The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol announced streamlined, three-year grower enrollment for the 2022 through 2024 crops. The new process is designed to be quick, easy and efficient, thereby allowing grower-member cotton to enter the supply chain sooner.

The trust protocol’s mission is to bring quantifiable, verifiable goals and measurement to key sustainability metrics of U.S. cotton production, with a vision where full transparency is a reality and continuous improvement to reduce the crop’s environmental footprint is the central goal. The program’s core values include a commitment to U.S. cotton’s legacy of authenticity, innovation and excellence; environmental stewardship; caring for people; and personal and corporate integrity.

“We understand that demands on a grower’s time are high, and after listening to their feedback, the trust protocol has implemented a more streamlined and efficient enrollment process,” said Gary Adams, president of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. “We thank the growers who helped double participation in 2021. As supply chain membership continues to increase, we need to collectively ensure there is enough participation in the program to meet demand and that the U.S. remains a leading producer of sustainable cotton to markets around the world.”

New process

Under the new enrollment process, growers should be able to complete all requirements in one sitting. The new process will also allow production by participating growers to be more easily identified and uploaded into the trust protocol platform, thus paving the way for a potential redistribution of program revenue. As before, data entered into the program is secure and remains confidential, and is only used in aggregate form.

To assist with enrollment, crop consultants can be authorized to enter information and ensure accuracy on behalf of growers. Additionally, the John Deere Operations Center can prepopulate up to 40% of the data needed to complete the Fieldprint analysis for those who use the platform.

The trust protocol has welcomed more than 700 brand, retailer, mill and manufacturer members since its launch in 2020. This includes J.Crew, Madewell, Levi Strauss & Co. and Gap Inc., as well as global apparel manufacturer Gildan.

The program is aligned with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, recognized by Textile Exchange and Forum for the Future; and it is part of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Cotton 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge, Cotton 2040 and Cotton Up initiatives. The program has also been recognized and published in the ITC Standards Map.

To learn more or begin enrollment, visit trustuscotton.org or reach out to the Grower Help Desk at [email protected].

Source: The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.