Water is a precious resource and all of us are committed to protect and preserve it for future generations. We all know that cotton is a water-intensive crop. For U.S. cotton is bringing a change, because of technological breakthroughs in the way, the cotton in the U.S., and the collective actions of U.S. cotton growers over many years, the amount of water used to grow cotton has reduced82%since the 1980s.
Did you know that two thirds of U.S. cotton fields require no irrigation at all?They make the most of the rainwater that hydrates the Cotton Belt each year. Technology has played a large part in powering these improvements. Across the U.S., growers employ tools such as computer-driven moisture sensors or evapotranspiration weather stations to effectively monitor the water level of the soil. In the past, we had to irrigate regularly with little proof of impact; now fields are irrigated only when the technology deems it efficient.
Later this year, the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol would create a new standard for the cotton industry and would commit cotton growers to continuous improvements on many accounts (not just water). A defining feature of this new sustainability protocol would be to provide access to insightful data points to U.S. growers who would use this data to learn from each other and improve, as well as brands and retailers who want assurances about the sustainability of the cotton they buy.
Propelled by the findings of the new data, growers would have a greater understanding of where and how they can drive efficiencies and further reduce their use of irrigation. It’s incredibly hard to change things which are not measured, so one of the aims of the Trust Protocol is to enable growers to measure their processes and adjust accordingly. Attached to the Trust Protocol is an ambitious target to increase the water efficiency of cotton (more fiber per gallon of water) by 18% over the next 5 years alone – a target we intend to make possible by empowering growers through data.
