Cotton field in West Texas
This research explores the discourses and practices of sustainability in fashion and textile industry. Specifically, in this international project, the lead researcher conducted a multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork starting from cotton farms and all along the production facilities (e.g., spinning, dyeing, knitting, and weaving, and cutting and sewing facilities) until a t-shirt reaches to retail stores in the US. The researcher interviewed people across different facilities and positions, such as workers, managers, farmers, nonprofit representatives, and sustainability auditors. By documenting the journey of organic cotton throughout a t-shirt supply chain, she narrated a non-anthropocentric case study of cotton’s transformation in becoming a sustainable fashion product.