible claims 

• The key challenges brands face when making claims 

• The different types of regenerative agriculture claims 

• How to effectively make, manage, and report on credible claims 

• The role of companies in supporting regenerative outcomes 

Textile Exchange’s regenerative agriculture tools 

The guide is the latest in a series of regenerative agriculture tools and resources from Textile Exchange, sitting alongside the Regenerative Agriculture Landscape Analysis and the Regenerative Agriculture Outcome Framework. They are designed to work together — helping brands understand regenerative agriculture, implement it in supply chains, measure outcomes, and communicate efforts credibly. 

Please note: The guide is not intended to be legal advice, but rather has been created in good faith as a service to the industry to help brands and others navigate what is needed to support crafting credible regenerative agriculture claims.

Learn more about Regenerative Agriculture Outcome Framework

Regenerative Agriculture Outcome Framework

April 2, 2025

View All

The post A Guide to Credible Regenerative Agriculture Claims  appeared first on Textile Exchange.

Our Guidance on Science-Based Targets for Nature publication is designed to help brands and retailers go beyond greenhouse gas emissions and establish more holistic impact goals.

The textile industry’s reliance on both fossil and land-based raw materials directly impacts natural ecosystems. Alongside the overwhelmingly negative impacts of virgin fossil-based synthetics, common land-based materials can either disrupt or restore nature, depending on how they are managed.

It is a key opportunity for the industry, with fibers and materials including cotton and leather now listed on the Science Based Targets Network’s (SBTN) list of High-Impact Commodities — which considers their potential worst-case scenario pressures on areas like climate, land, water, and soil. In contrast, these can all form part of regenerative systems that restore nature and biodiversity, giving the industry significant leverage on its impact just by changing how its materials are produced.

The formal introduction of science-based targets for nature by the SBTN in 2024 gave brands a common methodology to address these areas. However, setting effective nature targets requires granular, location-specific data and heightened supply chain visibility, resulting in complex processes that demand industry-specific guidance and support.

Download the paper

Our Guidance on Science-Based Targets for Nature helps translate the SBTN methods, supporting the uptake of nature-related targets. The publication is designed to help brands and retailers implement primarily Step 3 of the science-based targets for nature framework as it relates to raw material production.

Download the full paper

Next steps for the industry

Successfully setting and delivering on science-based targets for nature will involve rethinking the entire supply system. This is by no means an easy task and requires stakeholders to support and align across all tiers and levels.

Textile Exchange’s Guidance on Science-Based Targets for Nature provides users with practical steps and general considerations to get started, along with specific tips to navigate the two most relevant target-setting areas for the industry: freshwater and land. Broadly, it recommends that companies consider the following six key areas:

• Reducing resource use and overall environmental impact 
• Exploring regenerative agriculture in material production
• Implementing responsible land management practices
• Adopting circular economy solutions and recycling 
• Reducing pollution and chemical use 
• Supporting Indigenous and local communities

These steps can help the industry address its ecological footprint, contribute to biodiversity conservation, and support the regeneration of natural systems. These factors are all important within Textile Exchange’s longstanding Climate+ strategy, which states that nature-related impact areas such as biodiversity, freshwater, and soil health should always be considered alongside greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

The post Guidance on Science-Based Targets for Nature appeared first on Textile Exchange.