Thread Report

The State of Cotton in Fast Fashion.

Cotton is the most searched-for natural fibre. But how many "cotton" items are actually 100% cotton? We checked 100,836 products across 55retailers. The answer: not as many as you'd think.

40,586Products with Cotton
85.7%Avg Cotton Content
55Brands Tracked
100,836Total Products

Key Findings

40,586 products contain cotton — but the average cotton content is only 85.7%, meaning most "cotton" items are blended.

Levi's uses cotton in 100% of products. Totême uses it in just 7%.

T-Shirts have 81.7% average natural fibre — making them one of the better categories for finding real cotton.

Cotton Usage by Brand

% of products containing cotton

Levi's
100%
Pangaia
97.6%
Everlane
97.5%
Carhartt
91.6%
Witchery
78%
Free People
74%
Uniqlo
71.4%
Abercrombie & Fitch
70%
Madewell
69.4%
Sézane
68.8%
Barbour
67.3%
J.Crew
63.2%
Acne Studios
61.5%
Cotton On
59.4%
Monki
58.8%
Arket
57.4%
Ganni
57.3%
Pull&Bear
56.6%
Weekday
56.2%
Anthropologie
51.6%
Urban Outfitters
51%
Topshop
50.6%
H&M
49.9%
Bershka
48.1%
AllSaints
47.7%
Stradivarius
46.9%
Whistles
46.9%
COS
46.7%
Country Road
45.9%
Zara
42.4%
Maje
42.1%
New Look
41.5%
& Other Stories
41.4%
River Island
39.1%
Aritzia
35.9%
House of CB
35.3%
ASOS
35.1%
Massimo Dutti
34.9%
Quince
34.8%
SKIMS
34.5%
Princess Polly
33.8%
Reformation
33.1%
Mango
32.6%
Sandro
29.3%
Glassons
28.6%
PrettyLittleThing
27.3%
Gymshark
26.7%
Boohoo
23.8%
Patagonia
21.2%
Alo Yoga
18.9%
Meshki
16.2%
Ted Baker
16.2%
Vuori
11.1%
Nasty Gal
8.7%
Totême
7%
Brand% with CottonAvg Cotton %Cotton Products
Levi's100%86.3%151
Pangaia97.6%99.4%406
Everlane97.5%97.3%77
Carhartt91.6%100%239
Witchery78%97.5%39
Free People74%90.9%37
Uniqlo71.4%86.5%30
Abercrombie & Fitch70%85.2%35
Madewell69.4%87.3%281
Sézane68.8%89.8%415
Barbour67.3%90.2%339
J.Crew63.2%86.2%912
Acne Studios61.5%92.8%235
Cotton On59.4%85.4%732
Monki58.8%93.4%50
Arket57.4%88%406
Ganni57.3%94.7%444
Pull&Bear56.6%89.7%1,031
Weekday56.2%90.8%847
Anthropologie51.6%86.7%369
Urban Outfitters51%89.2%356
Topshop50.6%85.6%1,370
H&M49.9%86.1%335
Bershka48.1%87.5%5,835
AllSaints47.7%90.4%817
Stradivarius46.9%87.6%341
Whistles46.9%89.6%196
COS46.7%83.1%359
Country Road45.9%84.6%337
Zara42.4%82.7%6,659
Maje42.1%83.7%173
New Look41.5%86.3%214
& Other Stories41.4%86.4%391
River Island39.1%87.9%715
Aritzia35.9%88.6%554
House of CB35.3%91.6%340
ASOS35.1%87.1%3,951
Massimo Dutti34.9%76.7%760
Quince34.8%91.7%23
SKIMS34.5%81.8%1,124
Princess Polly33.8%86.6%4,005
Reformation33.1%75.5%509
Mango32.6%81%1,140
Sandro29.3%83.4%121
Glassons28.6%91.7%231
PrettyLittleThing27.3%74.6%106
Gymshark26.7%83.3%411
Boohoo23.8%78.1%1,516
Patagonia21.2%84%71
Alo Yoga18.9%72.4%89
Meshki16.2%76.9%338
Ted Baker16.2%83.2%53
Vuori11.1%64.5%49
Nasty Gal8.7%68.4%17
Totême7%60.4%5

Cotton in Basic Categories

T-shirts, jeans, shirts, and pants — the wardrobe staples where cotton should dominate.

T-Shirts 6726 products, 81.7% avg natural

Carhartt
100%
Levi's
100%
Pangaia
99.4%
Barbour
98.9%
Sézane
98.7%

Jeanss 7311 products, 91.9% avg natural

Everlane
100%
Glassons
99.9%
Country Road
99.5%
& Other Stories
99.3%
Barbour
98.3%

Shirts 5007 products, 72.1% avg natural

Levi's
100%
Pangaia
100%
Sézane
97.8%
Arket
95.8%
Madewell
95.1%

Pantss 6592 products, 51.8% avg natural

Carhartt
100%
Pangaia
97.9%
Acne Studios
92.8%
Madewell
87%
COS
85.7%

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many fast fashion products are 100% cotton?

Across 100,836 products we analyzed, only a fraction are 100% cotton. Most cotton items are blended with elastane, polyester, or other synthetics. The average cotton content in cotton-containing items is 85.7%.

Which brand has the most cotton products?

Levi's has the highest proportion of cotton products at 100% (151 items contain cotton).

Why do brands blend cotton with polyester?

Cost and convenience. Polyester is cheaper than cotton and adds wrinkle resistance. But it also makes the garment non-biodegradable, less breathable, and a source of microplastic pollution. The 2-5% elastane added for stretch is less concerning than garments that are majority polyester.

Methodology: 100,836 product pages analyzed across 55retailers. Cotton detection based on the word "cotton" appearing in the fabric composition label. Published by Fibr.

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