At the Cotton Sourcing USA Summit in Scottsdale, Ariz., Cotton Council International President Ted Schneider updated the more than 400 attendees on how the U.S. cotton industry intends to meet its 2025 sustainability goals. Central to his remarks was the introduction of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol; an integrated data collection, measurement and verification procedure that will document U.S. cotton production practices and their environmental impact. The data is intended to benchmark farmers’ gains towards the industry goals and will provide the global textile supply chain additional assurances that U.S. cotton is produced in a responsible manner.
The U.S. cotton national sustainability goals, as announced last year, aim for the following by 2025:
13 percent increase in productivity, i.e. reduced land use per pound of fiber;
18 percent increase in irrigation efficiency;
39 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions;
15 percent reduction in energy expenditures;
50 percent reduction in soil loss; and
30 percent increase in soil carbon.
“I would argue that U.S. cotton is already among the most sustainably produced in the world,” Schneider said. As evidence, Schneider cited the comprehensive regulatory environment in the United States, the close connection of U.S. growers to their land, the high adoption rates of precision agricultural techniques by U.S. cotton growers, and a near-forty-year track record of environmental improvement.
“We know that U.S. cotton growers continue to embrace new technologies and management techniques that reduce impact and increase yield, but today’s textile industry needs more than just our word,” Schneider explained. “The Trust Protocol is meant to address that need with a tangible and transparent snapshot of U.S. cotton growing practices and the gains resulting from them.”
The details of the Protocol are being fine-tuned, and a pilot program will be launched in 2019 and fully implemented with the 2020 cotton crop year. Participating growers would be required to adopt a data tool that allows for the quantitative measurement of key sustainability metrics, such as the FieldPrint Platform from Field to Market. Growers also would complete a self-assessment checklist of best management practices; with a sampling of participating producers subjected to independent verification. The online interface and associated databases are currently being developed by a Memphis-based company The Seam.
