C4 rallies Californian cotton stakeholders
A group of cross-industry US cotton stakeholders hailing from the West Coast have assembled under the banner of the California Cotton and Climate Coalition (C4) to directly support the growth, sourcing and development of what founding non-profit Fibershed calls Climate Beneficial cotton, produced in the Californian bioregion.
In forming a framework for pre-competitive, collective investment in this more regenerative fibre variety, verified by Fibershed as helping to rebuild farms’ naturally occurring carbon stocks, members have agreed to purchase participating farmers’ yields ahead of time. This works to not only empower the region’s growers financially as they undertake the conversion process, but also affords buyers increased farm-level visibility for transparency monitoring purposes and reduces the wider coalition’s exposure to risk on the whole.
Spearheaded by Fibershed, White Buffalo Land Trust (a Savory Institute hub), consultancies Torus and Materevolve, farm monitoring platform Agri Technovation, the Carbon Cycle Institute, Bowles Farming Company, Stone Land Company and California State University, Chico, C4 also comprises five eco-minded founding brands.
These include fashion retail businesses Reformation, Outerknown and Mate the Label, plus home and sleepwear company Coyuchi and personal care firm Trace. Other founding members include Imperial Yarn, Circular Systems, Pakdale Mills, Swisstex and Allenberg Cotton.
Newer additions to the group include workwear brand Carhartt, knit manufacturer Laguna Enviro Fabrics and material innovation company Natural Fiber Welding.
“C4 grew out of an emergent need, with companies asking how to source domestically grown, Climate Beneficial cotton and farms interested in innovating growing practices in need of incentives to take this risk,” commented special projects lead at White Buffalo Land Trust, Lauren Tucker. “It began as a relationship building project, with stakeholders from farm to customer learning together how we may positively impact the climate and improve growing methods within cotton growing systems."
Image: Mate the Label.
