Downforce Technologies and Good Earth Cotton: Powering Sustainable Cotton
Feb-12-2025
“I’ve been in this space for nearly eight years, and I can’t find anything more compelling than this technology.”
Danielle Statham describes her discovery of Downforce Technologies’ remote measurements of soil organic carbon (SOC) which provide historic data and annual monitoring of carbon at 10m resolution, as a “game changer”.
Danielle and her husband David co-own Sundown Pastoral Company and their cotton brand, Good Earth Cotton®, global leaders in regenerative cotton farming, producing cotton that is designed to restore ecosystems by improving soil health and capturing carbon.
Since starting the venture, the pair has been driven by a mission to lift the environmental profile of cotton and provide their supply chain with a climate beneficial fibre, but they needed a way to measure carbon levels at scale and monitor the progress throughout the growing season.
“Downforce gives us the metrics we need to prove our environmental claims,” Ms Statham said.
“It’s not just about saying we’re regenerative, it’s about showing it with real data and transferring that knowledge with integrity.
“Soil tests are essential for NPK testing, but we’re only positioning one point with a soil test. With Downforce, you get thousands of points.
“We thought it was too good to be true at first. But we gave Downforce a few blind tests in a biochar trial paddock where we had multiple soil test results. The Downforce figures came back as pretty much identical.
“The technology itself is a game changer for agriculture and environmental recordings at scale and having someone like Jacquie (McGlade, Downforce Co-Founder and Chief Scientist) and her intel in this space provides tremendous support.
“We work directly with many global brands. Greenwashing is an issue in the fibre industry as much as the textile and garment industry and legislative changes are tightening with what can and cannot be claimed. We can stand side by side with honest GHG Protocol-aligned environmental data, supported by real scientific research from experienced scientists.”
By delivering greenhouse gas emissions data through a three-year central moving average, Downforce enables Good Earth Cotton to quantify the positive outcomes of their farming practices.
Verified Traceability
Full transparency across the cotton supply chain is another key area where Downforce’s data helps Good Earth Cotton substantiate their claims.
Good Earth Cotton has partnered with FibreTrace®, a technology that provides full traceability for every bale of cotton. By embedding a luminescent pigment to the cotton at the gin, FibreTrace provides full fibre integrity and transfers the fibre intel when scanned at every stage of the supply chain, providing both physical and digital verification.
“Traceability has come a long way in recent years, but many brands still have no idea where their cotton comes from or the origin of the fibre it may have been blended with,” Ms Statham said.
“FibreTrace is like tracking a package, or putting an air tag on the cotton. By combining real-time digital monitoring with physical scanning of the garment, it gives visibility across the supply chain, so brands know exactly where their cotton comes from and where it ends up.”
With cotton traveling across continents and blending with other fibres, FibreTrace ensures that Good Earth Cotton’s product can be traced back to the source, maintaining the integrity of the product through to the finished garment or through to recycle.
Watertight traceability requires tangible, verifiable scientific data - which is where Downforce comes in. The data on greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration, and soil health provided by the platform is a safeguard for Good Earth Cotton to verify its product across the supply chain.
Rodd and Gunn’s Shift to Verified Cotton
New Zealand-based menswear brand Rodd and Gunn relies heavily on cotton, which makes up more than 80% of its product range. While the brand has long used high-quality cotton, achieving full traceability back to the farm has proved challenging in the past.
Samantha Helmold, Rodd and Gunn’s Sustainability and Ethical Sourcing Manager, said that changed when Rodd and Gunn partnered with Good Earth Cotton.
“Good Earth Cotton were extremely transparent from the moment we met, providing a level of verified traceability that we previously struggled to achieve,” Ms Helmold said.
“In 2019 when we started voluntary reporting under the Australian Modern Slavery Act, we were becoming increasingly concerned about the allegations of forced labour linked to certain cotton growing regions. With the oncoming global supply chain legislations and increased NGO scrutiny, being able to confidently verify the origin of our cotton became our number one priority.
“Good Earth Cotton, backed by Downforce Technologies, provides us with a complete solution - physical and digital traceability with verified environmental data to support our claims.”
By integrating Good Earth Cotton into its products, Rodd and Gunn now have full transparency across a large majority of their cotton supply chain. FibreTrace ensures the cotton can be scanned and verified at every stage, while Downforce provides environmental impact reports that quantify its footprint.
“We won’t make a claim on our products that we can’t support with verified data,” Ms Helmold said.
“The combination of FibreTrace and Downforce’s data gives us the confidence to know that we’re meeting our commitment to responsible sourcing.
“It provides the consumer with a level of trust and assurance, empowering them to make a purchasing decision based on their own social and environmental values.”
The investment has been significant. In the first season, Rodd and Gunn sourced 300 tonnes of Good Earth Cotton to pilot across some of their core products. Due to an overwhelmingly positive response, the brand increased its order to 1,300 tonnes the following season, enough to produce over 1.5 million garments across their polo, tee, sweat and knitwear categories in the coming year.
The partnership with Good Earth Cotton has also strengthened Rodd and Gunn’s ability to prepare for future challenges, including global regulatory pressure, climate disclosure reporting and growing scrutiny over supply chain practises and partnerships. By leveraging the tools provided by Downforce and FibreTrace, the brand is well-positioned to meet these demands while continuing to deliver high-quality products into the future.
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