Clothing retailer’s impact incentive program helps farmers transition to regenerative farming, supports black farmers
A growing number of food companies are using grains and other crops from regenerative farms. Now the regenerative trend is extending to fiber. Prominent clothing retailer J. Crew Group, Inc. is sourcing certified regenerative cotton for its clothing, while supporting U.S. cotton farms and racial equity by partnering with Black-owned farms.
Cotton acres certified regenerative by regenagri
J. Crew requires a lot of cotton, accounting for 60% of the material they use. They saw the value of sourcing regenerative cotton, according to Katie O’Hare, J. Crew’s vice president of sustainability.
“We believe that regenerative agriculture practices are vital to increasing soil health, reducing carbon impacts, and protecting species biodiversity, which ultimately will benefit our business by ensuring a long-term supply of this important fiber,” she says.
J. Crew worked with Brent Crossland, an agriculture consultant with 5Loc Cotton, LLC, to recruit farmers for a three-year “impact incentive” program that would cover the costs of transitioning to regenerative cotton production and certification while paying a premium price to the farmers for the harvested cotton.
“J. Crew has been very dedicated to supporting farmers that want to ‘step off the curb’ and farm in a more regenerative way,” Crossland says. “What I did was connect those farmers to J. Crew and work with them to help them make the transition.”
The transition was a big step for farmers, according to Crossland. “Most of these farmers are moving from conventional tillage to minimum or no-till, and that requires a whole different structure, equipment, and cover crop costs.”
The farms earned regenerative certification from regenagri, a UK-based certifier that has extensive experience certifying fibers such as cotton.
“regenagri provided us the assurance we needed in order to certify the regenerative claims we wanted to make in our supply chain,” O’Hare says.
The regenagri standard requires that farmers have a plan to reduce or eliminate synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, among other requirements. This is significant since pesticides are used extensively in cotton production.
O’Hare cites benefits of regenerative practices on the farms they source cotton from. “We’ve seen increased soil biodiversity, as well as overall species diversity on the farms in our program,” she says.
J. Crew first piloted the regenerative cotton program in 2021 with 600 acres. That number grew to 75,000 in 2022 and then to 129,000 in 2024. Thirty-nine farms in Alabama, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas participate in the program
J. Crew has quadrupled the tons of regenerative cotton they source each year.
“We’re continuing to see an uptick in our regenerative cotton procurement each year, and it has become a key pillar in our sustainable cotton sourcing strategy,” O’Hare says.
In addition to regenerative cotton, three percent of J. Crew’s cotton is organic and certified to the Organic Content Standards or Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).
Partnership with Federation of Southern Cooperatives
An important aspect of J. Crew’s regenerative cotton sourcing program was creating a partnership with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives (FSC), a non-profit that supports Black farmers.
“When we set out to build our regenerative agriculture program, we wanted to ensure we were doing so with an equitable lens,” O’Hare says. “We continued to actively engage with farmers from overlooked communities through our regenerative agriculture program, and we found a tremendous partner in the FSC.”
Bluford family in South Carolina grows regenerative cotton for J. Crew. From left Bryant, their father (center), O’Neal, and Tremain.
Crossland visited FSC’s agriculture research station in Epes, Alabama and came away impressed. “We were just overwhelmed and amazed at all the good work that they are doing.”
Four FSC Black-owned family farms joined J. Crew’s regenerative cotton program: Allen Farm in Silver City, Mississippi, which also grows organic cotton; Nelson Farm in Sondheimer, Louisiana; Binford Farms in Athens, Alabama; and Bluford Farms in Nesmith, South Carolina. The farms vary from a few hundred to a few thousand acres.
Crossland predicts more FSC member farms will join the regenerative cotton program based on the success of the first four farms.
“We’re probably going to increase the number of farmers. Those four are who we started with, and we’ve got a good group there,” he says.
regenagri-certified California cotton farm
Another J. Crew regenerative cotton farm is Bowles Farming Company, which was certified through regenagri in 2022. Cannon Michael, a sixth-generation farmer, is Bowles’s CEO; his farm encompasses 11,000 acres in California’s Central Valley.
Michael grows extra-long staple cotton varieties, including Pima, which have longer fibers. By contrast, the most common cotton variety, upland cotton, has shorter, more coarse fiber.
Michael saw a good opportunity to sell his cotton to J. Crew. “J. Crew was interested in supporting farmers who were doing a lot to support their soil, and they wanted to have certification behind what they were focusing on,” he says.
Cannon Michael in California grows regenerative cotton for J. Crew
Michael’s main goal is to build soil health. “Our soil is obviously something that we have to be very careful with and support; it’s the cornerstone of our productivity,” he says.
Bowles Farming Company sells J. Crew several hundred bales of cotton each year and pays Michael a premium for the cotton.
“It’s much appreciated that they’re supporting us in a meaningful way,” Michael says.
Direct farm-to-brand connection
Michael appreciates the direct farmer-to-brand connection with J. Crew. “Having J. Crew take the time to visit us and look at transferring their supply chain to make sure that they know where their cotton’s coming from, I think that is really important,” he says.
In turn, J. Crew appreciates having Cannon Michael as a partner in building a regenerative cotton supply chain.
“Cannon has been a pioneer in sustainability for years, and we were honored to have him be part of our program,” O’Hare says. “The way he integrates sustainability into his whole farm system is inspiring, and we have learned so much from him during our partnership.”
Direct farm-to-brand relationships are becoming common in the regenerative agriculture sector. Such relationships shorten supply chains, which become more like supply networks, and create transparency for everyone, including consumers.
Aims to continue growing regenerative cotton program
J. Crew has produced more than 100 styles of clothing that contain regenagri-certified cotton, including men’s flannel and poplin style shirts. Flannel shirts feature a “Regenerative Cotton” label. J. Crew promotes their regenagri-certified products on their website.
J. Crew flannel shirt made from regenerative cotton
Looking ahead, J. Crew wants to continue growing the regenerative cotton program. “We’re committed to continuing our partnership with FSC and finding ways to bring on new farms in the coming years,” O’Hare says.
Beyond that, J. Crew wants to see more brands source certified regenerative cotton. “We have the ability to source cotton from these farms, however we intentionally do not have exclusivity on the cotton as we would like to see more brands begin to source from these farms as well,” O’Hare says.
Other clothing brands are committing to regenerative cotton. The Ralph Lauren Foundation (Polo brand) and Levi Strauss & Co. are key supporters of the U.S. Regenerative Cotton Fund, an initiative that aims to support long-term, sustainable cotton production in the U.S. On the organic side, Patagonia and Gallant International are sourcing Regenerative Organic Certified cotton from India for their clothing.
Cannon Michael also wants to see more regenerative cotton acres supported by J. Crew and other clothing brands. “We certainly hope that the program can grow over time, as consumers get to know more about regenerative cotton.”
