#Raw Materials

2021-10-07

Visit COTTON USA at Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles and Yarn Expo

At this year’s Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics and Yarn Expo shows held from Oct. 9-11, Cotton Council International (CCI) will introduce the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol® and COTTON USA SOLUTIONS™ at its booths located at Hall 1.1, E50 and Hall 8.2, D55.

The Trust Protocol brings quantifiable and verifiable goals and measurement to sustainable cotton production and drives continuous improvement in key sustainability metrics. COTTON USA SOLUTIONS is a new cotton consultancy providing unmatched expertise informed by work with over 1,500 mills in 50 countries.

“To meet the ever-increasing demands for textile brands to demonstrate their credentials, the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol sets a new standard for more sustainably grown cotton,” said Bruce Atherley, Executive Director at CCI. “Choosing U.S. cotton will give brands and retailers the critical assurances they need that the cotton fiber element of their supply chain is more sustainably grown with lower environmental and social risk. Meanwhile, COTTON USA SOLUTIONS is designed so that mills and manufacturers can optimize the use of U.S. cotton with cutting-edge offerings to transform their businesses – profitably.”

The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is a new system for responsibly grown cotton providing annual data for six areas of sustainability in line with the U.N. Sustainability Goals. This year-over-year data, available for the first time, will allow brands and retailers to better measure progress towards meeting their corporate sustainability commitments. The Trust Protocol is recognized by Textile Exchange and Forum for the Future, and part of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Cotton 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge, Cotton 2040 and Cotton Up initiatives.

More than 450 brands, retailers, mills and manufacturers have become Trust Protocol members since its launch in 2020. This includes PVH Corp., one of the largest global apparel companies, Levi Strauss & Co. and its legacy brands, Gap Inc. and its collection of purpose-led lifestyle brands, and global apparel manufacturer Gildan. The Trust Protocol has also welcomed UK retailers Tesco, Byford and Next Plc.

At this year’s show, CCI is also showcasing the COTTON USA SOLUTIONS program. Over the past two years, CCI has built a cotton mill consulting team composed of spinning experts from around the world with the objective of helping mill partners get the best technical and financial value from what independent studies have consistently confirmed is the world’s best performing cotton.

The COTTON USA SOLUTIONS Program has five main elements:

1. Mills Studies, which include access to independent research covering all aspects of spinning U.S. cotton.

2. COTTON USA Technical Seminars with speakers from CCI and outside experts from across the supply chain.

3. Mill Exchange Programs, where executives get to tour COTTON USA licensee world-class mills and exchange ideas, build relationships and share best practices.

4. Mill Mastery Training Courses, covering best practices to take the spinning skills of your staff to the next level.

5. 1:1 (One on One) Mill Consults, where our team of spinning specialists will visit your mill, either virtually using Microsoft HoloLens technology or in-person on-site, to provide customized solutions to help you improve your productivity and lower costs.

Consulting activities of the COTTON USA SOLUTIONS program have successfully been introduced into China last year, and the CCI team is eager to work with other partner mills in China. COTTON USA SOLUTIONS programs are complimentary for licensees with a U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol membership.

At the COTTON USA booth, visitors can also browse high-quality products made of American Pima cotton under the Supima brand and textile products from COTTON USA licensees and Trust Protocol members, including: Fujian Jinda Textile; Huafang Co., Ltd.; H.W. Textiles; Jiangsu Expert Denim; Jiangyin Knit Denim; New Jersey; Qingdao Jerid; Schiesser; and Zhangjiagang Talent Textile. The COTTON USA booth also features an array of information highlighting COTTON USA’s licensing program, market and consumer studies, and its ongoing sourcing programs that match U.S. cotton buyers and suppliers throughout the supply chain.