The US Cotton Trust Protocol (Trust Protocol) has now reached a critical milestone of tracking over 3 million kilograms of cotton through its proprietary Protocol Consumption Management Solution (PCMS).

This significant milestone was hit during the busiest fashion month, when all eyes are on the industry and the spotlight on its sustainability,  during the biennial fashion month which opened on 9 February with the New York Fashion Week, and closes Paris Fashion Week on 7 March.

As international brands and retailers seek to credibly and transparently demonstrate their own efforts and achievements in driving sustainability in the industry, the Trust Protocol’s announcement marks a significant achievement in its development since its inception in 2020. 

The verified data released today also shows that a total of more than 11 million units of finished products have been tracked through the PCMS.

“Coming in the middle of the world fashion month, these figures are not only timely, but outstanding in terms of the progress that the US Cotton Trust Protocol has achieved in the three short years since its inception,“ said Dr. Gary Adams, President of the US Cotton Trust Protocol. “Using the PCMS, brand and retailer members can make a variety of claims, including on-product, that are based on data-backed, verified Protocol Consumption Units.”

“Providing transparency through the supply chain is one of the Trust Protocol’s core premises and we’re proud to be the world’s first sustainable cotton fibre program to offer its members article-level transparency,” he added. 

This is possible because the PCMS leverages blockchain and other digital technologies to record and verify the movement of Protocol Cotton and US Cotton at every stage of the supply chain in near real time. This requires all members of the supply chain, including mills and manufacturers, to be a member of the Trust Protocol. 

The Trust Protocol also provides quantifiable, verifiable goals and measurement and drives continuous improvement in six key sustainability metrics:  land use; soil carbon; water management; soil loss; greenhouse gas emissions, and energy efficiency.

The program captures key environmental and social data under a farm-level, science-based system and reports these annually on an aggregated basis.

www.trustuscotton.org