SHANGHAI, AMSTERDAM: In a groundbreaking first for Chinese agriculture, three industry leaders launch the first fully traceable cotton supply chain from China's Shandong province using blockchain-backed technology.
The 1,500 metric ton pilot program creates complete visibility from seed planting in Shandong to final textile product, combining Nongxi's sustainable farming protocols and decades of agricultural expertise with Guanxu's first-mile traceability and Aware's blockchain-based chain-of-custody tracking. Every bale of cotton becomes a comprehensive data record, documenting environmental impact, farming practices, and processing methods in real-time on public blockchain. These efforts now take shape under the new Trecotton brand, designed to celebrate sustainable, traceable cotton from Shandong’s farming communities.
Showcasing China's Cotton Excellence
At the heart of this pilot collaboration lies a carefully selected agricultural operation in Shandong, where dedicated farming families take immense pride in their cotton quality. This partnership brings their work to global markets through a new level of supply chain transparency.
The program highlights the farmers’ deep expertise in integrated pest management, biodiversity protection, soil health, and water-saving irrigation. For the first time, their careful work will be fully visible to brands and consumers through real-time, blockchain-backed traceability. This pilot not only brings recognition to their sustainable practices but also demonstrates that fully traceable cotton production is both scalable and viable, while enabling measurable reductions in chemical pesticide and fertilizer use.
This program also goes beyond traceability by testing how cotton farming communities can thrive through enhanced transparency. The participating farming households will benefit from stable income opportunities, comprehensive training programs, and direct connections to global markets. By focusing on professional farming practices and sustainable farming methods, the program ensures that environmental stewardship and farmer welfare advance together.
Cross-Border Traceability Innovation
For the first time, Chinese agricultural expertise joins forces with European blockchain innovation in a pioneering cross-border collaboration that advances cotton traceability through a unique partnership combining China’s deep-rooted farming knowledge and Europe’s blockchain expertise.
The integrated system combines Guanxu's first-mile traceability system capturing every detail from Shandong farms to ginners, Nongxi's sustainable farming protocols, and Aware's blockchain-based chain-of-custody tracking – creating seamless traceability from Shandong field to global retail.
The result is premium, fully traceable cotton that meets emerging Digital Product Passport (DPP) requirements, uniting Eastern agricultural excellence with Western compliance and transparency standards.
Cotton Available October 2025
The first harvest of this fully traceable cotton—marketed under the new Trecotton brand—will be available in October 2025, offering brands and manufacturers the opportunity to source premium Chinese cotton with complete transparency and sustainability documentation.
ABOUT NONGXI AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD: Established in May 2011, Nongxi Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. serves as vice-chair of the China Agricultural Technology Association and is one of the founding architects of China's High-Quality Cotton Sustainable Production Standards. With experience producing over 90,000 tons of certified lint cotton annually across multiple regions, the company manages extensive sustainable cotton operations involving thousands of farming households and has been recognized as a model cooperative for its leadership in sustainable agricultural practices.
ABOUT SHANGHAI GUANXU BUSINESS MANAGEMENT CO., LTD: Shanghai Guanxu Business Management Co., Ltd. is dedicated to providing first-mile digital traceability solutions for cotton textile supply chains. Located in Shanghai's Jiading District, the company's team brings deep expertise from international textile machinery manufacturing and sustainable cotton production, specializing in creating customized digital platforms that achieve complete farm-to-consumer traceability with secure, reliable connections from farms directly to end consumers.
ABOUT AWARE: Aware provides radically transparent, end-to-end traceability solutions that empower producers and reassure brands with audit-ready visibility at every step of the supply chain. Powered by blockchain, their decentralized platform records each handoff—from raw fibre to finished product—in an unalterable ledger, enabling real-time verification of origin, quality, and sustainability claims. This revolutionary approach turns traditional supply chains into collaborative ecosystems built on trust, accountability, and shared data ownership.
ABOUT Trecotton: This pilot harvest marks the debut of 'Trecotton' – a new benchmark for verifiable sustainability. The name reflects both the TRaceability of every fibre, Electronic with impact data, and the Cottton heritage of Shandong's farming communities in China—with extra transparency (the extra "T" in Cottton). By purchasing Trecotton, brands support farming practices that protect biodiversity, reduce chemical use, and uphold fair labor principles – all validated through immutable blockchain records.
