At the latest edition of São Paulo Fashion Week (SPFW), the Brazilian Cotton Growers Association (Abrapa) demonstrated that fashion and sustainability can walk hand in hand. Conceived by Paulo Borges, founder and creative director of SPFW, and styled by Paulo Martinez, the runway presented 36 all-black-tie looks, entirely made with traceable Brazilian cotton, from seed to hanger.

This marks Abrapa’s fourth participation in SPFW, the largest fashion event in Latin America, reinforcing the potential of the natural Brazilian fibre in high-end, responsible fashion. This year, six designers joined forces with five spinning mills, four weaving companies and one knitting mill to create garments that combine creativity, innovation and verified traceability.

“At our fourth show at São Paulo Fashion Week, the traceability of Brazilian cotton with socio-environmental certification takes center stage. Each garment carries a unique origin code and a true story,” says Silmara Ferraresi, Institutional Relations Director at Abrapa.

In this edition, Abrapa presented an unprecedented overview of the traceability of Brazilian cotton. A total of 82 farms, 61 producers, six states, and six textile industries formed the chain of custody of the cotton produced under socio-environmental certification standards used in the collection – a living portrait of a sector committed to transparency, inclusion and sustainable development.

Since 2019, Abrapa has operated a comprehensive blockchain-based traceability system that allows every step of the cotton’s journey to be securely tracked and verified online, from the moment the seed is planted to when a garment reaches store shelves.

This digital platform can be accessed by any participant in the value chain – from farmers and exporters to importers and final consumers – ensuring full transparency and trust in the origin of the fibre.

6 designers translated the creative power of Brazilian cotton | Photo: Fotosite

‘Sou de Algodão’ highlights cotton sustainability to consumers

To extend this culture of sustainability to the domestic market, Abrapa created Sou de Algodão (I am of Cotton, in Portuguese), an initiative that promotes the use of Brazilian cotton among consumers by highlighting the fibre’s sustainable production and traceability. The movement currently brings together more than 1,600 partner brands, uniting fashion, industry and agriculture around conscious consumption.

In 2021, the initiative launched the SouABR traceability program, which uses blockchain technology to connect certified farms with consumers. Through QR codes on clothing tags, shoppers can access the full journey of the cotton used in each garment.

Global leadership backed by responsibility 

Traceability is one of the key factors behind Brazil’s growing global presence in the cotton market. Today, the country ranks as the world’s third-largest producer and the leading exporter of cotton, as well as the main supplier of socio-environmentally certified fibre worldwide.

In the 2024/2025 crop year, Brazil produced 4.11 million tonnes of cotton, with 2.83 million tonnes exported to over 70 countries.

For Abrapa, the SPFW runway was another opportunity to showcase that Brazilian cotton is not only high-quality and sustainable but also fully traceable, from the farm to fashion.