Our Strategy
The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol’s mission is to create a standard for U.S. Cotton that is data-powered, traceable by design, and generates a positive impact through the global cotton value system, and we don’t take this charge lightly. We were founded with a purpose to ensure we contribute to a more sustainable and transparent world by creating positive impact, measuring outcomes, driving innovation and assuring trust in U.S. cotton. We are committed to building a system that benefits everyone, from the farm to the finished product, making U.S. cotton available through a transparent, sustainable process.
We do this by keeping our core values at the center of everything we do, focusing on authenticity, innovation and excellence, environmental stewardship, caring of people, and personal and corporate integrity. We believe in a data-driven approach that helps create a system that is founded in research, evidence, and trust, and benefits all stakeholders across the cotton supply chain.
The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol’s mission is to create a standard for U.S. Cotton that is data-powered, traceable by design, and generates a positive impact through the global cotton value system, and we don’t take this charge lightly. We were founded with a purpose to ensure we contribute to a more sustainable and transparent world by creating positive impact, measuring outcomes, driving innovation and assuring trust in U.S. cotton. We are committed to building a system that benefits everyone, from the farm to the finished product, making U.S. cotton available through a transparent, sustainable process.
We do this by keeping our core values at the center of everything we do, focusing on authenticity, innovation and excellence, environmental stewardship, caring of people, and personal and corporate integrity. We believe in a data-driven approach that helps create a system that is founded in research, evidence, and trust, and benefits all stakeholders across the cotton supply chain.
What We Measure
We focus on key metrics – land use, soil carbon, soil conservation, water management, emissions, and energy efficiency – providing quantifiable data that demonstrates the progress of cotton growers across the country. These verifiable goals and measurements demonstrate the evolving change and improvements each member group can incorporate into their practices and foster a more resilient industry.
What We Measure
We focus on key metrics – land use, soil carbon, soil conservation, water management, emissions, and energy efficiency – providing quantifiable data that demonstrates the progress of cotton growers across the country. These verifiable goals and measurements demonstrate the evolving change and improvements each member group can incorporate into their practices and foster a more resilient industry.
What We Measure
We focus on key metrics – land use, soil carbon, soil conservation, water management, emissions, and energy efficiency – providing quantifiable data that demonstrates the progress of cotton growers across the country. These verifiable goals and measurements demonstrate the evolving change and improvements each member group can incorporate into their practices and foster a more resilient industry.
Our Strategic Pillars
Article-Level Supply Chain Transparency
Transparency is at the heart of what we do. Our traceability solution is used to track and verify the movement of U.S. Cotton and Protocol Cotton from farms to the final product, giving brands and retailers risk-free confidence in the origin and sustainability of their sourced materials. The traceability solution, “PCMS” includes a transparency map that provides the authenticated origin of U.S. cotton, along with the names and locations of the Trust Protocol mill and manufacturer members that were involved, ensuring accountability and empowering customers to make informed purchasing decisions they can feel good about.
Quantifiable, Verifiable Goals and Measurement
We empower U.S. cotton growers to measure and improve their environmental footprint by focusing on environmental metrics. We capture this information through farm-level data proven via Field to Market, measured by the Fieldprint Calculator, and third-party verified. We ensure data collection and verification is at the center of all of our efforts. Brand and retailer members can then use this data for their compliance and reporting needs.
Continuous Improvement
We recognize that this is an ever-evolving mission, and one that should be seen as a journey, not a destination. We know this because U.S. Cotton production has made remarkable strides over the past 35 years. Protocol growers receive actionable insights to understand their farm’s footprint, help optimize operations, improve overall efficiency, and continue to demonstrate their commitment to responsible practices through measurement and verification.