Major milestone for US Cotton Trust Protocol
Cotton standard and sustainability programme the US Cotton Trust Protocol (Trust Protocol) surpassed 1,000 growers as of World Cotton Day on October 7.
It also welcomed American luxury brand Ralph Lauren as a member, in line with the New York City-based company’s own commitments to promoting sustainable practices among domestic cotton producers. The brand’s philanthropic arm, Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation, contributed $5 million towards establishing the Soil Health Institute’s US Regenerative Cotton Fund last October, for instance.
“Cotton makes up more than three quarters of our total material use, and we are committed to ensuring this critical fibre is fully sustainably sourced [across] our portfolio by 2025,” shared chief global impact and communications officer at Ralph Lauren, Katie Ioanilli, on announcing the news.
Trust Protocol cotton feeds into the company’s global Timeless by Design strategy, which centres on both social and environmental impact, especially when it comes to helping foster improved soil health and industry resilience through better management of natural resources. Primarily, the farm-level initiative applies quantifiable goals and transparent measurement to key sustainability metrics, including land use, soil carbon, water management, soil loss, greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency.
Following recent United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding linked to its leadership of the US Climate Smart Cotton Program, one of 70 pilot projects to receive up to $2.8 billion total investment as part of the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities scheme, the Trust Protocol is also currently involved in creating markets for what is being called Climate Smart Cotton.
This fibre is expected to have a healthier environmental footprint than conventional cotton, Trust Protocol president, Dr Gary Adams, said at the time. As a direct result of implementing the programme’s “comprehensive” principles over more than one million acres of US land, he added, the project aims to see in excess of four million bales of Climate Smart Cotton produced over a five-year period.
The multi-stakeholder USDA initiative is also supported by Cotton Council International, Cotton Incorporated, Soil Health Institute, Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Agricenter International, Alabama A&M University and North Carolina A&T State University.
Image: Ralph Lauren.
