Cone Denim joins US Cotton Trust Protocol
North Carolina-based Cone Denim recently announced its US Cotton Trust Protocol membership.
The denim producer is “one of the first denim partners” of the body, which champions sustainably grown cotton, Cone Denim said in a press release.
As a trust protocol member, Cone will source its cotton from participating growers and help to “drive continuous improvement” among six key elements of sustainability: land use, soil carbon, water management, soil loss, greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency.
Mills and manufacturers who obtain membership have access to the trust protocol credit system, which helps to validate consumption of cotton and associated credit.
The trust protocol uses a combination of a unique credit accounting system and the cotton industry’s Permanent Bale Identification (PBI) system, Cone’s press release continued. This “enables full transparency throughout the supply chain”, from cotton to finished product.
Cone Denim president, Steve Maggard, commented: “The values and accountability of the US Cotton Trust Protocol align with and complement Cone Denim’s ongoing sustainability initiatives, including our pledge to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and commitment to source 80% verifiably sustainable cotton by 2025.”
Cone recently announced its partnership with New Zealand-based Oritain, whose method combines forensic science and statistics to detect naturally occurring elements in fibres, including cotton, to verify growth origin.
Image: Cone Denim.
