BASF's e3 Sustainable Cotton programme joins UN online platform

The network showcases and enables collaborations that accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Considering the fashion and lifestyle sector’s significant impact on societies and the environment, the Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network fosters transparent, inclusive, and transformative engagement of global stakeholders to drive urgent action for sustainability. The network provides an impartial platform for the industry and the UN system. Its key objective is to mobilise expertise, innovation, technology, and resources towards a sustainable and inclusive COVID-19 recovery, with the Sustainable Development Goals as a guiding framework, BASF said in a press release.

The e3 cotton programme will co-host a series of roundtable events with various industry stakeholders, United Nations representatives and news media to explore how the fashion and lifestyle industries are uniquely positioned to collaborate and engage on the Sustainable Development Goals. The Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network is a joint initiative of the United Nations Office for Partnerships, the Division for Sustainable Development Goals - United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and the Fashion Impact Fund.

The programme provides unmatched field-level traceability and is driven by comprehensive verification and a valued reputation for growing socially equitable, economically viable and environmentally responsible cotton. Farmers who are part of the e3 Sustainable Cotton programme commit to tracking eight sustainability measures on 100 per cent of their eligible cotton acres, ranging from water use and pesticide management to soil conservation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Through a series of digital platforms, the cotton they grow can be traced from an individual cotton bale in their field, all the way to the end consumer.

“The e3 Sustainable Cotton programme is an industry-leading sustainable cotton programme that delivers a true farm to fashion story bringing transparency and traceability to the forefront of the conversation. The e3 programme’s mission and goals are aligned with ours to educate and accelerate impact, making them an ideal partner to spark conversation and evoke positive change,” Kerry Bannigan, executive director, Fashion Impact Fund and co-founder, Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network, said in a statement.

“Sustainability is the responsibility of every company moving forward. Our programme’s participation with the Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network will allow us to bring awareness of a better way to create sustainable cotton clothing. We can trace our cotton from farm to finished product. Cotton farmers can deliver on sustainability measurements that leave the land better than they found it. There is a way to make the cotton supply chain transparent for consumers,” Jennifer Crumpler, regional seed sustainability manager and fibre development manager for BASF Agricultural Solutions, said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)