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sustainability programs and is designed from the ambitious national goals for 2025. By this date, the
ground up to fit the unique cotton mass-growing Trust Protocol aims to have more than half of all U.S.
environment of the United States. “We are engaged cotton production included in the program.
in an open dialogue with existing Pakistan
Brands and retailers can Perspective In April, the Trust Protocol was added to “Achieving a transition towards agricultural
sustainability requires broad public and private
Textile Exchange’s list of 36 preferred fibers and
materials that more than 170 participating brands
partnerships and a vital part of my work at The
now source U.S. Cotton with and retailers can select from as part of Textile Nature Conservancy includes looking at ways to
collaborate with key agricultural stakeholders,”
Exchange’s Material Change Index program.
said Dr. Kris Johnson, Deputy Director of
more confidence 35 years of continuous improvements Agriculture, The Nature Conservancy, North
Over the past 35 years, U.S. cotton has made
American Region and U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol
significant improvements in growing cotton
responsibly. Board Member. “Informed by science-based
targets, the Trust Protocol provides evidence of
and encourages continuous improvements in U.S.
To continue the progress, the Trust Protocol has cotton production.”

The Trust Protocol brings

quantifiable and verifiable goals

and measurements to
responsible cotton production

Brands and retailers can now join the U.S. Cotton Union Certifications North America, the Trust
Trust Protocol, a new system for responsibly Protocol enables brands and retailers to better Consumer demand for Sustainable Action has grown during COVID-19
grown cotton that will provide annual data for six track the cotton entering their supply chain. Efforts shift to traceability within the supply chain, as brands in North America work to keep sustainability
areas of sustainability in line with the U.N. Brands who become members of the Trust initiatives afloat during pandemic.
Sustainability Goals. This year-over-year data, Protocol will have access to aggregate
available for the first time, will allow brands and year-over-year data on water use, greenhouse A recent global survey shows 54 percent of sustainability leaders at apparel and textile brands say they’ve seen
retailers to better measure progress towards gas emissions, energy use, soil carbon and land their customers’ demands for environmentally sustainable practices and products increase since the beginning
meeting sustainability commitments. use efficiency. of the COVID-19 pandemic, but 59 percent said they believe customers will still continue to prioritize price when
making purchases.The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol conducted this survey to find how sustainability programs at
“One of our goals in developing the Trust “At Levi Strauss & Co., the quality and brands and retailers had changed in a post-COVID world.
Protocol is to give brands and retailers greater sustainability of the cotton we use is critical to our
confidence when including U.S. cotton in their business and important to our customers. We are The survey found that 43% of respondents believe COVID-19 has had a positive impact on investments in
sourcing mix,” said Ken Burton, Executive deeply committed to sourcing sustainable cotton sustainability efforts during this period, while 40% believe it has had a negative impact. Likewise, they believe
Director of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. and reducing water usage, carbon emissions, their customers are facing the same struggle between their pocketbooks and the environmental concerns --
“Participating brands and retailers will now be and chemical usage,” said Liza Schillo, Senior when asked to rank how they believe customers will prioritize their purchases in the next year, respondents
able to demonstrate measurable progress in Manager, Global Sustainability Integration, Levi ranked the top two priorities as “Getting the best possible deal” and “Brand or retailer alignment with their
reducing their environmental footprint and in Strauss & Co. and Trust Protocol Board Member. personal values.”
achieving sustainability targets.” “We are therefore in strong support of the
introduction of standards – including the U.S. “It’s clear that COVID-19 has caused economic challenges up and down the supply chain, but this survey
The Trust Protocol underpins and verifies Cotton Trust Protocol – that champion sustainably shows that companies and their customers remain focused on sustainability,” said Dr. Gary Adams, president
sustainability progress through sophisticated grown cotton and drive wider adoption over the of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol.
data collection and independent third-party long-term of sustainable cultivation practices.”
verification. By working with Field to Market: The “As we enter recovery in many countries, systems like the Trust Protocol will be more important than ever so
Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture and Control The Trust Protocol is a complement to existing brands can have the data they need to show they are meeting their science-based targets,” said Dr. Adams.

September/October 2020 September/October 2020