There is a compelling environmental story to tell around cotton
Cotton, long considered to be very polluting, uses only 1.9% of cropland globally but clothes billions of people a year. The US Cotton Trust Protocol, overseen by a multi-stakeholder board of directors, is accelerating US cotton's mission of continuous improvement by working with the industry towards ambitious 2025 targets. Gary Adams, president, US Cotton Trust Protocol, talks to Richa Bansal on their steps to help the king of fibre meet the increasing consumer demand for more sustainably grown cotton in the near future, specially in the time of the pandemic.
Cotton is considered to be very polluting. What according to you are its sustainability credentials?
When assessing cotton's impact, it's important to consider it within the context of wider agriculture and the environmental impact much more land intensive crops can have. Globally, cotton uses only 1.9 per cent of cropland and this percentage has been steadily declining for decades, keeping up with demand by producing higher yields. In comparison, fruit and vegetable production commands 7.7 per cent, corn and wheat use 25.6 per cent, and soybeans use 7.6 per cent. From a crop which does not require lots of land, cotton clothes billions of people a year.
There is a compelling environmental story to tell around cotton. I'll speak specifically about the United States, which has a strong tradition in growing cotton in a more sustainable manner and is now backed by decades of best practices in more sustainable agriculture. Over the past 35 years, the US cotton industry has seen historic reductions in water use and greenhouse gas emissions-79 per cent and 40 per cent respectively-in addition to reducing soil loss by 37 per cent and increasing land use efficiency by 49 per cent.
The US Cotton Trust Protocol is now accelerating US cotton's mission of continuous improvement by working with the industry towards ambitious 2025 targets, to increase land use efficiency by 13 per cent, reduce soil loss by 50 per cent, reduce water use by 18 per cent, increase soil carbon by 30 per cent and slash GHGs by 39 per cent.
Alongside cotton, polyester is the other widely used textile in the fashion industry. In regard to greenhouse gas emissions at the raw material production stage and microfibres making their way into aquatic environments, cotton is less polluting than polyester. Plastic microfibres, which can be extremely harmful to animals living in the water, do not biodegrade in water whereas in the same conditions, natural cotton microfibres biodegrade almost entirely within a 30-day period. When designers make their choices over which materials and textiles to use for new apparel, I believe it's important they take these environmental differences into account.
Which are the main cotton growing regions?
In the US, cotton is produced in 17 states stretching east to west from Virginia to California. Texas accounts for over 50 per cent of US cotton acres, while Georgia is second with approximately 10 per cent of the acres.
What percentage of this area follows the US Cotton Trust Protocol?
Producers participating in the Trust Protocol are located across the production regions of the US. The Trust Protocol's documented best practices have been modified to better reflect the climate and agronomic conditions across the Cotton Belt. In 2020, approximately 5 per cent of US acres were enrolled in the programme.
The Trust Protocol is designed from the ground up to exclusively fit the unique cotton mass-growing environment of the United States. In addition, the Trust Protocol is committed to sustainability goals set specifically for the US cotton industry and based on the progress of US growers.
What was the impact of the still ongoing pandemic on cotton cultivation? How has the market behaved?
The impact of the pandemic on cotton is an interesting one, particularly when we consider consumer demand. Research by the US Cotton Trust Protocol, published in March 2021, found that 61 per cent of US and UK brands and retailers believed customer demand for environmentally sustainable business practices and goods/services has increased since the pandemic. Additionally, nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) believe the pandemic has had a positive impact on their company's proactive investment in sustainability. This indicates we could see growing demand for more sustainably grown cotton in the near future.
A notion of 'building back better' from the pandemic's impact has gained traction within business and policymakers and I expect that to continue in pushing brands towards implementing more sustainable practices. It appears that companies know their customer base is demanding more sustainable products and are willing to respond through investment and continual improvement.
What is the square feet area that covers cotton cultivation in the US?
There are just over more than 16,000 cotton farms across the US, creating more than 115,000 jobs and contributing $22 billion in direct business revenue. The US Department of Agriculture indicates that cotton production covers around 4.9 million hectares.
The Trust Protocol promises transparency from farm to laydown. How do you ensure that?
Transparency is becoming increasingly important to brands and retailers as they seek to ensure their supply chain contains more responsibly produced materials, whether that means more environmentally sustainable or produced under good labour conditions. I understand this is particularly integral for the most upstream elements of the supply chain, where visibility has
previously proven hard for businesses at the downstream end.
Such supply chain concerns are exactly why we see transparency as so important, and we have a process in place to provide assurances to our brand and retailer partners. A Permanent Bale Identification (PBI) allows the Trust Protocol to provide transparency for our members' supply
chains. The PBI system assigns a unique barcode to every bale of US grown cotton at the gin. As each bale goes through the ginning and classing process, the PBI tag travels with it to the laydown.
What are the goals set for cotton farmers in the US?
Set as 10-year targets, based on data from 2015, the US cotton industry is committed to achieving the following goals:
Reducing by 13 per cent the amount of land needed to produce a pound of cotton fibre;
Reducing soil loss by 50 per cent, in balance with new soil formation;
Increasing water use efficiency (more fibre per gallon) by 18 per cent;
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 39 per cent;
Increasing soil carbon in fields by 30 per cent; and
Reducing energy to produce seed cotton and ginned lint by 15 per cent.
What is the annual production? How does it fare as compared to the last two years?
The year 2019 represented an incredibly strong year for US cotton with just over 4.3 million metric tonnes produced. In 2020, US cotton acreage was lower, in part due to lower cotton prices following the covid-19 pandemic. In addition, many growers across the US cotton belt faced significant weather events in 2020. In the Southwest, unharvested acreage was much higher than in 2019 due to drought. Growers in other regions were impacted by hurricanes and excess rainfall during harvest. 2020 production was around the 3.2 million metric tons mark. For the 2021 crop year, US acreage is expected to be similar to last year. While cotton prices are higher this year, the prices of competing commodities are also stronger resulting in competition for cotton acreage. Dry conditions have persisted in the Southwest region and could impact production in 2021.
What innovations of the Trust Protocol have worked well for cotton growers?
The progress seen in the US industry is due to growers' commitments to continuous improvement. Precision agriculture and water irrigation innovations have helped US growers use data to drive efficiencies in their practices. Additionally, energy-conserving innovations such as reduced number of tillage passes, which can increase CO2 captured from the air into the soil by as much as 400 pounds per acre per year, and more efficient irrigation systems have reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Alongside a greater use of technology-and utilising the latest technology-I see data playing a key role in progressing the continual improvement we've seen in the US industry. Trust Protocol growers will have access to Field to Market's Fieldprint Calculator data year-on-year, enabling them to analyse data at more regular intervals and implement any required changes to drive efficiencies.
How do you communicate about the cotton from the Trust Protocol right from the value chain to the end consumer?
By providing data on key environmental metrics, we see our role as helping empower our brand and retailer members in communicating to their customer base. (RB)
This article was first published in the May 2021 edition of the print magazine.
Published on: 03/06/2021
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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