The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol was accepted as an ISEAL Community Member following a rigorous and meticulous approval process and only eighteen months after the program’s launch.

ISEAL is a global membership organization that supports credited sustainability systems in their work, with the goal to drive greater impact and establish markets that are a force for good. The organization focuses on a wide variety of global challenges such as the climate emergency, biodiversity crisis and human rights issues among others. ISEAL works to define credible practices for sustainability, foster collaboration and shared experience, deliver expertise and training, and promote innovation to strengthen sustainability systems. 

“I’m very happy to congratulate the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol on becoming an ISEAL Community Member,” said Karin Kreider, ISEAL’s Executive Director. “The Trust Protocol supports cotton producers to develop bespoke management plans aimed at improving their sustainability, and innovative us of data and metrics supports measurement of success over time. We are excited to have a fresh perspective in the ISEAL learning community, and to have another member working to improve sustainability outcomes in the cotton sector.”

ISEAL Community Members must be committed to continually improving their systems through learning and innovation, with emphasis on the importance of collaboration. They also are required to be transparent about how their program’s work and the how they measure impacts. 

The Trust Protocol claims to be the only fibre sustainability system that 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. It also is the world’s first sustainable cotton fibre to offer its members article-level supply chain transparency through the Protocol Consumption Management Solution. 

“We are proud that the Trust Protocol was accepted as an ISEAL Community Member understanding the rigorous process and governance ISEAL adheres to,” said Dr. Gary Adams, president of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. “ISEAL Community membership provides the Trust Protocol the continued opportunity to set a new standard in more sustainable cotton production where full transparency is a reality and continuous improvement to reduce our environmental footprint is the central goal.”

The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 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. It has also been recognized and published in the ITC Standards Map and recognized as a standard for sustainable cotton by the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles. 

Launched in 2020, the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol was designed to set a new standard in more sustainably grown cotton, ensuring that it contributes to the protection and preservation of the planet, using the most sustainable and responsible techniques. It is the only farm level, science-based program that provides quantifiable, verifiable goals and measurement in six key sustainability metrics as well as article-level supply chain transparency. ”¯

The Trust Protocol is overseen by a multi-stakeholder Board of Directors comprised of representatives from brands and retailers, civil society and independent sustainability experts as well as the cotton-growing industry, including growers, ginners, merchants, wholesalers and cooperatives, mills and cottonseed handlers.

ISEAL supports ambitious sustainability systems and their partners to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. With a focus on credible practices, we advance scalable and effective solutions that make a lasting impact. Through our work to drive collective efforts, we make markets a force for good. 

www.TrustUSCotton.org