Cotton

The blame for the low level of 'data confidence' in organic cotton numbers lies primarily with one country: India. The problem is that of India, but the entire world has to bear the burden. And, the Organic Cotton Market Report 2022 shows the strain that the world has to endure. A texfash.com analysis.

Buoyed by the rapidly growing demand, it is for the fifth year in a row that production of global organic cotton has increased. However, the bad news is that all data needs to be accepted with a pinch of salt, according to the latest Organic Cotton Market Report 2022. A texfash.com report.

Haelixa has been marking Egyptian cotton fabrics for premium shirts with a unique DNA marker. This makes the raw material traceable from the source to the finished textile product. A texfash.com report.

The International Cotton Advisory Committee has embarked on a data storytelling drive for its members with the launch of the new data portal. All publications will be migrated to this portal, and the same analyses as earlier would be now provided using the latest in modern and cutting-edge data science technology.

The US Department of Agriculture has granted $30 million to support the expansion of climate-smart wool and cotton production on 135 farms and ranches spread across 2.1 million acres.

Charges of greenwashing against some MNCs has pushed Textile Exchange to effect a policy change to its Organic Content Standard (OCS), making site inputs from the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) mandatory in a bid to provide traceability of all transaction certificate data back to the original farm source and farm input.

The first ever cotton varieties bred under organic conditions, developed through a decentralised organic participatory breeding programme, have recently been made available to farmers in India. These improved varieties are the outcome of joint efforts made under the project Seeding the Green Future. The varieties were developed through a decentralised organic participatory breeding programme of FiBL Switzerland and partners.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has selected the US Cotton Trust Protocol to lead the US Climate Smart Cotton Program with a funding ceiling of $90 million. This will be one of the 70 projects selected under the first pool of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding opportunity.

UK's CottonConnect and the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) have signed an agreement to work together on knowledge sharing, innovation, environmental sustainability assessment and joint project initiatives.

The ensuing 36th International Cotton Conference will explore, among other things, the issue of traceability in supply chains. The subject has gained prominence in the light of the proposed EU supply chain law, and demands for transparency and greater sustainability worldwide.